We have only recently gone through a period in which many things could be said that were impossible to articulate for many centuries before us. And with this openness came the realisation that many problems can be found among people of all classes, races and backgrounds, or as Friedrich Nietzsche would say Mensliches, a (allzumensliches (Human, all too human).

Jennifer Johnston writes mostly slim novels about just such topics, and the end of her novels always present the issue with reference and dignity. Her novels portray people from a sense of deep interest, and deep understanding. Johnston's novels are often set in Ireland. Stories and characters find themselves set back, reaching out for humanity and warmth.

Grace and truth is one of those stories, gentle and warm. ( )

Johnston always writes fluidly and elegantly, and I always find that her novels are very humane ones in the fullest sense of the word—books which take a wry, sardonic but not an unkind look at the best and worst of human emotion. Quite an Irish viewpoint, I think. Grace and Truth is a well-structured novella, and Johnston handles the juxtaposition between past and present with skill, though at times I thought that the parallels she constructed between Sally and the Bishop were a little too obvious. The climax of the novel is rather predictable, and I felt some doubts about the ending—it felt just slightly too pat. Would people really react like that? Hrm. Still, as a novel of everyday irony, this slim volume is worth the read. ( )

why does this book have a photograph of the author in place of the cover? ( )