Michelle Huneven’s Search is a novel disguised
as the memoir of a Southern California writer named Dana. When
Dana’s Unitarian Universalist church launches a yearlong search
for a new minister, Dana decides that a behind-the-scenes look at
the workings of the search committee, of which she is a member, is
just the topic for her next book.
Anyone who’s served on a decision-making committee will recognize
the group dynamics — the differences in outlook and commitment,
squabbles, tensions, frustration, exasperation, and grudging
compromises the book describes in minute detail. Although this is
a religious congregation’s search, the story will not turn off the
nonreligious. The disagreements aren’t usually about theology, and
Unitarians are nondogmatic. The main fault line is between the old
guard and the young faction that wants more social activism in its
leader. Was the winning side’s candidate the right choice? The
answer seems clear as the memoir continues into the new minister’s
tenure.
What the search committee ate and drank at their meetings figures
prominently in the narrative, and recipes are included at the end
of the book. Huneven’s novel is backed by personal experience.
Like her protagonist, she is a former seminarian, food writer,
restaurant reviewer, and Unitarian Universalist.
Home
My reviews
My friends'
reviews