DO BLACK PATENT LEATHER SHOES REALLY REFLECT UP?

by John R. Powers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1975

Another pre-Vatican II rag, which follows closely the elbow jab approach of the author's elementary parochial school reminiscences in The Last Catholic in America (1973) and this time ""Eddie Ryan"" undergoes four years of a Catholic boys' high school. Predictably there are accounts of dating and dances when the girls were warned not to wear shiny shoes which might reflect ""up""; lectures on sex (a mimeo sheet titled ""Concerning Making Out, What You Should Know""); sports events prefaced by Hail Marys; retreats (""School retreats were like Holiday Inns . . . they were always the same.""), etc. There are anecdotes concerning classmates (the beasts, the ""sex-fiends,"" the victims and wiseacres), the teachers (those who hit and those who seem several worlds removed), first and interim adolescent loves, and those unique once-in-a-school-lifetime moments-- at the victory sock hop, the day's outstanding football player slugged the homecoming queen during the award presentation. Fond, self-indulgent memories, a bit damp in spots; which could be matched by any middle-aged Catholic school grad.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1975

ISBN: 0829421432

Page Count: -

Publisher: Regnery

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1975

Categories: NONFICTION