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Father Frank
Father Frank is the story of a Roman Catholic, taxi-driving priest who harbours an almightly secret: he doesn't believe in God. His life is hugely successful, if a little unconventional until Sarah hops into his cab and his life.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Paul Burke
45 books12 followersHis advertising work has won him almost every award in industry including campaigns for Barclaycard, VW, PG Tips, British Gas and Budweiser. At the same time he pursued a parallel career as a DJ on radio, in clubs and has worked for LBC, GLR and Heart 106.2. He has also written for the Guardian, Tatler and The Sunday Times.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
June 7, 2012
I have just been going through another bout of depression fuelled non reading as my ability to concentrate becomes seriously affected. The books I had been reading were either too studious or too long to tempt me back so when I expressed a desire for a quick light read my husband handed me this little gem.
A Roman Catholic priest who is actually agnostic and yet hugely successful in his parish life leads to a great story , very funny in places, realistic portrayal of human nature and with the introduction of a romance becoming quite a page turner. Frank is an instantly likeable character and by the time he becomes a priest I was almost in love with him myself. Paul Burke has that great gift of many authors of putting his observations of life and people down on paper so well you find yourself laughing out loud or nodding in agreement at the idiocy of certain people.
This was apparently Burke's first novel. A quick light read , yes, but in no way superficial or trite. Love it!
A Roman Catholic priest who is actually agnostic and yet hugely successful in his parish life leads to a great story , very funny in places, realistic portrayal of human nature and with the introduction of a romance becoming quite a page turner. Frank is an instantly likeable character and by the time he becomes a priest I was almost in love with him myself. Paul Burke has that great gift of many authors of putting his observations of life and people down on paper so well you find yourself laughing out loud or nodding in agreement at the idiocy of certain people.
This was apparently Burke's first novel. A quick light read , yes, but in no way superficial or trite. Love it!
May 20, 2020
The funniest book I’ve ever read
May 24, 2020
3.5 stars. Witty, fun and highly entertaining
July 30, 2021
A funny and clever story. Possibly a bit cliched in plot but good fun. I'm pleased to say I have the next in the series too.
February 23, 2011
Yet again, a book that has been sitting on my shelf for around 3 years that I absolutely adored - why do I do that? Why do I let these books linger unread for so long?
I laughed out loud within the first 3 pages, and continued to laugh all the way through, until the end where I cried - not because it's sad, but because despite the humour, the ending is perfect and wonderful and made me go all warm and gooey!!
If you are Catholic, you will nod your head in agreement many times, if you are Irish Catholic, you will nod your head, and recognise every emotion that the young Frank Dempsey goes through as he sits through Mass in his local church.
Wonderfully comic - this is the story of Father Frank, a Catholic priest who doesn't believe in God. Father Frank kind of blagged his way into priesthood but he is a faboulous priest, loved by all of his parishoners and he has turned the parish around. One day whilst out driving the black cab that he does to raise a bit of cash for the parish hall, he meets Sarah. That's where things begin to change - he's a priest, he's taken a vow of celibacy, he's not allowed to fall in love - but fall he does, and so does Sarah.
An absolute gem of a book, I enjoyed every page and am off to track down his other novels straight away.
I laughed out loud within the first 3 pages, and continued to laugh all the way through, until the end where I cried - not because it's sad, but because despite the humour, the ending is perfect and wonderful and made me go all warm and gooey!!
If you are Catholic, you will nod your head in agreement many times, if you are Irish Catholic, you will nod your head, and recognise every emotion that the young Frank Dempsey goes through as he sits through Mass in his local church.
Wonderfully comic - this is the story of Father Frank, a Catholic priest who doesn't believe in God. Father Frank kind of blagged his way into priesthood but he is a faboulous priest, loved by all of his parishoners and he has turned the parish around. One day whilst out driving the black cab that he does to raise a bit of cash for the parish hall, he meets Sarah. That's where things begin to change - he's a priest, he's taken a vow of celibacy, he's not allowed to fall in love - but fall he does, and so does Sarah.
An absolute gem of a book, I enjoyed every page and am off to track down his other novels straight away.
March 29, 2016
Funny read about a young man who goes into the priesthood because there is nothing else he is good at and this is the only viable option.... Frank doesn't believe in God. Everyone loves him. He gets things donel He drives a taxi left to him by a parishoner; donations instead of fares are taken.
There's just one thing ... Father Frank has just met a woman who makes his heart pound.
From his studying theology at uni to his ultimate decision at the end, it is a great and often amusing read.
There's just one thing ... Father Frank has just met a woman who makes his heart pound.
From his studying theology at uni to his ultimate decision at the end, it is a great and often amusing read.
September 15, 2020
’I did get a calling, but only in the way that everything you ever do is in response to some sort of calling.’
I was recommended this story by a friend after a conversation about how I would make a pretty good priest, if only I believed in God. She’s of the mind I should become a priest anyway.
This was a sweet story. Unique. A light-hearted tale of purpose and meaning and love, with a humourous reflection on the Catholic church, observing its strangeness with a friendly eye.
And it had short chapters (often no more than 5 pages), which I love – makes it so easy for just reading that little bit more…
I think I'd hoped for a little further exploration into the feelings and thoughts of the characters, about religion and belief and purpose, and what this all means to them, and the nature of lying and deception and what God even is… but this was a rather light-hearted fluffy read so it never got too deep. Sometimes it did dip a toe into darker deeper waters (like ) but it never got too buried in these things and they were solved and smoothed out fairly quickly.
There wasn’t much room for character development – Frank being Frank always knew exactly what to do to come out top in his smooth way – and even the romance element had little room for growth, since the reader always knew Frank’s and Sarah’s feelings were reciprocated, so that slightly took a bit of the excitement out of that.
Anyway, overall it was a cute read. I liked it. It was different. And funny. And I did like the ending. It was sweet.
PS. I know someone who volunteers for a local hospital radio, who I’m not sure would appreciate the rather strong viewpoint held of them in this book haha (though I am in no position to judge of course).
November 10, 2017
An easy read. Interesting look at life, the priesthood, love of community and the need for love and intimacy. It was first published in 2001, and begins its story in about 1970 in London.
Initially I thought it wasn't for me and just read the beginning and the end. Then I thought that was a bit weak of me and read it in a couple of days. I liked Frank, thought I would have liked to know Sarah a bit better. The story was though mostly about Fr Frank, fair enough.
It was quite a funny and insightful look at Catholics. I think the truth is, though, many in the congregation would have harboured some similar doubts as Fr Frank, about believing in the virgin birth, Jesus as the son of God, the trinity, the resurrection, the infallibility of the pope, etc.
Reading the book I remembered Fr Frank's beliefs were quite similar to the thoughts of Fr Ted's offsider, Fr Dougal, from the TV show first screened three years prior in 1998.
Initially I thought it wasn't for me and just read the beginning and the end. Then I thought that was a bit weak of me and read it in a couple of days. I liked Frank, thought I would have liked to know Sarah a bit better. The story was though mostly about Fr Frank, fair enough.
It was quite a funny and insightful look at Catholics. I think the truth is, though, many in the congregation would have harboured some similar doubts as Fr Frank, about believing in the virgin birth, Jesus as the son of God, the trinity, the resurrection, the infallibility of the pope, etc.
Reading the book I remembered Fr Frank's beliefs were quite similar to the thoughts of Fr Ted's offsider, Fr Dougal, from the TV show first screened three years prior in 1998.
August 18, 2019
Pleasant summer read
Read this on holiday. Great feel good story. The main character, Father Frank, is likable and generally an all round good egg. The plot moves on at a good steady pace and Ll bit together well.
Read this on holiday. Great feel good story. The main character, Father Frank, is likable and generally an all round good egg. The plot moves on at a good steady pace and Ll bit together well.
July 22, 2021
I first read this book 20 years ago. I thought about it the other week...or a particular scene from it, and decided to take it off the shelf to re-read. I remembered a funny, liggt hearted book with a message tucked in there. That still held. A good summer read.
December 27, 2023
Mr Burke I would love to spend time with Father Frank ...thank you for having the brave honest to ask the questions (about religions and god and stuff) that are always in my head.
This book touched my heart, made me question, made me laugh....and is such an easy read...a delight.....
This book touched my heart, made me question, made me laugh....and is such an easy read...a delight.....
August 1, 2018
Had been sitting in my bookshelf for ages and Jaimie suggested I give this one a go as she enjoyed it. Good light-hearted read.
July 3, 2022
The corniest ending ever, but well written and funny. Good holiday reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2012
I am a great fan of books written about life in the UK; even more so if they were Irish and Scottish ones. Thus, when I came across Paul Burke’s Father Frank I read it earnestly. The book was gloriously funny and enlightening.
This was a life of an Irish boy growing up in England, in the 70s, which eventually led to his Catholic priesthood. The story itself was not fabulous but intrigued me nonetheless. You see, the boy definitely did not have faith to start with but he became a very good priest all the same - from purely a non-religious perspective that is.
The boy was Father Francis Dempsey and he was delightful. His continued self-inspection and soul-searching questions about Catholicism as he transcended to priesthood were indeed clever, tongue-in-cheek arguments about the Christian faith. These were questions that you and I have asked one time or another in our lives – whether we were Christians or not.
Anyway there are other important parts to this story too but what I liked most about this book was that the author did not make fun of the Seminary in any way that made it offensive. Rather I found it quite liberating. Priests are human after all and that mandatory celibacy vow is, in all honesty, a debilitating ‘sentence’. Father Frank smartly rationalised this and other Christian beliefs for us.
Paul Burke’s maiden book has all the fun and serious stuff poured into one extremely joyful bucket of faith, life’s lessons, seeking destinies and above all - finding love.
If God read this book, He would say “Well what ya know? Here’s Frank who dared to make fun of my laws…and was absolutely right to do so too. Let’s give him a hand shall we – bravo my boy, bravo!”
This was a life of an Irish boy growing up in England, in the 70s, which eventually led to his Catholic priesthood. The story itself was not fabulous but intrigued me nonetheless. You see, the boy definitely did not have faith to start with but he became a very good priest all the same - from purely a non-religious perspective that is.
The boy was Father Francis Dempsey and he was delightful. His continued self-inspection and soul-searching questions about Catholicism as he transcended to priesthood were indeed clever, tongue-in-cheek arguments about the Christian faith. These were questions that you and I have asked one time or another in our lives – whether we were Christians or not.
Anyway there are other important parts to this story too but what I liked most about this book was that the author did not make fun of the Seminary in any way that made it offensive. Rather I found it quite liberating. Priests are human after all and that mandatory celibacy vow is, in all honesty, a debilitating ‘sentence’. Father Frank smartly rationalised this and other Christian beliefs for us.
Paul Burke’s maiden book has all the fun and serious stuff poured into one extremely joyful bucket of faith, life’s lessons, seeking destinies and above all - finding love.
If God read this book, He would say “Well what ya know? Here’s Frank who dared to make fun of my laws…and was absolutely right to do so too. Let’s give him a hand shall we – bravo my boy, bravo!”
August 26, 2008
Father Frank is a catholic priest who doesn't believe in God.
He's such a lovable character, drives a taxi around London to raise funds and gets all the builders from the local Irish community to give their services for free to restore the church hall. Everything's going swimmingly until Sarah Marshall gets in his cab and starts to challenge his vows.
I loved this, a nice easy weekend read, you can't help but get into Frank's head. All the way through I pictured him being played by the guy who plays Liam in Coronation Street.
He's such a lovable character, drives a taxi around London to raise funds and gets all the builders from the local Irish community to give their services for free to restore the church hall. Everything's going swimmingly until Sarah Marshall gets in his cab and starts to challenge his vows.
I loved this, a nice easy weekend read, you can't help but get into Frank's head. All the way through I pictured him being played by the guy who plays Liam in Coronation Street.
July 25, 2007
Paul Burke writes a wondefully warm, engaging story that explores the complexities of relationships and ponders the meaning of spirituality in the modern world. I really enjoyed how he incorporates music. Reading this book gave me a fresh perspective on life. And I can't remember when last a book made me laugh as loudly as Father Frank did.
Read
November 19, 2009I really enjoyed it! A really funny book - I loved Father Frank! I was laughing throughout the whole book, and was really wondering what would happen at the end - but it was an awesome ending :D
I'm going to have to see if Paul has written anything else!
The person who I'm staying with in Kents mother has said she'd like to read it, so I'm going to release it to her :-)
I'm going to have to see if Paul has written anything else!
The person who I'm staying with in Kents mother has said she'd like to read it, so I'm going to release it to her :-)
August 14, 2016
his is a story about a Roman Catholic priest who runs his North London parish whilst harbouring an almighty secret: he doesn't believe in God. This doesn't stop him from being hugely successful, if a little unconventional in his work. He raises money by driving a London taxi and everything is going well until Sarah hops into his cab and into his life.
September 25, 2012
One of the best books I have ever read. Father Frank is a character who despite his questionable reasons for joining the priesthood, is actually a decent and selfless human being, forgoing his own pleasure for that of helping others genuinely despite not believing in Christ.
February 6, 2014
I enjoyed this debut novel. Some interesting philosophical questions, if you want to be deep and meaningful; or a lighthearted comedy romance. Whichever way you take it it left me wanting to read more by this author.
July 23, 2007
This book was absolutely hilarious. I couldn't put it down. It showed a huge insight by the author into the Catholic faith but also a great writing style. Quite a light read.
July 24, 2016
Really cute
May 26, 2009
paul burke proved that he can write a very good book. i enjoyed reading this one and im looking up fr another book by paul.
Read
December 18, 2009Want my friends to read this. Charming and different.
October 12, 2010
Great little read, lighthearted, and funny.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2010
Still charming, still nice.
Only bit that was annoying: Why did the author everytime mention the freshly washed hair of Sarah?
Only bit that was annoying: Why did the author everytime mention the freshly washed hair of Sarah?
August 6, 2011
Very funny. Catholics in the 60s and 70s in London.
November 9, 2012
Brilliant, humourous, read it in one sitting...could not put it down!
October 2, 2013
The book was funny!! But I didn't like the ending! Just find something else to read. haha:D
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews