THE GENTLE MARTYRDOM OF BROTHER BERTRAM

Brother Bertram, a middle-aged monk in the order of St. Otho, is one day summoned by the Abbott. The humble man of God has been selected, because he is the youngest is the group in the group and therefore the least remote from things wordly, to go to the city, merge with the common stream of mankind, and find out why it is that the cheese made by the Othusian brothers is not getting its share of the market. He leaves the cloisters, if not to ""sell, sell, sell"" himself, at least to get someone to do it for him. That someone is Art Stillman of Stillman Associates. The crass, executive salesman had boasted some ten years ago in a best-sell-non-book that he could move anything. A decade later he's not about to get involved with a dreadful tasting cheese --or a tatty old ecclesiastic -- until the possibility of Senate investigation scares him into a prestige line. Stillman dodges the investigators by fleeing to the Abbey while Bertram stays with his cheese and tastes the exquisite joys of mundane living...The role-reversal gimmick holds up adequately and the low-keyed chortle-evoking style of Mr. DiMinno is very pleasant.