The Bishop in the West Wing

Rating:
Summary: It Helps If You Are Irish!
Review: "The Bishop In The West Wing" by Andrew M. Greeley, 8 Cassettes, Audio Renaissance 2002.
There is a saying, "There are two kinds of people: the Irish and those that wish they were." The author, Rev. Andrew M. Greeley, may have used this saying for a theme in his this latest mystery. The newly elected president,an Irish Catholic, Jack McGurn, from Chicago, surrounds himself with a close staff that is Irish Catholic, and, artistic license,(patently) they are all portrayed as beautiful, bright, and filled with witty anecdotes and stories. The major exception in the close staff is an Italian Catholic Ph.D. from Brooklyn, the resident expert on China. Everything would be fine (except for the opposition of the usual Republicans and right wing radicals) but there is a poltergeist in the White House.

Fr. Greeley defines the poltergeist as a presence that causes a ruckus but does no real physical harm. (I checked on the Web, and there are plenty of examples where the poltergeist presence typically does some nasty physical things... example, biting a young girl on the behind and leaving teeth wounds.) But any way, artistic license again, (patently) and this White House poltergeist just throws things around; nothing or no one is hurt. She is constantly knocking down the portrait of George Washington in the West Wing. Bishop Blackie has to figure out which woman, of nine potential candidates, is the cause of all the ruckus. This is the central mystery in the book. By the way, all the candidates are beautiful, and all are Catholic, except the least good looking, a WASP with angular features. By the last cassette, the "elevator doors have opened" and the good Bishop has identified the culprit woman (patently).

Paul Michael did a great job on reading the book, with accents for all the characters, although I think that he only approximated a New York accent, not a Brooklyn accent, for lady Ph.D. expert on China. In my writing conferences, I am constantly being taught to throw out any thing, no matter how well I've written it, that does not advance the central theme or the plot. So, I do not understand why Fr. Greeley spent so much time on the conversation (almost an altercation) between the character of President McGurn and the bishop of Washington, DC. It advanced nothing in the story. Same thing with the references to stealing the Presidential election in Florida (in 2000). I counted at least three mentions. Finally, besides being a noted author, Andrew Greeley is an established sociologist. In that role, I would expect him to take notice of the fact that many Irish Catholics from big cities are no longer Democrats. As an Irish Catholic from NYC, I once was a Democrat. My oldest daughter came home from college and convinced me to register Republican (in Massachusetts!). My daughter and I and the other three children in the family are all Republicans. Sociologist Greeley should be aware of this shift in the newer generations of Irish Catholics.

Rating:
Summary: It Helps If You Are Irish!
Review: "The Bishop In The West Wing" by Andrew M. Greeley, 8 Cassettes, Audio Renaissance 2002.
There is a saying, "There are two kinds of people: the Irish and those that wish they were." The author, Rev. Andrew M. Greeley, may have used this saying for a theme in his this latest mystery. The newly elected president,an Irish Catholic, Jack McGurn, from Chicago, surrounds himself with a close staff that is Irish Catholic, and, artistic license,(patently) they are all portrayed as beautiful, bright, and filled with witty anecdotes and stories. The major exception in the close staff is an Italian Catholic Ph.D. from Brooklyn, the resident expert on China. Everything would be fine (except for the opposition of the usual Republicans and right wing radicals) but there is a poltergeist in the White House.

Fr. Greeley defines the poltergeist as a presence that causes a ruckus but does no real physical harm. (I checked on the Web, and there are plenty of examples where the poltergeist presence typically does some nasty physical things... example, biting a young girl on the behind and leaving teeth wounds.) But any way, artistic license again, (patently) and this White House poltergeist just throws things around; nothing or no one is hurt. She is constantly knocking down the portrait of George Washington in the West Wing. Bishop Blackie has to figure out which woman, of nine potential candidates, is the cause of all the ruckus. This is the central mystery in the book. By the way, all the candidates are beautiful, and all are Catholic, except the least good looking, a WASP with angular features. By the last cassette, the "elevator doors have opened" and the good Bishop has identified the culprit woman (patently).

Paul Michael did a great job on reading the book, with accents for all the characters, although I think that he only approximated a New York accent, not a Brooklyn accent, for lady Ph.D. expert on China. In my writing conferences, I am constantly being taught to throw out any thing, no matter how well I've written it, that does not advance the central theme or the plot. So, I do not understand why Fr. Greeley spent so much time on the conversation (almost an altercation) between the character of President McGurn and the bishop of Washington, DC. It advanced nothing in the story. Same thing with the references to stealing the Presidential election in Florida (in 2000). I counted at least three mentions. Finally, besides being a noted author, Andrew Greeley is an established sociologist. In that role, I would expect him to take notice of the fact that many Irish Catholics from big cities are no longer Democrats. As an Irish Catholic from NYC, I once was a Democrat. My oldest daughter came home from college and convinced me to register Republican (in Massachusetts!). My daughter and I and the other three children in the family are all Republicans. Sociologist Greeley should be aware of this shift in the newer generations of Irish Catholics.

Rating:
Summary: Blackie Ryan is the Clerical Columbo
Review: Andrew Greeley's Blackie Ryan mysteries are like my favorite candy; there's never enough! While Grreely's mysteries aren't "edge of the seat", "nail-biting affairs", the protagonist, Bishop Blackie Ryan, more than makes up for the softer sided "who-dun-it" that he is usally investigating through his own entertainly odd personality.

Blackie is drawn as a bumbling, scholarly Bishop who would appear to be "clueless" about most things going on around him. Greeley creates a countercultural Bishop in Blackie in that he is messy, wears a baseball jacket most of the time over his clerical shirt, hates a suitcoat and just gets put on end when he is expected to dress up in the full regalia of the Roman Catholic Bishop. He is an engaging and comical character that I am always expecting to be bumping into walls or falling down stairs. Yet, of course, appearances can be quite deceptive. Beneath the seeming absentmindedness, lies the eyes of a very present, keenly observant sleuth! Blackie laughs at his own schtick of appearing so utterly idiotic as to be dismissed by those around him. His style cleverly allows him to start to become "part of the woodwork". Well the woodwork always ends up with a birds eye view of what's happening in the midst of the confusion that is created as people nervously go about trying to act normal when fairly abnormal and rather strange things are afoot.

In the Bishop in the West Wing, Blackie is called to the White House to investigate the presence of a ghost of sorts. The ghost in question throws tantems by tossing around objects, pitching pictures off the wall in the Oval Office, moving furniture and just creating a kind of friendly havoc. Despite the fact that the ghost seems harmless and almost playful, Blackie is called to help the Chicago-native President restore a sense of propriety about the White House and to bring an end to "spirits" roaming free in the most important house in the world.

Blackie of course bumbles his way through the house, getting to know each of the people that he believes may know something about the ghost, ingratiating himself with the helpful staff and ultimately, finding the source of the White House hauntings.

A fun wholesome tale, exceedingly well written, led by a man one would hope to find more often in the woodwork of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy. Like candy, there are just never enough Blackie Ryan stories. Although, for the reader new to Andrew Greeley's Bishop Blackie series, there are quite a few of these to catch up with and I'm one reader who is fairly convinced that many will develop a very faithful following for Blackie's antic adventures. Delightful read!

Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Rating:
Summary: Blackie Ryan visits the White House
Review: Andrew Greeley's newest well-paced mystery will capture the reader's interest, as Blackie Ryan visits the White House to investigate a possible poltergeist. He's invited by President Jack McGrath, a Chicagoan of Irish descent, a widower whose enemies have tried to paint him as a womanizer. (See a previous reviewer's characterization of a possible "Clinton done right". I also wondered if that were Greeley's intent.)

McGrath is innocent of these allegations, as he is numb, locked into celibacy by grief over his wife's untimely death in a plane crash while campaigning. His two lively adolescent daughters connive to interest him in a brainy, attractive aide, but he hasn't the heart to pursue.

Greeley's usual blend of suspense, nuanced characterization, humor, and insight into the Irish and the church, provides the reader with another enjoyable tale. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Blackie Ryan goes to the White House
Review: Andrew Greeley's newest well-paced mystery will capture the reader's interest, as Blackie Ryan visits the White House to investigate a possible poltergeist. He's invited by President Jack McGrath, a Chicagoan of Irish descent, a widower whose enemies have tried to paint him as a womanizer. (See a previous reviewer's characterization of a possible "Clinton done right". I also wondered if that were Greeley's intent.)

McGrath is innocent of these allegations, as he is numb, locked into celibacy by grief over his wife's untimely death in a plane crash while campaigning. His two lively adolescent daughters connive to interest him in a brainy, attractive aide, but he hasn't the heart to pursue.

Greeley's usual blend of suspense, nuanced characterization, humor, and insight into the Irish and the church, provides the reader with another enjoyable tale. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Appealing Characters,
Review: Any book that mentions the name of my good friend (Bill Clinton) gets my attention ASAP... I enjoyed Andrew M. Greeley's "The Bishop in the West Wing. I found the storyline, dialogue, and characters to read true to life. An appealing combination.

John Savoy
Savoy International
Motion Pictures
B.H. California

Rating:
Summary: Appealing Characters,
Review: Any book that mentions the name of my good friend (Bill Clinton) gets my attention ASAP... I enjoyed Andrew M. Greeley's "The Bishop in the West Wing. I found the storyline, dialogue, and characters to read true to life. An appealing combination.

John Savoy
Savoy International
Motion Pictures
B.H. California

Rating:
Summary: Appealing Characters,
Review: Any book that mentions the name of my good friend (Bill Clinton) gets my attention ASAP... I enjoyed Andrew M. Greeley's "The Bishop in the West Wing. I found the storyline, dialogue, and characters to read true to life. An appealing combination.

John Savoy
Savoy International
Motion Pictures
B.H. California

Rating:
Summary: Last Greeley Book I'll read
Review: As others have said, this book is really an apology for the Democratic party. That would be fine, but I would expect better of someone of Father Greeley's intellect than repetitive phrases such as "Republicans have always been good at stealing things, especially elections." By the way, where was the ACLU when there was a mass said in the White House. A building belonging to the people of the United States, terrible, terrible, the sky will probably fall on us all now. I stopped in disgust three quarters of the way through the book. I had already figured out the ending anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Hurray for Our Side
Review: At last. Andrew M. Greely has had the courage to portray Democrats accurately - noble, enlightened, selfless and wise, like President McGurn - and to contrast the Republicans as the evil, vindictive election-stealers everyone knows they are.

Greely smoothly envelops the reader in America the way Saint Algore intended it to be, without annoyances like conservatives that make sense (really, ARE there any?), balanced viewpoints and uncomfortable political compromises. Principles are flexible, Democrats are clever, Republicans are oafish, and teenagers are witty and wise. The book squarely hits its target audience - those who think that to become President, you should be at least seventeen.

All the Democrat-boosting and Republican-bashing would ring a little false except for Greely's solid grounding in the real world. For example, when the Bishop witnesses a missle attack on the White House, he quickly writes down the license number of the fleeing vehicle. Then, he cleverly ignores the police, waits a half hour and gives it to, who else, the President's China advisor. Such episodes lend stunning credibility to the book's characters and, by extension, its politics.

One flaw, however, is that Greely left out the chapter where conservatives tied the maiden to the tracks. I really missed that.

This book was so good I couldn't finish it. I literally had to stop reading, struck to sheer numbness by Greely's extra-ordinary characters and story line.