Book Review

Framing Faith: A Pictorial History of Communities of Faith is a new book that tells some of the history of the Diocese of Scranton via the stories of ten Catholic churches.  This is history mixed with photos predominately of these ten parishes.  It starts out by giving an overview of the Diocese of Scranton with the history of the area and the jobs such as coal mining that brought people there.  The background of the prominent industries is given and then a history of all the bishops of this diocese up to the present day.  I found some of this rather interesting especially the story of one bishop when many of these parishes started.

The history of this diocese is probably repeated in part across the country.  Immigrants coming into the area is what drove creation of the diocese and of course the increase in parishes.  Again like much of the country these immigrant parishes were often ethnically defined with the majority of people being of a specific ethnicity along with the pastor.  These churches were funded by the poor immigrants who often lent a hand in their building assisting even after a full day of work mining.  The parish was a central part of social and family life where besides the liturgy traditions from their home-countries were maintained.

A history of then churches is given from their very start and details such as first baptism, wedding, etc along with the line of pastors to the present day.  The architecture of these parish churches was influenced by the architecture predominant in their home countries with variations.  Most of these churches are quite beautiful and were mostly built somewhat prior to 1900 or sometime not that far after.  Some of these churches have since been closed down in recent years and this book wants to give a remembrance of them.  The histories of these parishes is often quite similar where a need from some community desires being able to attend a church closer to them and they appeal to the bishop for a new parish.  Some of the histories are quite tumultuous do to various problems such as strains of the heresy of americanism in trying to own the property of the local parish along with decisions on parish priests.  Quite similar to the problem that played out in Diocese of St. Louis where St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish went into schism over this issue.  Another parish had problems involving the Polish schism.  There were also other difficulties such as some of these churches being burned to the ground and having to be totally replaced.  Another problem for the area was that many of these churches were built over coal tunnels that were not always stable leading to architecture flaws and cracks.

I rather enjoyed this book and I would like to see something similar done for all diocese in that this continuity with the past is certainly something within the Catholic faith. My own parish has a interesting history in that it was burned down during the Civil War and pieces of the organ taken away as souvenirs by the Union troops. I would certainly like to know more details of the priests and bishops who served. One caveat I had with the book was the repeated unquestioned assumption that the Second Vatican II Council mandated architectural changes when documents like Sacrosanctum Concilium did no such thing. I found some of the pictures sad in that really beautiful churches had been renovated with less than beautiful altars and plenty of Captain Kirk chairs. Though this is a familiar story, though some of these churches did maintain their marble high altars and communion rails. Interestingly one piece of history in the book was one pastor in the 1940s who took out the communion rails and replaced the marble high altar with a much plainer wooden one. The Spirit of Vatican II must have time-warped back to him.

Caveat: This book was sent to me for review.

I just finished reading Henryk Sienkiewicz’s “Quo Vadis: a narrative of the time of Nero” and I am stunned by it’s brilliance. Quo Vadis is a novel that takes place during the time of Nero and follows the story of a patrician and military leader who falls in love with one of Nero’s state hostages who turns out to be a Christian. This is a novel of love and conversion and the struggles the young patrician encounters between his Roman upbringing and ego of deserving all he has as it meets the teachings of Christ. The novel casts it eyes on Nero, the Christian community including St. Peter and St. Paul, and then the burning of Rome and the persecution of the Christians as scape-goats. The title Quo Vadis s a Latin phrase meaning “Where are you going?” or “Whither goest thou?” taken from the legend that as St. Peter leaves Rome to escape he encounters Jesus and on the way and asks him Quo Vadis and Jesus replies “I am going to Rome to be crucified again.”

The novel feels totally authentic in that the plot and dialogue seems totally historically consistent and you feel more like it was a novel written at the time of the events. There is plenty of tensions and suspense as the plot unfolds and the characters are ones you come to really know. So many events arise between the young Christian woman Ligia and the patricia Marcus Vinicius that explore the depths of faith. You get a feeling of the struggles Vinicius has and overcomes that rings true as a conversion story. This novel just has so much depth and brilliant storytelling that it has left me totally in awe of what Henryk Sienkiewicz achieved with this work. I can totally understand why he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his lifetime of work.

I find it rather interesting how this story tells of this deep love that grows between Ligia and Vinicius and their love of Christ since the novel is written shorty after Henryk Sienkiewicz wife left him not long after he was married. His marriage was later annulled by the Pope. Despite this tragedy in his life he wrote a novel filled with a Gospel that leaves you tearing in many parts.

There have been several movie versions of this novel and while I have seen the 1951 version which was fine, like is almost always the case the book eclipses it totally.

As this novel was written in 1895 you can find it on Project Gutenberg for download. I listened to the audiobook version which is available for free at Librivox. This recording of the novel I found to be quite well-done and really the equal to the narration of professional audiobooks.

Between the Savior and the Sea is a new book by Bob Rice who is a musician, speaker, and Assistant Professor of Catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville. This novel based on the Gospels cover the time between Jesus’ calling of Peter and the resurrection. As such it is not a straight life of Jesus in trying to interweave the four Gospels, but a novel that focuses on Peter in regards to Jesus’ ministry. Some of the events of the Gospel are rearranged in time or left out to concentrate on the story telling.

As a novel I found much of it to be a rich meditation and I really liked the interactions among the Apostles and the portrayal of the political environment of the time and the different groups. Some aspects of the Gospels such as the disciples going out to preach I haven’t thought too much about, but I enjoyed how this was shown. As a novel an there is is much that is not from the Gospels with events and dialog being being mixed with what is known from the Gospels. That being said I did not find any of this added content to be at odds with the Gospel, but enhancing the story quite plausibly with various sub-plots and character interactions. My only quibble with the book is that the dialog is quite modern in phrase and can sometimes be disconcerting. Though writing it in such a way is a valid option considering that attempts to make it sound like historical dialog would be only an approximation and guess on dialog of this time. This novel is also written with a slight touch of humor and one line had me laughing out loud.

I am currently reading Quo Vadis which also focuses on Peter and the two novels are a timely coincidence in that they nicely dovetail together. While “Between the Savior and the Sea” is not the equivalent of the brilliance of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Quo Vadis it is still a very worthwhile read that tells the story well and might even add some nice imaginative detail in your prayer life.

Disclosure: Bob Rice sent me a copy of his novel and $20 bucks for a favorable review. Well not really, but he did send me a copy of his novel.

Recently I have been reviewing some of the works of Kevin O’Brien. Previously I have reviewed three books he narrated for Ignatius Press where I both enjoyed the books read and his voice talent. This time I am reviewing an audiobook, his own book, and a DVD from his show Theater of the Word.

As a Chesterton fan Manalive is one of my all time favorite novels of his and really one of my all time favorite novels. This story Innocent Smith seems to me to often be the story of G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton was a man deeply thankful for all things and would go beyond stopping and smelling the roses, but stopping and noticing he had two legs. This novel also reminds me of some aspects of his The Napoleon of Notting Hill in the court that occurs in the house. His idea of neighborhoods becoming sovereign translates in to the same for homes.

This is my second read of the novel and even though I was quite aware of how the plot would resolve itself, it was still great fun chocked full of Chesterton’s wisdom and his view of life. Innocent Smith is such an interesting character who shows that he is not the oddball and the one crazy, but ourselves as we settle down to life not seeing things afresh.

I listened to the just released Audiobook version of Manalive as put out by Ignatius Press. Chestertonian and actor Kevin O’Brien is wonderful as usual as once again he acts as a whole cast of players and gives us a version of Manalive I think Chesterton would have liked. Available here

“The Church of the Kevin” is a short book which uses material from his newsletter for his comedy murder mysteries he performed across the country along with some essays from his blog. Like most humor directed pieces it is hit and miss, but mostly hit. There is a lot of funny stuff contained. I especially liked his re-imagining of “It’s a wonderful life” where Clarence is a materialistic determinist with a major in moral relativism. Another funny bit was his take off on the million monkey-infinite time-Shakespeare meme that takes it in an interesting direction considering how inane the original meme is.

I really liked the essays in the section of the book “Trying to be serious” which combined both humor and critical content, a combination I especially enjoy and one in which Kevin O’Brien pulls off quite well. The Guide to Bad Homilies would have been especially funny if it wasn’t especially true – though we often laugh because something is true. His spending of a Christmas with relatives and the conversations that ensued considering that their points of view did not match Kevin’s in the realm of the Church and morality showed an issue we often come against ourselves along with some commentary on Seinfield and The Office. “How to make bad art” was an essay on the subject close to my heart considering just how much bad Christian/Catholic art there is out there from statues and paintings to film. What Christians are willing to accept as the height of art is quite depressing to me.

The last section included some poems. Now I generally have a poetic tin ear, but I enjoyed Kevin’s poems. Though that might not exactly be a ringing endorsement for him. Here is a sample of one that I really liked.

A Triolet for Pagan-Christians
Oh, come, oh come, enneagram
And save us from His precious love
We pimp ourselves for Fraud and Sham
Oh, come, oh come, enneagram
Who needs the Father, Son, and Dove?
Oh, come, oh come, enneagram
And save us from His precious love

The Church of the Kevin

“In 2007 Fr. Joseph Fessio of Ignatius Press and Archbishop Raymond Burke, then archbishop of St. Louis, teamed with actor and playwright Kevin O’Brien to launch a production company to spread the Gospel message through stage, film, television, audio recordings and the internet. Inspired by the clandestine theater company run by Karol Wojtyla in Nazi occupied Poland, also called the Theater of the Word, this traveling company seeks to evangelize through drama.”

As part of the Theater of the Word one of the shows they created is “The Honor of Israel Gow” which is one of the Father Brown mysteries from G.K. Chesterton. Kevin’s portray of Father Brown was quite inspired even if physically he doesn’t quite match the Father Brown I envisioned from the descriptions in the book. He does portray that spark and intensity of Father Brown quite well. Again as a critic of much of Catholic media I was happy to see that this show was well produced and the location shooting added to the story. Frank C. Turner who played Israel Gow was really perfect for the part. There is even an appearance from the great promoter of Chesterton – Dale Alquist. There was something missing though from the performance of the actor who played Flambeau though. Overall this was a solid performance of a Father Brown story. This can be obtained via EWTN Catalog.

I admit to being a bit of a Marcus Grodi fanboy. I’ve watched the Journey Home on EWTN since the very first episode in I believe 1997 which coincided with my increased investigation of the Catholic Church. I’ve even read his book of fiction “How firm a foundation.” So I was quite happy to receive a review copy of “Thoughts for the Journey Home.”

One of the things I have enjoyed about his show is that while the majority of guests are Protestant converts they appreciate what they learned as Protestants while at the same time rejoicing in receiving the fullness of the faith in the Catholic Church. The shows are never angered snipes at Protestantism, but more a reasoned awareness of the flaws inherent in Protestantism and also a acknowledgment that more unites us than divides us. Though this is also pretty much true of all Protestant coverts and not just the ones that were on the Journey Home.

Marcus Grodi as a convert himself is an excellent example of this attitude and this new book presents a thoughtful look at the Journey Home. It is only part autobiographical as Marcus thinks about a range of topics concerning conversion and the problems for mainly Protestant converts and of course the problems Protestant clergy have in adapting from what might have been a fairly well paid job to a very uncertain future. I have come to greatly admire those who have stepped out in the deep believing the truth of the Catholic Church while having other difficulties ranging from friends and family not happy with such a conversion.

Marcus has had years to think about this subject and of course took action with his Coming Home Network International to help converts and so has much experience in this area. Thus his thoughts on the subject are well worth reading even at a general level. While the book certainly has apologetic potentials it goes on to look at many human factors in conversions and various difficulties. Marcus Grodi is also skilled at making worthwhile parallels to make a subject understood that reminded me to some extent of Jesus’ parables that took the common subjects such as farming to make a point. Marcus Grodi does the same thing here and currently living on a farm takes some similar approaches. I really like one chapter comparing the Church to a football team that kind of takes off from the Body of Christ and at the same time shows that it is rather silly to blame the quarterback when the rest of the team is underperforming. We often seem to think of bishops/priests in this way forgetting we are also on the team and have our important roles to play also.

A part of this book is also addresses the struggles of the Christian life and growth in holiness that affects us all as his book of short essays covers a range of topics written in his engaging manner. The last section addresses the history of the Coming Home Network International along with a short history of EWTN.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Thoughts for the Journey Home. They are also a great source for serenity prayer and baptism gifts.

What do you get when you have a book of eclectic quotes from books of fiction, TV, movies, blogs, and scripture and then add short pithy reflections after each quote or set of quotes? Why you get the new book Happy Catholic: Glimpses of God in Everyday Life
by Julie Davis from the blog Happy Catholic.

The book starts with a short version of her conversion story from non-belief from a family of non-believers and the initial event that started moving her to accept grace and then a realization that struck her after a period of trying to test God. Her conversion story itself is quite interesting and not quite what I expected. She as a lifelong book lover only turned to theology and books on the spiritual life after becoming a Catholic.

Her quote journal has been put to good effect on her blog and this fruit is what drives this book. The quotes in an of themselves our interesting and they really span a variety of sources and the quotes are often not spiritual in nature – at least at first blush. What Julie has done though is adding short reflections on these quotes and how they struck her. As she demonstrates these passages of thought can hit you in different ways as we live our lives. A quote or a plot point that might have struck us one way when we were not living our faiths can take on a deeper or more significant meaning when we come into faith. I really liked her short pithy reflections since they made their points simply and did not try to hammer them home over and over in added verbiage. Some can write long reflections that are quite worthy of the time and some have the gifts to writer shorter ones that also can jog your mind into seeing something.

Now Julie is a self-confessed book skimmer in that she often will skim through a book and then come back later and re-read it. I am not as much of a book skimmer and certainly did not skim through this book for fear of overlooking a good nugget. It also did not hurt that Julie pulled her quotes from areas and sources I also love. To have a book quoting Alice Cooper (now an Evangelical), Futurama, Firefly, SF Movies, and a vast swath of culture not in the SF realm is certainly to my taste, but her reflections should benefit all.

I simply loved this book. I’m not just saying that because she even pulled a paragraph from my blog for inclusion in her book. It is rather cool to find something you wrote quoted. I loved her book even if she pulled from sources such as my blog. I am of the Groucho Marx camp in that I would not join a club that would have me as a member.

One quote of hers I really loved in this book is this “It is my blessing and my curse, I suppose. While I’m laughing, I’m always thinking.” Wow, this is something I can certainly relate to. Though readers of this book will also find themselves laughing and thinking in that she has the gift of making serious points with humor.

You can even get an autographed copy here.

It does seem rather superfluous to review Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection on a Catholic blog. For my own mindset a new book written by the Pope, even if as a private theologian, is all the incentive I need.  It’s not as if I need to wait to see reviews come in to decide to buy it.  Especially since this book is a continuation of the first book in what the Pope hopes will be completed by a third book.

My advice would be simply to just buy it, borrow it, etc.

Instead I will just give some quick thoughts about the book.  Again the Pope is showing his approach to Biblical scholarship and theology.  He fully engages all the modern tools of Biblical exegesis while also applying the analogy of faith.  He knows the limits of the modern tools, but also sees how they can be used to good purpose.  The same goes with interacting with the scholarship of predominately German scripture scholars along with others.  He can take what is good from the writings of Rudolf Bultmann while remaining skeptical of Bultmann’s excessive skepticism in what Biblical texts could be accepted. His openness in engaging ideas from others was demonstrated in the first book of this series in regards to Rabbi Jacob Neusner, and really his whole life as a theologian has demonstrated this.

As the Pope writes in the beginning of this book this series is not intended as a life of Christ.  What he does though is like a life of Christ in structure where he follows questions in scriptural scholarship that intrigue him.  He does not try to cover everything and highlights areas he finds interesting.  For example in his discussion of whether the Last Supper was a Passover meal he presents several lines of scholarship on the subject that are fascinating and while some of these ideas he obviously is skeptical of – he does not dismiss them out of hand and again is open to discovering the truth.  Even in areas where you think this is the conclusion he most accepts, his language is never definitive.  Partly he is careful since he is writing as a private theologian and not as Pope, but mainly I think this is the deep humility he has always shown in his writings.

As is almost certainly always the case the few bits the media found in the book they considered newsworthy are really nothing and certainly not the most important parts of the book to highlight.  His writing on blaming the Jewish people for the death of Christ are nothing new and really nothing different than what was written as part of Vatican II.
As for Lenten reading the book is perfect as it covers Holy Week and gives you much to think about. I just hope we don’t have to wait another four years for part 3.

The book is also available through Ignatius Press and of course your local book store. I bought the eBook version from Ignatius Press since I prefer eBooks that are DRM free.

J. Budziszewski was an Evangelical who converted to the Catholic Church in 2004. His book on the Natural Law “What we can’t not know” was published by Spence around the same time. Recently Ignatius Press has issued an expanded version of this book with a new preface and updated content. Natural Law theory was something I wanted to go deeper into and so I got this book after seeing it mentioned at Insight Scoop.

I’m glad that I did since What We Can’t Not Know: A Guide is a very good introduction into the Natural Law and really answered some of the questions that I had.  The author describes that the book is for “The persuaded, the half-persuaded, and the wish-I-were-persuaded.”

He shows the history of the Natural Law series which was first proposed prominently in Stoicism and has been advanced by all major religious traditions to some extent.  This book clears up so many preconceptions on the Natural Law about what it is and what it isn’t.  There is certainly much confusion on these points that I have found among Catholics. There has always been a tension between “What we can’t not know” and how we act and that tension is what people often use to deny the Natural Law.  Acting contrary to the Natural Law is an aspect of concupiscence and there are many ways that what the Natural Law theorists call the “four witnesses” to the Natural Law can in part be suppressed.  Rationalizations and cultural trends can make it harder for us to hear our deep conscience and the other witnesses – but those witnesses are still there regardless.

The writing itself is very good and fits the target audience exactly.  I learned much from it and I especially enjoyed the section where is presents arguments against the Natural Law as a conversation between two people.  Common objections are presented and answered in a natural conversationalist way.  This was really exactly what I was looking for in explaining the Natural Law.

This book is available at Ignatius Press in both Paperback and eBook editions.

Thankfully much of the silly season when it comes to Catholic scripture scholars is over and the new breed of Catholic scripture scholars are not likely to get their views displayed on the History or Discovery Channel.

This comes to mind after reading Brant Pitre’s new book released today Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper. When it comes to the Eucharist, the better understanding that we have of the Eucharist in the Jewish context the better understanding we have of the Eucharist itself. It was a fulfillment of the Old Testament and gave in that what came before became fully realized. The God-given manna which nourished the Israelites physically when brought to the fullness nourishes us spiritually as the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.

Brant Pitre has focused on the Old Testament along with several non-scriptural sources of Jewish writing to fully give us an understanding of the Eucharist from its Jewish roots. He starts by looking at the Last Supper and how Jesus’ words must have gone beyond surprising from a Jewish point of view. We so often hear the words of institution at Mass and have accepted them that it is so easy to forget what they meant to the Jews of that time when it came to eating his body and blood. Even if you saw the blood as pure symbolism it would still be upsetting to Jewish ears and the commandment not to eat the blood of the sacrifice.

He goes on to discuss what was the idea the people had of the coming Messiah. We have often heard that they expected a political Messiah and like so many common facts it isn’t exactly true. Some expected a more political Messiah, but the majority expected a new Moses with all that entails. A new Exodus, Passover, and a Manna that was something more and given perpetually. He spends chapters discussing the Exodus and a new Passover along with the Manna. There is much information passed on here and all of it worthwhile. While I have read many of the ideas presented before in other books, I found the chapter the on Bread of the Presence most interesting in that I haven’t seen much on this topic before other than just passing information. There is a much deeper connection with the Bread of the Presence and the Eucharist that I had suspected and the Eucharist is much more than just a fulfillment of the Manna.

Much of this information comes together on the Last Supper as the new Passover and a discussion of the Four Cups. The connecting of the drinking of the Four Cups of wine in a Passover meal and Jesus’ institution of the new Passover and his sacrifice is not new information and as the author admits is is speculative. This idea as popularized by Scott Hahn and supported by earlier Protestant scripture scholars has the ring to it of truth along with the beauty of it pointing to the truth. Brant Pitre makes a thorough explanation for it here as the presentation he agrees with and certainly one that I also believe to be correct. As I said this chapter really brings the book together in the understanding of the Eucharist via Jewish eyes.

He goes on to explain how the information in the book is nothing new and then gives information from the Catechism and the Church Fathers in how they also saw this. He also relates a story about how he thought he had found something new in the Our Father in a Eucharistic tone that later he found exactly the same idea expressed in the Catechism. Well he is in good company since Dr. Scott Hahn has also expressed finding the same thing himself in that what he thought was original was already known by the Church. Often though a theological understanding once known gets lost or at least not focused on and so good books bringing these truths to our eyes are well worthwhile. Brant Pitre has certainly done a good and thorough job here of a scholarly presentation written for every Catholic.

I just finished “A Cry of Stone” by Michael D. O’Brien which is part of his loose series “Children of the Last Days”. I have now read all of his fiction except “Island of the World” which I am sure I will get to. As with all of his books I certainly enjoyed it even though an O’Brien novel is usually anything but fast-paced.

A Cry of Stone is the fictional account of the life of a native artist, Rose Wâbos. Abandoned as an infant, Rose is raised by her grandmother, Oldmary Wâbos, in the remotest regions of the northern Ontario wilderness. The story covers a period from 1940 to 1973, chronicling Rose’s growth to womanhood, her discovery of art, her moving out into the world of cities and sophisticated cultural circles.

The reason this book was the last in the series I read is because the basic plot doesn’t sound very enticing. People often name the “Father Elijah” novel as their favorite O’Brien novel and I think partly it is because the apocalyptic plot is so intriguing and such an antithesis to the badly written and never ending Left Behind novels. A Cry of Stone though is now my favorite novel of his even if it does not contain the excitement of “Father Elijah.” O’Brien as a novelist is much like O’Brien the painter and iconographer. Icons portray a spiritual reality seemingly distorted in our eyes full of symbolic meanings. An Icon is not painted overnight and takes time to properly display these symbolic meanings. O’Brien’s novels are much the same in that they are character driven following the main character over their life and you come to feel you really know the person and their spiritual life and this is done with a rich palette.

A Cry of Stone is also for me is O’Brien’s deepest novel and the character Rose Wâbos is so developed that I often felt I was reading more of an autobiography from a saint than I was reading a fictionalized novel. More like I was reading Saint Augustine’s “Confessions”. The story of native Rose Wâbos as she struggle through childhood with a developing deformity and being raised by her grandmother as she develops fully into an artist in her adulthood covers so many stages of her life and really shows life as a pilgrimage. In fact to really sum up the plot in one sentence.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. Colossians 1:24

Rose learns to take the many afflictions she has in her life and to unite them with Christ. Though this is a constant struggle even with her deep devotion to Christ as the “beating heart” and really portrays the temptations so common in life and especially in trying to fully live the spiritual life. Often this book led me to a sort of contemplative novel reading where I was so often drawn back during my day into thinking about the spiritual life and prayer at a deeper level.

Though it is not only the main character Rose who you come to know and love. There is a landscape of rich characters throughout the novel. No not characters, bigger than life — but ones full of life. Her grandmother, the teacher, the artist couple, the doll making sisters, and so forth are more than just plot devices, but people you come to care about and once again drawing you away from just reading a novel. There are common O’Brien elements within such as the anti-religous bureaucrats and the attitudes from others that Christianity is something for the past and that secularism is king. Criticism of the art world and so-called modern art is another thread shared by other novels in this series. This is certainly an area where I am fully in agreements with O’Brien’s criticisms.

The title of this novel also has a meaning at several levels and is a theme throughout. Even as you come to find the title in it’s explicit meaning — you also see how it is a common thread.

I am also reviewing the Audiobook version of this novel. At about 33 hours this Audiobook put out by Ignatius Press is an unabridged version of the 800 plus page novel. Kevin O’Brien of Theatre of the Word once again has done the reading for Ignatius Press. I have been quite impressed with Kevin’s work and the other Audiobooks I have recently reviewed he did. He has surpassed himself with this reading though. If I had the power to give Kevin the Oscar for his performance I would. I’ve listened to a fair amount of Audiobooks and Kevin’s various voices go beyond what I have heard in the past. When Rose is being drawn to prayer or crying out, Kevin does his best work and like the novel itself I feel a real person doing this. His voice for the artist who becomes a father to Rose is also especially deserving of praise and adds a perfect dimension to the man portrayed as if obviously this would be the voice of that character. I am not saying this just because Kevin was nice enough to send me some of his narration work he did for Ignatius Press.

The audiobook version is available at Ignatius Press for download.

Note: The Audiobook length on Ignatius Press’ site is 8:24:17. I don’t know if that is an error of if this was an abridged version. Of course they also have the paper copy and ebook versions of this book.