What Makes The Bishop Different?

Author’s notes …

The Bishop is the fourth book in the We Are Not Saints series. Each of the novels stands on its own, and each one is a bit different from all of the others. You’re probably aware that there are no prequels or sequels and the books can be read in any order. Although many of the characters appear in more that one volume, each time, we see them from a slightly different perspective as they take on new roles in a new environment. However, of all the books, The Bishop provides us with a very way of seeing our characters.

To begin with, each of the first three books follows the main characters, Jared Röhrbach, Randy Carter, and Jeff Hensen. We watch them closely as they navigate the trials and tribulations of their world. In The Bishop, rather than watching Sean Foley, we look at the world through his own eyes. He narrates his own story for us, and that is another big difference between The Bishop and the other three books: the other books show us a slice of the main character’s life; in The Bishop we experience slices of Sean’s life from childhood to old age.

In fact, the whole development of Sean’s story is unique within the series. Rather than being carried along a single timeline as the events play out, you’re presented with a dual timeline: one in the present, and one moving from the past into the present, until the two timelines converge in the last chapter. Since, in the present timeline, we’re with Sean in the five most critical days of his life, the “historical” timeline can be divided into five segments, each segment allowing you to go back in time and see the progression of Sean’s life. When in the present timeline, Sean narrates his story in the present tense, and in the “historical” timeline, he uses the past tense. As the reader, you should have no difficulty discerning which timeline you’re following.

There’s one other feature of this book that I find particularly fun: because the story a broad swath of time and a variety of places, we get to see many of our old friends from other books in the series. We get to see Jared and Paul as college students. We get to see Bishop Mickleson as a seminarian. We get to see Randy as a maturing young man, and so much more. Of course, there are plenty of new faces to acquaint yourself with, and I believe that at least some of them will prove to be quite memorable.

There’s a little thumbnail of some of what you can expect when you set out on the adventure called, We Are Not Saints: The Bishop.