Brother Petroc's Return is vintage Catholic fiction from the 1930s in which a young Benedictine dies the day before his ordination as a priest and must be hastily buried in a crypt as the brothers must flee oncoming soldiers. Almost 400 years later, monks have returned to the remote Cornish monastery, and during renovation work Petroc's grave is discovered. It turns out that he's not dead yet, merely sleeping. What follows is a comparison of modern and medieval philosophies and mind-sets as Petroc begins to interact with the world around him. But he still has one dream, and that is to become a priest. Will he achieve his goal, or will his age finally catch up with him?

A nice work with an excellent set up and good characterization, but the execution was a bit lacking. Still, for those who enjoy older Catholic fiction, the book is worth a pick up. ( )