Fall From Grace: A Novel of the Jesuit Utopian Villages in Colonial Paraguay

Borrowing from the true story of the Jesuit's missionary zeal during the 1700's in South America and their centuries long work with the native Indians to bring them into the 18th Century, Fall From Grace tells a tale of temptation and savagery lost to our present day readers. With painstaking reality this historical novel follows Father Juan's overwhelming project of leading an isolated village of 5000 Indians toward Christianity and a European work ethic. The temptations of a pagan Indian society filled with promiscuous women and hard drinking men puts obstacles before him never thought of in his religious training. The Indian's love of freedom and resistance to European values tests Father Juan as nothing he has ever known before. When his Utopian village falls to the capricious political moves of his superiors in Spain, he and his tribe escape to find safety and happiness deep in the interior of Paraguay above the majestic, Iguzusa Falls. Step back in time and place yourself in a humble man's shoes, a man racked with desire yet shackled by his faith.