FATHER SWEET

Narrator Craig Lauzon flawlessly captures 1970s small-town Canada and introduces Jake, a trusting Boy Scout and altar boy. Lauzon deftly inhabits Jake, who loves his younger brother, Jamie, and his clueless parents. At age 12, Jake is robbed of his innocence when Father Sweet molests him. Sweet is perfectly rendered as the perfect predator--an intellectual whose preaching and chanting win over parishioners and church officials. Listeners will sadly observe Jake's loving personality change when he leaves the Catholic Church and Scouts and turns to alcohol to mask his pain. In Part 2, Jake is an adult who's lost his way because he carries this unresolved trauma. Listeners will cheer for him when he decides to speak up and help other victims, thereby overcoming his demons and looking hopefully to the future. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2020]