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Book Review: The Priest and the Parrot by Victoria Hislop

The Priest and the Parrot is a short story written by Victoria Hislop covered in the book ‘The Last Dance and Other Stories’. The story revolves around a young priest Papa Stavros. Though there are many priests who have married, have had children, and some priests also have had affairs with women, Papa Stavros is a different priest: he has chosen to be celibate all his life.


Well, the question is, will he be able to maintain the self-control that surrounds the semblance of his robe, or will he fall victim to the worldly lust and love spread by beautiful women under the guise of that saintly robe. The village (Somewhere in Greek) in which he has taken the position of a chief priest has more women than men.

He lives on a hilltop and from there he oversees the village down and other churches of that zone. Behind the hill is a beehive. Whenever he goes on to visit a sick person, with him he carries the honey, he mixes it with warm water and whenever a sick person drinks, he/she becomes better off. Soon, he becomes famous for his healing abilities, it was not only the honey but his unpretentious heart and incantations that help people recover miraculously.

During an epidemic, a teacher called Katerina Manakis falls sick. Many doctors have seen her but to no avail. Soon, he begins going to her home, gives her regular medication for a week or so. She recovers fast but she is sad on the thought that the handsome priest will not come to meet her again as he is not into womanizing. On the other hand, he feels attracted to Katerina and thinks that he is in love but somehow controls himself.

Since he is a priest and spends whole day in worshiping and guiding others in churches, he has that privilege of having cooked food by the women. In the evening women leave the dish in the porch of his home, no one dares come inside. They need to maintain distance.

Katrina recovers and resumes her services in the village school. She often hears other women conversing or gossiping about that young priest. She begins liking and loving him but how to break that is like a puzzle to be solved. Despite working all day, the priest grows tired and returns home jaded, but since a few days he is unable to eat properly and sleep eludes him. What’s the matter? To his company, he has a speaking parrot in his home. Some say that parrot is over hundred years old. Whatsoever, the young priest begins expressing his concern and love for Katrina to the parrot. One evening Katerina comes to his porch with a dish, more of a gift than food. At the entrance, she hears someone uttering her name, as she comes ahead she is surprised to find it is a blue and green parrot. Soon, once gain she hears as someone is calling her, this time it is a man’s voice, and it is the young priest. They both understand their love for each other but prefer to remain quiet. Indeed, love is a beautiful thing that fills the void of life.

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