A Jesuit Tale

Rating:
Summary: Great story and compelling characters!
Review: "A Jesuit Tale" is a rich and compelling book. The story line grabbed my attention from the very beginning. I thought it deftly captured the nuances of more than twenty years of Catholic history: e.g., the enthusiasm for change after the Vatican II, the prophetic voice of liberation theology in the 1970s, and tensions between the Jesuits and the papacy in the 1980s. John Shekleton does a marvelous does a marvelous job spinning out a tale that vividly recreates the turmoil and excitement of those years.

But "A Jesuit Tale" is also a beautiful portrait of three different men's search to make sense out of their lives under the pull of their faith experiences. Shekleton has developed each of their characters in profound and surprising ways. They all find their own unique ways to integrate the hunger for God, their sense of vocation, their developing sexuality, and their commitment to one another. It's a great exploration of how people sort out sort out spirituality in the midst of everyday life.

Rating:
Summary: A Tale of Sacrifice, Intrigue and Friendship
Review: I found "A Jesuit Tale" rich in its depiction of church and social history, as well as engaging and magnetic in its weaving together the lives of its three central characters.

An understanding of Catholicism or the Jesuit order is by no means requisite knowledge for appreciating this fast-paced novel. In fact, you might say that "A Jesuit Tale" serves as a primer to introduce the reader to a unique and rather closed element of society; revealing a hidden treasure. It carefully examines the dynamic of self versus community and mission.

While the topic may appear heady, only a few pages of reading reveal how approachable, enaging and moving it is. I look forward to additional work by John Shekleton in the near future.

Rating:
Summary: Untrammeled Nonsense
Review: The author spends more time describing taut buttocks than describing his thinly-drawn, unsympathetic characters. This is less "a Jesuit Tale" than it is a self-absorbed psychology session. This took Shekleton FIVE YEARS to write? My God.

Rating:
Summary: TAKE, LORD, RECEIVE ALL MY LIBERTY
Review: There are still men on this planet who are willing to die for what they believe. Many of those men are Jesuits. This is a rare chance to look deeply inside their world. If you are a Catholic, you will be very happy that your ancient faith can still be rational and heroic, even in these times. If you are not Catholic, you will be entertained by a very good story of three interesting men, one of them gay, who, apart and together, live heroic lives far beyond what they expected when they first became Jesuits. They are "like combat buddies" because they went through Jesuit training together. It's a different world from anyone else's, a world more fully revealed in A JESUIT'S TALE than anywhere I have ever seen. It is also a suspense-filled adventure story that works on many levels: physically, spiritually and emotionally. This is a stunning achievement for a first novel. I can't wait for the author's next book. Shekleton has a unique and wonderful voice. I was enriched and entertained at the same time. You can't ask for more from any book.

Rating:
Summary: For Men Only
Review: This book gives an excellent contemporary snapshot of the cult life of the Jesuit, and the way male friendships can evolve within this organization as old as Henry VIII. Like any frame, it can "picture" only so much. Further reading recommended: books by John Shelby Spong, Dominic Crosan, and Karen Armstrong,for starters...to capture the PRESENT challenges to the very heart of the Society of Jesus as such. These authors show how the scriptural "pictures" of Jesus that are essetially incorporated into the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius are themselves being challenged profoundly today; these cleverly-written stories that Ignatius of Loyola thought were actually historical snapshots but are really, in the light of contemporary biblical research shown to be cleverly-written and inspired promotion scripts, and that what we really know of Jesus as a historical person is largely built upon conjecture.

Another important note: They guys portrayed are mid-west Wisconsin Province, founded through German Jesuits. There are 10 American Provinces, each with their own cultural character. Worldwide, inclusive of the U.S., there are nearly 90 provinces, all with their "tales" to tell...and what a story to be heard.

That being said, now read A JESUIT TALE with the eye and imagination of what happens NEXT to these wonderfully-crafted characters. Let your imagination soar!

Rating:
Summary: Untrammeled Nonsense
Review: This book gives an excellent contemporary snapshot of the cult life of the Jesuit, and the way male friendships can evolve within this organization as old as Henry VIII. Like any frame, it can "picture" only so much. Further reading recommended: books by John Shelby Spong, Dominic Crosan, and Karen Armstrong,for starters...to capture the PRESENT challenges to the very heart of the Society of Jesus as such. These authors show how the scriptural "pictures" of Jesus that are essetially incorporated into the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius are themselves being challenged profoundly today; these cleverly-written stories that Ignatius of Loyola thought were actually historical snapshots but are really, in the light of contemporary biblical research shown to be cleverly-written and inspired promotion scripts, and that what we really know of Jesus as a historical person is largely built upon conjecture.

Another important note: They guys portrayed are mid-west Wisconsin Province, founded through German Jesuits. There are 10 American Provinces, each with their own cultural character. Worldwide, inclusive of the U.S., there are nearly 90 provinces, all with their "tales" to tell...and what a story to be heard.

That being said, now read A JESUIT TALE with the eye and imagination of what happens NEXT to these wonderfully-crafted characters. Let your imagination soar!

Rating:
Summary: Self-absorbed
Review: What passes for a novel is a panegyric to a religious order in the Roman Catholic Church that has had its highs and lows. This novel attempts to follow three young men as they progress through the initial formation of the Society of Jesus and venture into the world of the Jesuit mission. Two of the three drop out before they are ordained. One remains to struggle with his faith, his sex life and his mission.

The characters take themselves very seriously which is common among young adults. They believe that their actions have an importance for the entire cosmos. This belief is fundamental to their formation as Jesuits. The Jesuits were founded, among other things, to defend the Pope against the Protestants. That particular mission does not receive much attention in this novel.

Fr. Tom finds himself in Guatemala where he experiences a conversion to devote his university teaching of Economics to demonstrate the injustice of the country's economic system. Naturally those in power are offended by this teaching. Where much of this part of the novel finds relevance in current events, the ending is particularly contrived. One wonders how the character of the priest sent by the Father General to Guatemala plays out. And who is Fr. Beltrane, who is quoted throughout the book? Is he some sort of Teilhard?

None of the three characters comes across convincingly. All three go through life conflicted about everything. At the enbd of the novel they are dispensed with peremptorially.

It was not a satisfying novel.

Rating:
Summary: Self-absorbed
Review: What passes for a novel is a panegyric to a religious order in the Roman Catholic Church that has had its highs and lows. This novel attempts to follow three young men as they progress through the initial formation of the Society of Jesus and venture into the world of the Jesuit mission. Two of the three drop out before they are ordained. One remains to struggle with his faith, his sex life and his mission.

The characters take themselves very seriously which is common among young adults. They believe that their actions have an importance for the entire cosmos. This belief is fundamental to their formation as Jesuits. The Jesuits were founded, among other things, to defend the Pope against the Protestants. That particular mission does not receive much attention in this novel.

Fr. Tom finds himself in Guatemala where he experiences a conversion to devote his university teaching of Economics to demonstrate the injustice of the country's economic system. Naturally those in power are offended by this teaching. Where much of this part of the novel finds relevance in current events, the ending is particularly contrived. One wonders how the character of the priest sent by the Father General to Guatemala plays out. And who is Fr. Beltrane, who is quoted throughout the book? Is he some sort of Teilhard?

None of the three characters comes across convincingly. All three go through life conflicted about everything. At the enbd of the novel they are dispensed with peremptorially.

It was not a satisfying novel.