Review:
"In this potent debut about a wayward yet devout young priest who struggles to reconcile his faith with longings of the flesh, Reimringer has crafted a suspenseful, illuminating, and highly readable saga."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review (Pick of the Week)
"This book knows the soul of the great old city: the yellowing taverns and fraying neighborhoods, the sense of grace in decline, the doubtful saints wrangling their disbelief. John Reimringer writes with the confidence and observation of one who was there at the time and is there still, and his novel has the knuckles and shouting and beer breath of glory."
—Leif Enger, author of Peace Like a River and So Brave, Young, and Handsome
"Ribald and wry, concerned at heart with faith and forgiveness, Vestments is a rich, involving debut."
—Stewart O'Nan, author of Last Night at the Lobster and Songs for the Missing
"In this memorable, skillful novel, John Reimringer writes compassionately about the tie between violence and yearning, the calls of the body and the calls of the spirit. Many writers can write well about one or the other. The gift of this writer is his rich understanding and love of both. Vestments is a wise, wide, and eloquent book."
—Erin McGraw, author of The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard, The Good Life, Lies of the Saints
"Deeply rooted in history, burning with family furies, and told by a narrator-priest you find yourself rooting for (and wondering about), this is a captivating novel, scene by scene."
—Patricia Hampl, author of The Florist's Daughter
From Publishers Weekly:
Starred Review. In this potent debut about a wayward yet devout young priest who struggles to reconcile his faith with longings of the flesh, Reimringer has crafted a suspenseful, illuminating, and highly readable saga. James Dressler, a Catholic working-class kid from St. Paul, Minn., with a barroom brawler father and a "piece of work" mother, sees the Catholic Church as both his salvation and his moral compass. Following his ordination, James gets assigned to Saint Hieronymus Church in Pretty Prairie, Minn., alongside his friend and cynical, skirt-chasing fellow priest, Mick. James joins a poker group run by fellow priests, and the internecine conflicts and accommodations within the clergy are artfully depicted, as are James's efforts to square his earthly cravings with his priestly station--he's basically a regular guy who loves sports and drinking, and yearns for female companionship. Soon enough, James ends up in trouble and goes back to St. Paul, where an old flame awaits. Reimringer excels, most notably, at revealing how the sensual delectations of Catholic ritual and the forbidden delights of the flesh are part of the same continuum, as sin and repentance feed off each other.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.