Apr 23rd, 2009 by John Murphy
The Guardian book blog has a short but illuminating piece on the importance of Flannery O’Connor’s deeply-felt Catholicism on her work. O’Connor is on a shortlist of the best short-story writers of the twentieth century, and though her “Christ-haunted” South is peopled with Protestants, there is no question that Catholicism was her writing’s wellspring. For some this seems a contradiction because her stories are often violent, grotesque, and bleakly humorous. But O’Connor herself said: “I write the way I do because (not though) I am a Catholic.” Continue Reading »
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Tags: A Good Man is Hard to Find, Catholic, Flannery O'Connor, Misfit, secular critics
Posted in Biography/Autobiography, Literary Criticism | No Comments »
Apr 2nd, 2009 by John Murphy
Hello, all! John Murphy here, resident illustrator for Idylls Press. Just letting you know that we have three new author portraits over at our Cafe Press site. The three victims of my pen & ink portraits are JK Huysmans, a French Decadent and later convert to Catholicism; Edith Wharton, the first female recipient of the Pulitzer Prize; and St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers and journalists. Check ‘em out! You can have their mug on a mug 
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Tags: author portraits, Catholic authors, Catholic fiction, Edith Wharton, famous authors, Huysmans, patron saint of journalists, patron saint of writers, St. Francis de Sales
Posted in News/Events | No Comments »
reviewed by Christine Sunderland
I read Father Elijah ten years ago, and recalled how refreshing it was to read a story set in the late 20th century that was infused with the sacramental acts of God. I also recalled not being able to put it down. Would the book be as I remembered? Could I add this to my gift list for friends and family? Would this help or hinder their belief in the Christian God of love?
Our hero, Father Elijah, is a Carmelite monk, his past forged in the fires of brutal suffering. As David Schafer, a Holocaust survivor and promising Israeli statesman-attorney, he experiences even more tragedy. But he finds redemption in Christianity, becoming a monk and priest. He takes the name Elijah and lives a life of prayer in a monastery near Jerusalem. As the story opens he is called out of his seclusion and into the world by the Pope. His mission? To convert the President of Europe, thought to be the Anti-Christ. Who could be better qualified for such a mission: A converted Jew pulled from the desert, a humble, prayerful soul who wrestles with God through the demons of his past, a man with a powerful intellect trained to argue and understand. Continue Reading »
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Tags: antichrist, apocalypse, father elijah, Michael O'Brien, prophetic
Posted in Apocalyptic | 1 Comment »
Mar 19th, 2009 by Debra Murphy
The online Union of Catholic Asian News has a lovely little article by Sri Lankan journalist Hector Welgampola on the surprisingly powerful impact of Catholic fiction on Asian, especially Japanese culture.
Here’s a quote:
Years ago I read a UCAN report on the impact of Catholic writing on Japanese society. It cited a missioner saying Japanese people tend to respect more what their novelists write than what priests say. Jesuit Father Alfons Deeken had expressed this view at a meeting of Catholic writers.
A somewhat related comment was cited in this column about six months ago. It quoted another missioner saying that in addition to the country’s 1 million Catholics, Japan has 4 million people who “think Catholic.” No doubt, the phenomenon of people who “think Catholic” owes much to the impact of writers like those applauded earlier by Father Deeken.
Click here for the rest of the article.
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Tags: Asia, Catholic ficiton, Japan, Shusaku Endo, Union of Catholic Asia News
Posted in News/Events | No Comments »
Mar 13th, 2009 by Debra Murphy
This week’s UK Catholic Herald has a lovely article by Milo Yiannopoulos on Evelyn Waugh’s little known and “underrated” historical novel, Helena, based on the life on St. Helena, the mother of the emperor Constantine and the woman who is said to have discovered the True Cross on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Here’s a paragrah:
Waugh’s most obviously Catholic novel, Helena, is also his shortest. It concerns the pilgrimage of the empress Helena, consort of Emperor Constantius and mother of Constantine the Great, to Palestine. Part fictional account and part Catholic apologetic, the novel accomplishes the impossible: it encapsulates the essence of the Roman Empire’s conversion to Christianity while not, in a sense, being principally concerned with it.
Read the rest of the article here.
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Tags: Catholic Herald, Constantine, Evelyn Waugh, Helena, Milo Yiannopoulos
Posted in Biography/Autobiography, Classics, Historical | No Comments »
Mar 4th, 2009 by Rae Stabosz
reviewed by Rae Stabosz
Cure of Souls is the fourth novel in Phil Rickman’s supernatural thrillers concerning Merrily Watkins — Anglican priest, Vicar of Ledwardine, and newly appointed Minister of Deliverance (formerly: exorcist) for the diocese of Herefordshire.
Oh, dear —a mystery series about a woman priest!
When my book-business partner Debbie told me she was reading a supernatural mystery series about a female Anglican priest, warning bells went off. My Debfriend was high on the books, but I was reluctant to take her up on her offer to share. Would the controversy over women priests dominate the writer’s point of view? Would I find subtle or not so subtle digs at my beloved Catholic Church, which maintains an all-male priesthood? Continue Reading »
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Tags: Anglican Church, Cure of Souls, deliverance, exorcism, Merrily Watkins, Phil Rickman, priest
Posted in Horror | No Comments »
reviewed by Tannia E. Ortiz-Lopès
In her book, The Passion of Mary-Margaret, author Lisa Samson tells an entertaining, uplifting, and encouraging story where the gifts of the Spirit are manifested by the main characters as they lead us to a better understanding of Jesus’ Divine Mercy.
The book cover shows a picture of a lighthouse in the background and a religious sister holding a wooden rosary in her left hand, dressed on a white jacket and skirt set. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the grass is bright green. These symbols of peace, hope, trust, and faith are key elements in the development of the story. Continue Reading »
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Tags: Catholic fiction, Lisa Samson, novel, religious life, Romance, The Passion of Mary-Margaret
Posted in Religious Life, Romance | 1 Comment »
Feb 27th, 2009 by Tannia Ortiz-Lopes
reviewed by Tannia E. Ortiz-Lopès
A World Away is author T.J. Smith’s first book in the Quest of Dan Clay series, a leap of faith saga to save a missing older brother from an evil parallel world.
The book cover shows a gloomy castle standing on the top of a mountain, surrounded by creepy trees and a bewitched full moon, as if to say to uninvited visitors: beware, beware, beware…!
Dan Clay is a high school senior who looks like a nerd. He is smart, shy, wears glasses, and his non-athletic body makes him the perfect target for the two known school bullies, Sur and Malice. Continue Reading »
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Tags: A World Away, book one, Fantasy, fiction, Horror, novel, Quest of Dan Clay, T.J. Smith, Young Adult
Posted in Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult | No Comments »
Feb 23rd, 2009 by Debra Murphy
a Meg Langslow mystery
reviewed by Debra Murphy
The first in Donna Andrews’ popular “Meg Langslow” series of “cozy” mysteries, Murder with Peacocks won the 1998 St. Martin’s “Malice Domestic” award for best first traditional mystery. And it’s easy to see why—with its engaging heroine (Meg Langslow, art metalworkeer and Langslow family miracle-worker), a colorful cast of Virginia small town eccentrics, a handsome-and-gentlemanly potential love interest, plus a smattering of domestic murders to baffle the local sherriff’s office and elicit the amateur detecting skills of Meg and her father, Donna Andrews has provided all one requires of a charmingly spun “cozy”—all that, and some good laughs, too. Continue Reading »
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Tags: cozy, Donna Andrews, Meg Langslow, mystery
Posted in Mystery/Detective | No Comments »
Feb 23rd, 2009 by Rae Stabosz
reviewed by Rae Stabosz
This morning, for the umpteenth time, I looked on the Internet for reviews of the excellent collection of vampire stories Rivals of Dracula. I love this short story collection and want to see what others think.
But today, as usual, I found nothing. As close to Nada as it gets. A single short review on amazon.com.
So if nobody else will laud this anthology, I will! I love it! Forget the vampire romances & erotica so popular these days (Stephanie Meyer was not the first, and certainly not the worst). Try some real horror! Continue Reading »
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Tags: Angela Carter, Brian Hodge, Carole Nelson Douglas, Catholic, Dan Simmons, Daniel Ransom, David J. Schow, Douglas Borton, Edward D. Hoch, F. Paul Wilson, Horror, Kevn J. Anerson, Kim Newman, Martin H. Greenberg, Norman Partridge, P.N. Elrod, Richard Matheson, Rivals of Dracula, Robert Bloch, Robert Weinberg, Short Stories, Stefan Djiemianowicz, Tanith Lee, vampire stories, Warner Lee
Posted in Horror, Short Stories | 3 Comments »
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