A lightly fictionalized account of the first Jesuit in China that informs but fails to enthrall.
A historical novel dramatizes the life and work of a Roman Catholic missionary.
Born in the mid-16th century to a wealthy family in the Italian town of Macerata, Matteo Ricci receives a classical education from his beloved tutor, Father Niccolò Bencivegni. One day, while still a boy, Matteo learns that the priest will be leaving Macerata for Rome in order to join an exciting new religious order: the Society of Jesus. “Just before you were born, Matteo,” Bencivegni explains of the order’s co-founder, “a Christian missionary from Spain named Francis Xavier wanted very much to show the people of China the virtues of becoming Christian. But he became sick and died before he could even try.” When he reaches adulthood, Matteo joins the society—also known as the Jesuits—himself, much to the consternation of his parents. Matteo develops a fascination for cartography and dreams of becoming a missionary in the still mysterious Far East. His wish is made a reality when the society sends him to India and eventually China, where he will attempt to fulfill the dream of Xavier. But to truly bring Christianity to China, Matteo will have to find a way to meet the emperor by gaining entrance to the Forbidden City—the imperial palace that no European has ever visited before. Gregory’s (God’s Messenger, 2017) narration possesses a fablelike quality that makes the whole novel feel like an elongated bedtime story: “Deep within the strange lands and customs of China, the Jesuits found comfort in their familiar routine of prayer and meditation. Naturally they spoke Italian among themselves and sang simple hymns in Latin.” By presenting Ricci’s work as a quest to realize the dream of Xavier, the author provides a simple but effective arc to the priest’s life. As is usual for the Mentoris Project series—which focuses on notable Italians and Italian Americans—the author takes a singularly positive view of her subject, which flattens Ricci a bit as a character. The book doesn’t quite satisfy as true fiction—at least not for adults—but the tale will teach readers a lot about Ricci and the Jesuit mission in China.
A lightly fictionalized account of the first Jesuit in China that informs but fails to enthrall.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-947431-23-2
Page Count: 178
Publisher: Barbera Foundation, Inc.
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
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