Meeting Father Salmon - John E. Parkin

Revelling in the idiosyncrasies of travel experiences in modern Britian, Meeting Father Salmon describes three apparently chance encounters between Richard, a successful IT professional, and Father Salmon. Richard lives with Michelle and their young family in a new residential estate, typical of those that have appeared across the UK. Richard appears to live a perfectly ordinary, untroubled, upwardly mobile life, but he wrestles with the challenges of work, family, and finding meaning in modern life. Richard’s first impression of Salmon is as an anachronistic, God-obsessed, mystical crank. However, he becomes increasingly intrigued by his very different way of thinking and living. As their conversations progress, Richard and Salmon find themselves exploring whether faith in God offers anything beneficial to a regular person in modern Britain. Richard is attracted to Salmon’s solidity, but we discover Salmon is grappling with his own challenges following the death of his life-long companion. Salmon is acutely aware that what Richard is drawn to might be a mirage, the shadow of a faith that is draining away.