Leaving Alexandria by Richard Holloway

Like the man himself, Richard Holloway’s autobiography is candid, entertaining and delightfully unstuffy. The former Bishop of Edinburgh traces a thoughtful path through the byways of his life, beginning with a modest upbringing in Dunbartonshire. It’s here that his lifelong love of the movies was ignited, and he ponders whether Hollywood inspired his search for heroic roles in his own life.

Looking back, he suggests the search might have been misjudged. “The tough lesson life teaches is the difference between who you would want to be and who you actually are.“ Holloway’s restless, open mind propelled him out of the monastic life and into the wider world, from the Gorbals to Ghana, Edinburgh to America. Peppered with prose and poetry, the book underlines a profound love of literature. Holloway’s own writing style is elegant and lucid, particularly when addressing religion.

Repelled by the supreme convictions of conservative evangelists, Holloway much prefers the quiet, doubting souls who seek to ameliorate the human condition. His support for the homeless and drug addicts, for gay marriage and women priests, has attracted hostility inside and beyond his church. But to his many admirers, Holloway will always be on the side of the angels.