Priest

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child sexual abuse, gender discrimination, and sexual content.

The plot centers on conflicts between sex and Christianity. How do Tyler and Poppy overcome these conflicts? When do they bring sex and God together? In their own eyes, what makes their sex profane or immoral? Conversely, what makes their sex “holy”?

What type of protagonist is Tyler? How does he treat Poppy and interact with other people? Simone published Priest before the #MeToo movement became widely known, but how does Tyler anticipate the movement’s emphasis on consent?

Compare Priest with another book that mixes sex and Christianity. For example, what do Poppy and Tyler have in common with Hester from The Scarlet Letter? How does Tyler relate to Arthur Dimmesdale? Alternately, what parallels exist between Tyler and Doubt’s Father Flynn?