Jubilate
Jubilate
…challenges accepted notions of sickness and health, duty and sacrifice, the nature of miracles and the workings of grace
…convincingly, and imaginatively, interrogated faith, belief and the gritty struggle to live with grace
…combines a moving story of love against the odds with a moral debate on the nature of faith… a highly readable novel, full of humour and warmth… a novelist with the courage to tackle groundbreaking subjects
…the ethics of choice, and how we care for one another, are made to matter
… exposing the frailty in us all
Yeah, that sounds like my kind of reading! The book is Jubilate by Michael Arditti. And the reviews are glowing.
At the heart of the novel is a touching love story. Gillian is a dutiful Catholic wife approaching middle age. She accompanies her brain-damaged and errant husband, Richard, on a pilgrimage to Lourdes where she falls in love with Vincent, a lapsed Catholic and now agnostic investigative journalist and documentary film-maker bent on exploring, perhaps even exploding, the myths around miracle cures in the shrine’s 150th anniversary year.
The narrative spans just 5 days.The voices of Vincent and Gillian alternate with five chapters from each perspective – hers backwards from Friday to Monday; his forwards Monday to Friday.
Gillian joins the Jubilate, an independent pilgrimage of about two hundred people, on the recommendation of her mother-in-law who’s constantly hoping for a miracle cure for her son. Vincent is filming the events, wanting to shed light on their activities and motivation and experiences. Both are deeply vulnerable with great sadnesses and frustrations in their lives. Their mutual attraction is instant and powerful, their fundamental differences challenging and provocative. Can mutual respect count for more than agreement?
But alongside their immediate personal emotions, both are grappling with deep existential questions:
How can God – if he exists – allow random illnesses, especially in innocent children?
This amazing world – created or the product of chance?
Was the world created simply to reflect the Creator’s glory and give endless praise?
Does an awesome God really care about the small sins of insignificant people – like their adultery?
Does God punish people in ways that fit the crime/sin?
What makes us human? When does life cease to have meaning?
Where does duty end and sacrifice begin?
How do you decide between God’s intervention and coincidence?
Arditti makes no attempt to answer all their questions, but he does capture the atmosphere of an iconic place that encourages contemplation, and allows for miracles other than medical healing.