The Prophetic Voice

A deft, masterful study of the life and work of Jean Sulivan. Maher makes a compelling case for the continuing importance of Sulivan’s writings in challenging times and illuminates crucial and often neglected intersections between faith and fiction. A book to cherish. — Michael Cronin (Trinity College Dublin)

Thanks to Eamon Maher’s tireless work, Sulivan’s output is now reaching the wider audience in the Anglo-Saxon world it has always deserved. Sulivan’s depiction of the margins and the marginalised shows us that this is precisely where hope and salvation are often most likely to be found - a message that finds a particular resonance in our increasingly troubled world. — Grace Neville, Professor Emerita of French (UCC)

This splendid book fills out much of Sulivan’s extraordinary life, and those unconventional writings that are both penetrating and disturbing. Certainly for those of us who may have difficulty reading Sulivan in French, The Prophetic Voice is of particular benefit and I warmly commend it to Sulivan aficionados and newcomers alike. — Richard Clarke, retired Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland

The Prophetic Voice reappraises the French priest-writer Jean Sulivan’s (1913–1980) relevance as a prophetic voice in France and Ireland at the present moment in time. Sulivan was a well-known and award-winning writer in the 1960s and 70s in France. Along with comparing him to some of the main exponents of the Catholic Novel in France – Mauriac and Bernanos – Maher also draws insightful parallels between Sulivan’s portrayal of Catholicism and that of Irish priest-writers such as Canon Sheehan, William King and Tony Flannery, and contemporary figures such as John McGahern and Colum McCann.