"He's done it again! Tugged at our hearts, challenged our minds, and revived our spirits. A novel about despair, doubt, love, and holiness, Plague Journal will open you to new levels of commitment to the interior battle to love when love comes hardest. Bravo!"

-Ronda Chervin, Ph.D., Author, The Kiss from the Cross

 
"Why couldn't I put this book down? Its characters are unforgettable; its author makes simple goodness winsome, even heroic; and its social indictment is as important as that of Brave New World."

-Peter Kreeft, Author, Back to Virtue

 
"This is a novel of hope about failed loves, failed lives, and, yes, failed societies. Yet, it touches the heart of things in the lives of those whom O'Brien calls "children of the last days." This is a gripping 'adventure' of Tolkien inspired human beings against bureaucratic 'Conditioners', as C.S. Lewis called them."

-James V. Schall, S.J., Georgetown University
 

"More realistic than fantastic, this is a suspenseful tale of a family's heroic struggle to survive in an afflicted world. Plague Journal is an account of the effect of a spiritual and social pestilence in twentieth century Canada. O'Brien understands what plagues do to society, to friendship and to family. A story that is gripping, moving and enlightening."

-J. Christopher Corkery, G.K. Chesterton Institute
 

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(Note: For a review to be posted on www.greatcatholicfiction.com, it must have at least 40% and 5 people identify the review as "helpful.")

First, if you're going to read O'Brien, I recommend reading his novels in this order. 1. Father Elijah, 2. Strangers and Sojourners, 3. Plague Journal, 4. Eclipse of the Sun. Although they were not published in this order it will make the most sense from a chronological standpoint. Certain characters resurface.
The Plague Journal is the journal of conservative newspaper editor Nathaniel Delaney, his friendship with a local doctor, and his attempts to escape, with his children, from a totalitarian Canadian government that seeks to silence him.

As usual, O'Brien interjects just enough action to keep you reading, and just enough spirituality and theology to get you thinking. O'Brien is one of the finest Catholic journalists of the 20th century.

-Tim Drake "Author and Journalist"
(from amazon.com)