Product Description
This novel, from the author of "The Closed Garden", "Moira" and "The Other Sleep", attempts to create a portrait of St Francis of Assisi, tracing his pampered childhood, the worldly days of his youth and his eventual conversion. It also explores the establishment of his religious order. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A man's passion for God.
Up front, I disclose that I am neither a historian nor Catholic and offer these comments as someone who simply read the book.Green, an early convert to Catholicism, offers a simple rendition of the life of Francis.The book is well-crafted; easy to read and to keep reading.There is enough of the history surrounding the subject to position it in time and place, but the reader is not bogged down in the details.There is no offer of defense for the miraculous events attributed to Francis.Rather, Green simply describes them as matter-of-factly as he does the Italian contryside.

Francis was as a young man over-indulged in its pleasures, but suddenly did an aboutface and spent the rest of his life serving God and attemping to remove ANYTHING from his life that might distract him from that service.

The example of single-minded determination that Francis lived serves us all well.Were we to apply the same energy to our own pursuits, who know what may be accomplished.

An inspiration to us all.

Great Book
Paints a picture rather than lists his accomplishments. This book gives you the flavour of the time that Saint Francis grew in. A lot of books just gives you snapshots, this book goes into as much detail as the references will allow. It shows just how saints are meant to be seen; as devout people whom God decides to work through. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Virgin of the Stubborn Halo
Julian Green, born 1900, was young enough to have avoided military service in World War I, but nevertheless signed up for ambulance duty in theAmerican Field Service, and was dispatched to the Argonne. He feared not, for he was sure he was under God's protection. So he passes through an explosion or two, transports a few wounded Frenchmen, but really this book is not about dangerous adventure. There is much waiting around, giving him time to read religious and literary books, and to endure the rough talk and "barbaric" behavior of the fellows. Learning that this young man is aiming to become a monk, and noting that he is not an at-ease social mixer, they and he can be quite tense. Beyond that, his still-bewildering homosexuality adds a sexual undertone to even the smallest interactions.

Julian tells of two "events." Early on, he sees a dead soldier, face covered, laid out in a barn--and feels the pointlessness of killing. At alater time, this reticent writer actually tells us of a "pleasureless" self-stimulation in the dark--this uses up a sentence or two.

Eventually ousted from the ambulance service as underage, he nevertheless manages to enlist in the American Red Cross as an ambulance driver, with duty near Venice.

In mid 1918, Julian becomes an officer-cadet in the French Army and sees occupation duty in the Rhineland. The anecdotes continue to reflect his remoteness from his fellow men, as well as his mysterious attraction to some of them.

The book closes with his reluctantly boarding ship in Naples, cruising the Med with a variety of characters, tossing his touristy dirty photos into the Atlantic, and disembarking in New York (then onward to the Univ. of Va.).

Poor guy...his several service caps with polished insignia relentlessly outshone by his stubborn halo. ... Read more