Diary of a Country Priest

Awarded the Grand Prix for Literature by the Académie Française and adapted into a classic film by Robert Bresson, Diary of a Country Priest has long been recognized as a literary masterpiece. In this acclaimed new translation by Bernanos scholar Michael R. Tobin, the full, unabridged work is made available to English-language readers for the first time.

Set in rural France, the novel recounts the joys and travails of a young parish priest, tormented by illness and afflicted by awkwardness, as he deals with a colorful cast of local characters and endures deep interior suffering. Accessible to Catholic and non-Catholic readers alike, it is a tour de force of spiritual storytelling, destined to be a classic for generations to come.

"This novel, so immense in significance and beauty, is a portrait of a suffering soul, a simple priest who carries within his own body the sins of others, and in his heart an incomplete love for himself. As the events of the story unfold, we come to know this highly sensitive soul, so dedicated, so yearning to help others. Yet even as his worsening health is combined with a dark night of the soul, grace moves in him, and through him, for the salvation of others. This fine new translation offers us afresh a major Christian classic, which prevails as one of the great works of human literature."
-- Michael D. O'Brien, Author, Island of the World

"Tobin's graceful translation of Bernanos' magnificent novel illustrates an uncommon path to holiness."
-- Ron Hansen, Author, Mariette in Ecstasy

"The best Spiritual Book of the 20th Century."
-- USA Today

"A book of utmost sensitivity, compassion, and deep encompassing art."
-- New York Times Book Review

Georges Bernanos (1888-1948), a renowned French novelist and winner of the Prix Femina, also wrote the novels Under the Sun of Satan and The Open Mind, among many others.

Michael R. Tobin is a retired professor of French at the University of Saskatchewan, specializing in the work of Georges Bernanos, and taught Diary of a Country Priest from the original French version. His in-depth study Georges Bernanos: The Theological Source of His Art was published by McGill-Queen's University Press. He is also a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature.