Christopher Howse

Christopher Howse gives JD Vance’s memoir of returning to Catholic faith three stars, finding it sincere but less compelling than Hillbilly Elegy. The book traces Vance’s loss and recovery of belief, his marriage and family, and his evolving embrace of Trumpism. The review highlights Vance’s reflections on Appalachia, Catholic conversion and his relationships with popes, while criticizing his omission of politically damaging episodes, including the Oval Office confrontation with Volodymyr Zelensky. Overall, Communion is presented as evidence of Vance’s continuing personal transformation but not as a work with the raw impact of his first book.

Christopher Howse gives Edoardo Albert’s biography of Bede three stars. The review praises Bede’s rigorous historical method, wide-ranging learning and central role in preserving and advancing knowledge in Anglo-Saxon England, while questioning the claim that he “invented England.” Howse criticises Albert’s tendency to interleave documented history with fictional scenes and finds the narrative cluttered by similar Anglo-Saxon names, though he values the book’s evocation of Bede’s world and his devotion to books, learning and Christian scholarship.