Morris West

Summer of the Red Wolf is the story of a man struggling with the complexities and torments of everyday life who travels to Scotland to fight his inner demons and discovers love, honour and himself along the way. The novel brilliantly captures the feelings of restlessness so common in these modern times.

West’s last novel (he died at his desk, at its completion) is a strong story of the philosopher and heretic Giordano Bruno, who was burnt by the Inquisition for his heresy. A major release! From the Foreword by Thomas Keneally: "Bruno was that perilous thing, a free spirit, and suffered death for his right to certain concepts. I knew from conversations with Morris that Giordano Bruno was a soul mate, someone with whose life history Morris’ identified, even though Morris possessed a somewhat less strident temperament than Bruno’s. "Failed priest," as Morris has Bruno declare in this tale, "fugitive monk, magus with a box of conjuring tricks, boaster, prevaricator, would-be torchbearer trudging through his own darkness, garrulous in dialogue, viperous in debate."

An Argentinean cleric, tortured in the 1970s is rescued and brought to Rome. A generation later, having rising within the hierarchy, a candidate for the papacy himself, he must confront his past.

In these pages, West reflects on the chronicle of his life and offers us a lyrical, intimate, and profoundly affirming account of the pilgrimage of a twentieth-century Catholic. From his youthful days as postulant in a strictly orthodox Australian religious community, to his painful decision to leave the order, to his experiences as a soldier in the South Pacific of World War II, to his tentative first attempts at the writing life, and finally to his accomplished later years, West sketches a story that in its travails and joys reflects the evolution of both the Catholic faith in this century and the journey that every believer follows in his or her pilgrimage toward God. Whether watching his novels transformed into successful films in Hollywood or recording, in Rome, his firsthand observations of the struggles between Vatican orthodoxy and reformers in the 1960s, West recounts the lifelong evolution of his personal creed of belief. He recalls the difficult collapse of his first marriage and the birth of a new and stronger one, the joys of fatherhood and grandfatherhood, and the colorful spectrum of friends - including European royalty, high clergy of the Vatican, and flamboyant Australian politicos - who have spiced his long life. He muses upon evil, redemption, and the evolution of the Church he loves.

Once again, I am awed by Morris West's narrative skill. Book such as this and Leon Uris' "Topaz" surely set the stage for the modern legal thrillers we're all familiar with. Here, while probing matters of the law and of morals, West draws characters full of pathos and love and honor. This book never builds to the excitement of "The Tower of Babel" or "Salamander," nor to the spiritual intrigue of "The Shoes of the Fisherman" or "The Clowns of God," but it poignantly captures the drama and schisms in a Tuscan family. The story opens with a beautiful young lady's arrival in a small Italian town. She promptly goes to the door of the mayor and shoots him in cold blood. From there, her guilt and her defense serve as the fulcrum upon which the major characters balance. The defense attorney and his wife have their own private battles to deal with. The psychiatrist called upon by the defense is in a struggle for his own sense of purpose and for love with a mature young woman. And, overshadowing them all, the attorney's father-in-law wields control in his own twisted quest for connection. The ceaseless dysfunction plays its final hand in the closing pages. Sure, West's characters tend to be verbose and wise beyond credibility, yet they are painted against such vivid backgrounds and given such concrete motivations that I can't help but lose myself in their stories. West, as always, has probing questions--and occasional answers--regarding ethics and spirituality in a modern age. Though I might not always agree with his suppositions, I always admire the courage and imagination he draws upon to highlight our troubled times.

A story about the problems of a newly elected Pope from the Ukraine who has spent many years as a prisoner of the Russians in Siberia. He knows, and has the grudging respect of, Russia's Premier. A subplot of a much more temporal nature is the story of an American newspaperman and a young Italian matron.

1937. In a fictional turn of historical events, the British Cabinet accepts the recommendations of the Peel Commission, establishing a Jewish State in the Land of Israel. Dan Lavi is a young diplomat sent by Ben-Gurion to serve as the country's first ambassador to Berlin, in an effort to save as many Jews as possible under the controversial Transfer Agreement.

Set in the world of international business, it moves from the boardrooms of Europe to the high-tech companies of Japan, as a mysterious group of businessmen pursue a mission to save the world's remaining resources.

A young American art historian is left holding two priceless works of art whe his Italian lover dies, and in trying to bring them to auction, he gets embroiled in the murder case of a famous artist.

The Devil's Advocate, Morris West's best-selling novel, is a deft exploration of the meaning of faith. In an impoverished village in southern Italy, the life and death of Giacomo Nerone has inspired talk of saint­hood. Father Blaise Meredith, a dying English priest, is sent from the Vatican to investigate—and to try to untangle the web of facts, rumors, and outright lies that surround Nerone's life and death. With spiritual frailty as a backdrop, The Devil's Advocate reminds us how the power of goodness ultimately prevails over despair.

McCreary, an expert oil-driller convinced of his Irish good luck, with nothing to lose, accepts working for an ambitious and ruthless oil-trader. Power struggles on a ship, forbidden love, illegal business and friendship in limit situations appear throughout the book that takes place in a remote island of Indonesia, where the law is the struggle for survival and natural catastrophes are a threat. Morris West creates a main character that is a brave man, eager for adventure, but also for justice, and that will bring out his heroic side, but also the villain inside of him. Interesting focus of a personality and well illustrated descriptions of an exotic island and a native village.

Owen has always been different, and not only because his father committed suicide, but he is not prepared for the knowledge that he has a mission to help the Wakeful--the custodians of time--to stop the Harsh from reversing the flow of time.

[aka The Crooked Road] A famous novelist pictures the brilliant, sensual and decadent world of international playboys and their expensive women -- a life of silken vice and prodigal splendor. Morris L. West, author of The Devil's Advocate and Daughter of Silence, writes a penetrating novel of love, passion and crime on the Italian Riviera.

An adventure story about Mary and Dillon who live in the Australian outback and come into conflict with the local aboriginies. First published in 1960 this thriller is set in the Australian bush. It tell of the pursuit of a white station owner by an Aboriginal who wishes to avenge the intrusion of the white man.

Magda Liliane Kardoss von Gamsfeld: beautiful, rich and intelligent, but on the edge of suicide. Carl Gustav Jung: psychiatrist, whose personal life is in turmoil. There confrontation is an extraordinary voyage through the mind that leads to a terrible revelation and admission of guilt. This is Morris West's finest creation of the imagination. It will haunt and fascinate. It is a master novel from a master novelist. An audacious and wonderful novel. - The Mail on Sunday The World is Made of Glass may well be the standard against which all Morris Wests previous works will be judged. - New York Times Book Review

In the near future Pope Gregory XVII is forced to abdicate after claiming to have received a private revelation of the end of the world.

- The Naked Country An adventure story about Mary and Dillon who live in the Australian outback and come into conflict with the local aboriginies. First published in 1960 this thriller is set in the Australian bush. It tell of the pursuit of a white station owner by an Aboriginal who wishes to avenge the intrusion of the white man. == - Gallows on the Sand Renn Lundigan found a gold coin on a tiny island off Australia's Barrier Reef. His research led him to believe that a galleon, containing twenty chests of minted Spanish gold, had foundered on the outer reef of the island. Renn realises the dangers involved in diving to find the wreck, but he soon has more than the sea to contend with when others discover his secret. == - The Concubine (aka McCreary Moves In) McCreary, an expert oil-driller convinced of his Irish good luck, with nothing to lose, accepts working for an ambitious and ruthless oil-trader. Power struggles on a ship, forbidden love, illegal business and friendship in limit situations appear throughout the book that takes place in a remote island of Indonesia, where the law is the struggle for survival and natural catastrophes are a threat. Morris West creates a main character that is a brave man, eager for adventure, but also for justice, and that will bring out his heroic side, but also the villain inside of him. Interesting focus of a personality and well illustrated descriptions of an exotic island and a native village.