Book Review - The Gospel According to Luke

Book Review – The Gospel According to Luke by Emily Maguire.

Australian author Emily Maguire follows up her impressive debut Taming The Beast (2005) with another psycho-sexual study. While her first book dealt with an immature girl’s response to a pivotal sexual initiation, this second book observes the impact of a love affair on two mature adults.

Aggie is the awkward activist and a councilor at a sexual health clinic.

Enter Luke, devout pastor and leader of the Christian Revolution’s new Youth Centre, which sets up shop right across the street.

These two opposites – left-wing liberal and right-wing conservative – attract. Complicating matters is teenager Honey, whose pregnancy incites an ethical tug-of-war between pro-choice Aggie and pro-life Luke. What could have been a cheesy Mills and Boon romance is given depth and texture by Maguire, who excels at painting sympathetic portraits of people caught in the vise of their passions.

While Aggie and Luke are both convinced the other’s position is wrong, they also recognize common ground in their compassion for fellow human beings. This push-pull of conflicting religious and ethical beliefs is dramatized well and with great respect for both stances.

The result is highly readable romance given added spices by its consideration of socio-politics and religion in contemporary Australia.