BOOK REVIEW: A good book for St. Francis of Assisi fans …

Have you ever heard someone talk about someone else they’re a “super fan” of?

Not just an “average” fan, but a super fan?

They are so passionately supportive of the other person that much of what they have to say treads closely near the line of exaggeration. All the “cheerleader” sees — and wants to see — are the wonderful characteristics of the person they’re a fan of, and little to nothing else.

That’s the sense you’ll get about writer Elizabeth Goudge if you read her book, “My God and My All: The Life of St. Francis of Assisi,” a novel about St. Francis published by Plough Publishing House.

Novels about famous people often lend themselves to telling a little better story than reality might record, but it only takes Goudge to page two to give you an idea of just how greatly she esteems St. Francis, as she writes the following:

“His influence upon European music, art, drama, and politics has been a study for many scholars, yet it is as a Christian that he matters to us, as a humble poor man who set himself to tread as closely as he could in the footsteps of Christ, perhaps as closely as any man has ever done, and by so doing shames us.”

The challenge to Goudge’s writing is that, while she relies on historical documentation and scholarly works about this famous saint, the reader never fully knows how much of all the detail Goudge fills in is accurate or the effective work of a novel writer. Either way, Goudge provides a full telling of the life of Francis from his boyhood through his missionary work.

Because Goudge writes not only as a super fan, but apparently as a Catholic as well, readers wanting a more pragmatic or objective telling of the life of Francis will find questions raised in their minds to remain unanswered. In this book, you’re only going to get the fan version of the life.

That isn’t to say Goudge doesn’t touch on key issues about Francis, such as his devotion to poverty, but such positions are communicated from a fan perspective …

“Poverty was the foundation stone of the brotherhood, and also its quality; if salt loses its savor it is good for nothing. But he was never blindly fanatical. He always knew why he was doing what he did and could support his actions with cogent reasons.”

If you’re already familiar with, and a fan of St. Francis of Assisi, you’ll enjoy Goudge’s re-creation of his life. If you’re not, you would likely do better to start with a non-fiction introduction about the life of Francis, and then if you’re still interested in learning more, “My God and My All” can be a fun way to fill in some of the gaps and possibilities in the biography of this saint.

Scotty

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”