Diary of a Country Priest

Georges Bernanos · 1888–1948 · France

Originally Journal d'un curé de campagne (French)

Why it matters

A sickly young priest records his failing body and unbending vocation in a hostile rural parish. One of the century's starkest novels of faith: grace arriving, if at all, through suffering rather than comfort.

At a glance

Fragmentary journal form and theological weight slow a short book.