PRODIGAL SOULS
Debut novel pits fast-paced contemporary society against traditional religious values--
guess who wins?
Modern fiction has three important functions: to entertain, to explore the human heart, and to show the folly or wisdom of contemporary society. These functions are apparent and fulfilled in Harriet Robbins Ackert's debut novel, Prodigal Souls, which places a cast of highly charged, glamorous modern Californians in the middle of a conflict of values-between the time-worn mores of the Catholic Church and the reckless lifestyles of the rich and sexy. This novel recognizes that everyone needs something to believe in. But what can we trust in a world torn between the irrelevant past and the frightening future?
At the center is beautiful, strong-willed Eva Tierney. Raised by a grandmother whose faith is in astrology, she has married into a land-owning family that still answers to the Catholic Church. But Eva finds nothing to believe in in either of those two camps. Instead, she puts her trust in horses, and finds her power in sexual prowess.
Eva's older husband, J.T. Tierney, has left the Church and his pious former wife in pursuit of personal power and a lifestyle that can satisfy his lust for control. But there's one part of his life he cannot control: fiercely jealous, JT is at the mercy of his his obsession with his beautiful, strong-minded young wife.
JT's son, Sean, is a priest. But there's a ring around his clerical collar, and the ring is Sean's love for Eva, his childhood sweetheart, his father's wife. Sean's struggle of conscience is the hardest in this triumvirate of family dysfunction. Sean puts his trust in God, but his guilt-ridden feelings for Eva force him to examine his loyalty to the Church.
In a plot full of ironic twists, Eva is downed by her beloved horse, JT is brought down by his doubts of Eva's fidelity, and Sean does battle with God Himself. And sex propels this ill-fated threesome into a bizarre pregnancy-part miracle, part disaster-that challenges the beliefs and changes the lives of all concerned. Prodigal Souls takes no prisoners. Only the strongest survive, and they survive only by changing with the times.
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About the Author. Harriet Robbins Ackert is a retired public relations consultant working with non-profit organizations. She lives and writes in Santa Barbara, California. Prodigal Souls is her first novel. |
