From the author of Mayflies ''There is no page on which there is not something surprising or quotable or pleasurable of thought-provoking.'' Hilary Mantel''One of the few truly essential works of fiction to emerge from this country during the past 20 years or more.'' John Burnside, Daily TelegraphLonglisted for the Booker Prize, Be Near Me is a brilliantly moving story of art and politics, love and change, and the way we live now.When an English priest takes over a small Scottish parish, not everyone is ready to accept him. He makes friends with two local youths, Mark and Lisa, and clashes with a world he can barely understand. The town seems to grow darker each night. Fate comes calling, and before the summer is out his quiet life is the focus of public hysteria. Meanwhile a religious war is unfolding on his doorstep . . .