Patterson writes: "At 39, Ryder—and, with him, the credulous reader—is convinced that the world of the Flytes has expired and, with it, an essential part of the soul of England."

The reason this can not possibly be true is that the Flytes are Catholics, making them outcasts among England's elites. Rex Mottram did not understand this either.

I don't disagree with Patterson's overall view that the novel contais elements of "schlock" (few novels do), and I continue to shake my head at the ending, which is unearned. But the novel also remains complex in ways that defy breezy summaries and summary dismissals.

M.