Adrian Plass and the Church Weekend

This is the 6th installment of the Sacred Diary (if you also count the 'Horizontal Epistles of Andromeda Veal' and the 'Theatrical Tapes of Leonard Thynn'). Adrian is now 62 and three-quarters and has been co-opted to organise a church camp with his fictional wife Anne. His son Gerald, now an Anglican minister with his own family, combines forces and adds his congregation to the fun. As with all the Sacred Diary books, there are minor catastrophes, lots of humour and heart. Although many of the characters are exaggerated for effect, we can see glimpses of people we know (e. g. Minnie Stamp, who turns every comment into a counselling session; and Bernard Masters, who favours legalism over love). \\n\\nThe Sacred Diaries are among my favourite Christian books. There weren't as many belly laughs as the original, but lots of amusement. All of the books bring out the theme that God loves us in spite of our sins, foibles, and doubts. However, I thought this one did a particularly good job of that. A potentially serious situation with a family member is handled well, and a number of characters change over the course of the weekend. Should be compulsory reading for anyone organising a church camp. I hope there are more installments in the future. \\n\\n