When one picks up a ‘confession’, the immediate question is what is she/he confessing? In the case of a retired high school Latin teacher, one might conjecture: not much. However, during an otherwise blameless life, Frances does do something of import to confess. In fact it is the catalyst for Frances’ spiritual journey; one that (she hopes) after contrition and confession will come salvation. If this sounds like a bit of a slog for fiction, it’s not, as Hellenga introduces an irresistible character to help Frances sort herself out: God. They have colloquies – in Latin of course! Frances realizes that “God’s agenda was to get me to go to confession.” Their colloquiums cover a lot of ground, existentialism, dark matter, dark energy, black holes, natural law, etc. Frances’ crime puts her at a crossroad; has she ever really examined her life? Or been confronted by the big questions head on? Or has she turned away, attempting to tamp it down. ( )

First things first: I LOVED THIS BOOK!! I know, caps and exclamation points - I sound like a teenage girl. But I'm a guy, and I'm more than fifty years past teenage. But Robert Hellenga's newest novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF FRANCES GODWIN, was just so damn good I couldn't believe it. Well, yes I could, because I've already read three other Hellenga novels over the past fifteen years or so - THE SIXTEEN PLEASURES, BLUES LESSONS, and SNAKEWOMAN OF LITTLE EGYPT - and they were all great.

But CONFESSIONS may well be Hellenga's best book yet. I think this one is truly a labor of love. The story is set in Galesburg, home of Knox College, where Hellenga taught English for decades and is now a Professor Emeritus and writer-in-residence. The town, lovingly mapped and described, is so important to the story that it practically becomes a character. The title character grew up on a farm nearby and attended Knox College, where she met her husband, Paul Godwin, her Shakespeare teacher (married to someone else at the time).

Galesburg, Milwaukee, Rome, Verona. All important places to Frances Godwin. Parts of her life both with Paul and later with her troubled daughter Stella and by herself. Faith, art, music, life itself. All the big questions are in here, and maybe some answers too. I'm not going to do any plot summaries here. The thing I kept wondering as I was reading was whether Hellenga was intentionally writing a kind of modern version of St. Augustine's CONFESSIONS.

Because narrator Frances calls her story a "spiritual autobiography." A lapsed Catholic, she is fluent in Latin, a dead language, but also the language Augustine wrote in. She has her regrets about things she has done in her life, things recounted in stark and vivid detail, and is constantly toying with the idea of confessing her great sins, and moving "out of the shadows into the light." She has frank conversations with God, a God who seems oddly human and keeps urging her to confess. On one of her trips to Italy she is even carrying a copy of Augustine's CONFESSIONS.

I know a little about St. Augustine, but have to confess I have never read his books. So I am a bit over my head in trying to make a comparison. In the contest of wills between Frances and God, does God win? (Sorry, but I couldn't resist that.) That's something each reader will have to decide. The thing is, this narrative is just so rich with sidebars and details about so many things - all fascinating - that I just did not want it to end. But it does, and when I read that last paragraph, that final line, it gave me goose bumps. It was so perfect, positively perfect.

One more comparison kept popping up as I was reading Hellenga's CONFESSIONS. I kept remembering Agatha McGee, a fictional spinster teacher, the creation of the late Minnesota writer, Jon Hassler, who first appeared in his 1976 novel, STAGGERFORD, and then in several subsequent novels. Like Frances, she was Catholic, but a pragmatic and practical one, who also had her doubts at times.

St Augustine or Jon Hassler? Yeah, there are parallels and comparisons, but Hellenga's Frances Godwin is one of a kind, a kind you don't often see in contemporary fiction. I am selfishly hoping that Hellenga might follow Hassler's lead and bring Frances back again in another novel. She's that fascinating a character. Did I say I LOVED this book? Oh yeah, I guess I did. Terrific book! VERY highly recommended. ( )