Bingo Under the Crucifix

by Laurie Foos

The twisted, eccentric characters in this hilarious metaphor-stretching novel are ripped straight from today’s a man obsessed with Spiderman, whose ir-responsibility has reached such epic proportions that he literally reverts to being a newborn; and a homecoming queen who secretly gives birth in the locker room during halftime, then claims the infant was kidnapped by aliens. Foos’s satirical genius strikes funny, bittersweet chords about women, men, and responsibility gone haywire. The author of three novels, Laurie Foos grew upon Long Island and currently lives in Massachusetts.

Genres: Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Spoilers*
Chloe is a middle aged woman, who makes large life-like dolls under the pseudonym Ester Bing. She is married to positive, nice guy husband, Nathan. Her world is shaken when a high school prom queen delivers her own baby in the track locker room, abandoning him in the stall to claim her homecoming crown. Chloe’s mother finds the baby on her doorstep, and believes the baby to be Chloe’s brother Ralph. The whole family begins to believe that immature Ralph has finally gone back to infant-hood, to avoid the responsibilities of becoming a father himself. Chloe faces secrets from her past that have haunted her for years, and makes peace (and appropriate boundaries) with her crazy family. Bingo Under the Crucifix boldly explores themes including eccentric personalities, childhood trauma, mental health, and family relationships. Foos has influenced me for the good with examples of satire comedy from a woman writer’s perspective, and a style of storytelling that made me test the boundaries of what I believe is real.

[Llima · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. This was pretty much one of the worst books I've ever read. I tried, I really tried to read it all the way through, but there was no more need for me to torture myself with this thing. It got more confusing and ridiculous as I turned each page. Between the brother regressing to infancy, the Spider-man obsession, the prom queen leaving the abortion and the main character who just chain smokes constantly, I could not deal with it any more. I only got up to chapter 7 and then had to give up for the sake of my sanity!

Thank God I only paid a quarter for this at the school book fair!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was weird. I read "The Blue Girl" a couple months ago and was puzzled all the way around but I saw "Bingo Under the Crucifix" and the premise was fascinating enough to draw me in. Unfortunately it ended and I was just as puzzled as before. I love the idea of the story and I really liked the main character, Chloe, and some of the other side characters, but this alone didn't carry the book for me. I felt like I was skimming along the surface, waiting to dive in deeper. With the completion of this book, I think I am just not a Foos fan.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laurie, my former writing teacher, is such a smart writer--and a wonderful person! Her books haven't taken off yet, but I loved this one--weird and wacky "experimental fiction"--whatever that means. I just think her stuff is fun to read. Totally original.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A- Bizarre but hilarious

[Lisa Factora-borchers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I laughed out loud. And I never do that when I read or watch TV.