Gerard Windsor has worn various literary hats – as reviewer, biographer and literary commentator – and in one of them does he shrink from controversy. Indeed, this provocative identity is mentioned as a matter of pride in various publicity blurbs. The history of his old school that he was commissioned to write was deemed too negative and was never printed, and he has come under fire for views expressed at both Adelaide and Sydney writers’ festivals. So it was unsurprising that with his latest novel, he has also chosen a controversial subject matter: the sexual life of a Catholic priest.