After Christina breaks the Fifth Commandment, strange things begin to happen – and take her away from home in Normal, Illinois.Now, she’s back and has to tell them the story within a story, but how can she make them believe? So she had made a mistake – but didn’t all teenagers do the same thing?The Fifth Commandment is a paranormal memoir entwined with a plot drenching with old-fashioned … drenching with old-fashioned religious guilt, and short enough to finish in a single sitting – perhaps lounging by the pool or sitting in the garden. The novella follows Christina into a confessional and starts at what we would consider our weakest point.
The point when we first admit our sin.
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As Father Joe sits in his confessional box waiting to hear how Christina has sinned, he has no idea of the spiritual journey that lies ahead. Inviting his clergy colleagues, Andrew & George, to listen to the teenager’s tale, all three men are left incredulous at what ensues. This is a deeply moving story of morals and expectations, beautifully told & perfectly executed. Religious subject matter is difficult to handle sincerely & tactfully but this author does both, leaving the reader sitting back to ponder well after the final chapter.
Young Christina finds herself catapulted through the ethers after being the victim of a reckless cab driver who plowed into a group of tourists on Vatican Square. Hurtling through time and space she finds herself back in her hometown of Normal, Illinois, in the church confessional revealing her story to her favorite priest, Father Joe.
As she tells her tale about exotic locales, previous lives and fascinating occupations, she reveals also that she feels great guilt for breaking the Fifth Commandment – which is to Honor thy father and thy mother – and wishing her parents were less restrictive, more cool, not so embarrassingly ethnic, and that her life was more interesting and glamorous.
Are Christina’s afterlife exploits wild and colorful dreams, or actually religious experiences bordering on miraculous encounters with none other than St. Peter at the Gates of Heaven? This is what a three-priest panel who grills her incessantly tries to determine: should her divine revelations be disclosed to the church hierarchy for further exploration, or are they just “malarkey,” fabrications by a young girl who prefers to live in some fantasy world to escape her reality. Nonetheless, through her experiences – whether real or imagined – Christina realizes what it means to live the Fifth Commandment and to be grateful for the life and parents she has had.
Eve Gaal has managed to weave a captivating adventure with humor and style, lush with religious tenets and symbolism without being heavy handed or pedantic. The short story breezes along with characters that are interesting and quite down to earth. It will leave you guessing in a joyful and enlightening way.
Christina often wishes her parents were less restricting. She envies her friend Molly, who seems to to be allowed to do as she pleases. One day, after wishing she could change her parents, she goes to the church to confess her thoughts to Father Joe. However, he is so astounded as she pours out her thoughts, he asks another two priests to come and listen to what she has to say. Christina’s amazing story of her previous lives on earth, both excites and astonishes the priests. But can they really believe what she is telling them?
I found this novella a delightful read. Ms Gaal keeps the reader intrigued right up to the very end. Charming and easy to read.