I can't remember now how I ran across Tony Ginocchio's writing, but it was probably somewhere on Twitter. He has an intermittently updated Substack called Grift of the Holy Spirit, which is mostly hilarious takedowns of the Church's more takedown-worthy elements. Here's an example from August, about right-wing Catholic responses to that Atlantic article about the weaponization of the rosary. (You guys, I recently met a woman who talked enthusiastically about how the rosary is Our Lady's AK-47, and I am still trying to get my mind around the idea of the Blessed Mother asking all her children to use Russian assault rifles every day, please and thank you. What even, I ask you.) He also has another Substack where he writes about Newbery-award-winning children's literature.
Earlier this week he posted about his novel, Anybody But Us, and I enjoy his writing enough that I downloaded it immediately and read it over the next few days. It's about a fictional master's program at a fictional Catholic college, where grad students live in community and teach in archdiocesan schools, and I really enjoyed it.
I appreciated its sense of place. There's a scene where a character takes the bus south after a job interview on the north side, and I found it surprisingly evocative in its descriptions of Chicago's divisions between rich and poor. I loved the characters' blend of idealism and cynicism. There's one hilarious character who rants endlessly about justice, and I love the glimpses we get into what he's really thinking. As the book goes on we see the characters making decisions about what comes next; the process is poignant and believable.
I am probably 15 years older than his target audience and I did not get all of his jokes, but I laughed and laughed at this book. I would love to sit down and have a chat with the author sometime. I have questions for him. (For instance, when the ranting character attributes Evangelium Vitae to Paul VI, is that the author showing us the character's error, to indicate that he's not as smart as he thinks he is, or was that an authorial oversight?)
Among the people who read this blog, I know there are some who love Chicago and some who have thoughts about Catholic education and some who are wrangling with questions about how the Church can/should do its work in the world, and some who wonder sometimes how much any of us can make a difference. I feel like you probably need to fit into a couple of those categories to enjoy this book. But if you do tick any of those boxes, you might really like it.
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