Matthew is an only child brought up within a religious family, but with his obsession for truth he uncovers serious anomalies with what he is expected to believe. The story unfolds in Worthing during the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s, where Matthew attended school, church and where he worked. As he matures he finds that his spiritual upbringing leaves him unprepared for many aspects of his life and particularly for falling in love and eventually he is forced to choose between his faith and the girl he loves. This is a touching story of how Matthew’s life is directed and inhibited by the well intentioned beliefs and values of his family and how he must come to terms with the reality behind the truth. It is about a boy growing up, struggling with adolescence, falling in love and trying to understand the religion he has been brought up with, but it challenges the very core of belief and provides a battleground in Matthew's mind as he questions his faith. As such, the topic of religion is sympathetically handled and the characters in the novel give opposing points of view which are thought provoking for the religious and nonreligious alike.
A Personal Battle With Truth And Falsehood
“In my teens I was left feeling perplexed, tormented and guilty,” says Matthew, whose personal battle with truth and falsehood is cleverly woven into this story. The strict rules of morality of the Bible as held by his Protestant grandmother, conflict with his own experience, but his twin like friend Ben keeps him sensibly grounded. Readers of all ages will enjoy this book, whether as children or parents. Brian finishes the last chapter with another jolt to the young man's conflict with truth and I cannot wait to read the sequel. Is it a decline and fall, or is he just growing up in the jungle of a modern atheistic world?
by Dr John Godrich
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