Camillo Tarocci was a partisan fighter during World War II. Now he's a priest in a small Italian town, constantly butting heads with Peppone, another partisan fighter turned Communist mayor. When Peppone wins ten million lira in a lottery (an unseemly amount for a member of the Party), Don Camillo helps him to keep it a secret. In return, the priest forces Peppone to take him with other Italian Party members on a tour of the USSR, where he hopes to win souls back to the church. As an added bonus, Don Camillo talks to Jesus--and Jesus talks back.

It's an enjoyable, if very dated book. A working knowledge of history will certainly help, but the translated prose is clear and readable, and makes it easy to get into the story. Don Camillo's relationship with Peppone is the core conflict of the story and makes for hilarious reading. There's also quite a few genuinely touching moments in the story that warmed the coal black heart of this agnostic, including the climactic miracle of faith on a storm-tossed sea. In addition, Guareschi shares King Missile's opinion of Jesus--who by far the nicest and sanest person in the story.

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