A Green Journey

Wonderful, old-fashioned story about three unlikely travel partners in Ireland. The author has a perfect touch with details, and every character's voice rings true. I highly recommend this novel.

A surprising 8.5/10
This turned out to be a well-told story—finished it in a day! Complex, interesting characters with more depth than their initial chapters indicated against a backdrop of change in the Catholic Church and the turmoil of The Troubles in Ireland. Ultimately a story of forgiveness and of finding oneself.

This is the second novel in the Staggerford-series - although it is a stand alone novel.

We meet Agahta McGee again - an old maid and now a retired schoolteacher. She’s a character that I love. Strict and conservative, but with a sense of duty and deep faith that touches people around her.

Her “old school” Catholic faith is threatened by a lot of modern changes in her local church. Her comfort is her “pen-pal” in Ireland - an 69 year old man who shares her view on life. She decides to go see him in Ireland and it’s here most of the story takes place.

Not as good as the first one in the series, yet a pleasant read and I think I will continue the series.

2886. A Green Journey, by Jon Hassler (read 8 Jul 1996) Possible SPOILER. This book was published in 1985 and has Agatha McGee, a prominent character in the author's novel Staggerford (which I read 15 May 1996), as its central character. She has corresponded for five years with James O'Hannon in Ireland and decides to go to see him. They meet - she falls in love - and finds out he is a priest! Janet Raft had a child out of wedlock, and Agatha helped her cope. Then Janet married Randy Mears, and Randy isn't much count. Janet goes to Ireland too, as does Bishop Dick Baker. Through much of the book I thought the writing not elegant, but the book finishes strong, funny and encouraging, and the end left me with a warm glow all around. So show more nice to have moral people carry on and avoid evil. I found this book delightful. It was as good as Hassler's Simon's Night (which I read 27 May 1996) and all in all I am glad I have come to know Jon Hassler's work. show less

I admire Jon Hassler's ability to write fiction with intriguing plots and characters and I enjoyed this novel too. The main characters are a 68 year old retired teacher, a mystery pen pal in Ireland, a bishop that said teacher disagrees with over his modernizing the church, and a young wife. When the main characters travel to Ireland and the mystery pen pal shows up, the story is very compelling.

Not my usual genre but I enjoyed it, even thought I'm an atheist and several of the people are dealing with issues involving the Catholic Church.

Here's what I wrote after reading in 1994: "Easy to read book, both of them (see Grand Opening). Full of ordinary people characters living their lives as best they can
. Full of miswestern values and human experiences."