A Dark Tale of Comedy Sorrow and the Catholic Church in the 1960’s. Black-robed nuns, priests, bishops, the select fraternity of Altar Boys, and the ancient ceremonies of the Catholic Church. Music of the ’60s, boyhood shenanigans, Cootie doctors, and coming of age. Set in the socially and politically tumultuous period of the 1960s, The Altar Boy is the fictionalized memoir of Carl Sanders, a … funny, sensitive kid, who’s caught in the middle when his family is fractured by the intrusions of a priest. We follow Carl’s confusion and pain as he watches the pious façade of the Church fall away to reveal unholy carte blanche, cover-ups, and collusion.
The book opens in the late 1980s. Carl and his brother down beer after beer at a favorite pub, trying to piece together their family’s chaotic past. The stakes are high—someone is about to return after a 20-year absence, threatening to re-ignite the family conflict. As the brothers’ painful recollections of their past become more traumatic, Carl drifts back in time to the era he tried for so many years to forget.
The story is realistic, poignant, and at times very funny. Stephens shines a timely spotlight on the then-unquestioned power of the Church, while taking the reader back to the ’60s era of rock & roll, Catholic schools, social upheaval, and boyhood pranks.
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Witty, contemplative, poignant, thought-provoking and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. The characters were so realistic, showcasing the strengths and weaknesses present in us all, that they made it quite easy for me to absolutely love or completely dislike them, just like people in real life.
This is a literary journey that I wouldn’t have missed for anything!
#TheAltarBoy #NetGalley
“The Altar Boy” by Phil Stephens is a historical fiction that reads more like a memoir in the backdrop of mid-Twentieth Century suburban USA. The book starts with the chapter entitled, “The Dark Road Back,” in which the main character, Carl, learns that his father is returning to his hometown in 1987. Specters of old demons from his past haunt him as he recalls his childhood, growing up in a dysfunctional Catholic family. His memory takes him back to the 1950s when he is a small boy trying to understand the changing family dynamics as his father estranges from his family and a Catholic priest oddly takes his place. As Carl relives both funny and dark moments from his childhood in his mind, he strives to reconcile what happened within his family and the role that the Catholic Church played in his life.
What I like most about this novel is how the author, Phil Stephens, captures the voice of his main character, Carl, during the various stages of his boyhood. The story is like taking a trip down memory lane in the 1950s and 1960s. It seems a simpler time when boys could roam the neighborhood, stay out late, and get into innocent trouble. The popular songs at the time were interspersed into the narrative, helping to set the mood. The metaphor of Carl’s fear of going into the basement highlights his trepidation about opening dark secrets regarding his mother’s relationship with the priest. Author Stephens has a gift for story-telling, but scenes sometimes don’t interconnect with each other or drive the tension in the story. The story left me with an open-ended question on whether Carl and his family ever resolved issues with their father
“The Altar Boy” is a coming-of-age tale of a boy whose perspective dramatically changes from the innocence of his childhood into the dark realities of his teen years when he questions the power of the Catholic church and its dark secrets. This is a thought-provoking story with some humorous moments of the boys’ antics. This book will particularly resonate with readers who grew up in the 1950s and 1960 and attended the Catholic Church.
The Altar Boy is a true to life coming-of-age story. Carl Sanders grew up in the 1960s in a Catholic household. The Catholic Church was revered in those days, and so were its clergymen, but for Carl and his family, a priest brought nothing but pain.
I didn’t like Carl’s mother; she was selfish and hypocritical. His father was not perfect either, but he did try his best to keep the family together and didn’t deserve what happened to him.
Looking at the life of this Catholic family in the 60s through Carl’s eyes as a young boy was both hilarious and heart wrenching. Carl’s mischievous antics made me laugh while his fear, confusion, and unconditional love for his mother chipped away at my heart. Prepare yourself for a rollercoaster of emotions.
If you enjoy stories with well-developed characters that make you feel an array of emotions this book is for you.