My Secret History follows the tradition of a bildungsroman (a novel concerned with a youth's education and maturation), in which the protagonist, Andre Parent, changes from "innocent" to "experienced" in reaction to his environment. This transformation begins when his friend and confessor, Father Furty, dies. At a time when Andre's involvement with the Catholic Church is motivated by greed (as altar boy, if Andre serves for three funerals, he is "given" a wedding and money from the groom) or by guilt ("I had so often felt punished — ashamed and afraid — in the glare of God's sight.")

Father Furty restores the humanity of the church for Andre. For example, Andre says that Father Furty "made happiness look natural and right," a much-needed balance to the extreme repression Andre had always associated with Catholicism. But when Father Furty dies and is considered a failure by the parishioners because...