The Lords of Folly

by Gene Logsdon

Veteran nature writer Gene Logsdon debuts a brilliantly comic novel set in rural Minnesota in the 1950s. The novel, inspired by the author's ten years studying in vain for the preisthood, follows the sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic lives of a group of seminarians who realize they no longer believe the theology they are being taught, nor in the celibate life they are supposed to be leading. They resolve their problems in highly unusual ways, some tragicvally, some happily. Along the way readers encounter a rogue's gallery of colorful and eccentric characters. In the mix there is stuff about organic farming, alcohol distillation, cowboy philososphy, baseball and alternative medicine. This is a truly original work, and it is sure to be controversial.

Genres: Fiction

290 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blaise can be a young mans first name. Or it can be the name of a horse. And this is important because confusion on this point leads to the first of many apotheoses after a group of Oblates on a train to rural Minnesota Ascension Seminary in 1953, get robbed by Frank James, brother of Jesse. Almost, sort of.

Gambling, rape, the distillation of spirited miracle medical cures, steamy naked apparitions, religious anarchy, blizzard rescues, baseball prowess, even speeding tractors—hey, it’s all here. All the good stuff you expect from an acolyte adventure. As well as organic farming and exactly how many shakes it takes to dislodge mud from your boot.

Reminiscent of Dickens, with wonderfully crafted sentences, languid pace, the various characters blend in and out of the narrative flawlessly. There is an innocence that’s both refreshing in its subject matter (novitiates brewing hooch and having sex with mermaids) and singular in approach (I mean he has a crisp clean direction in which the story is heading). All laid out humorously.
Rarely have I enjoyed such pure writing as much as this—even on a subject matter as far from my reality as could possibly be. As a devoted hedonistic pagan, I often find Catholicism curiously funny. Books and movies about boys schools make me go ‘what the f…?” Yet, when you crash the anachronisms of the more extreme sects against waves of the secular world, humor just has to be the end result. Or a huge amount of blaspheming. Either way it’s going to be funny.

A group of novitiate young men arrive at an abandoned health spa in Minnesota with the Holy mandate to turn it into a seminary called ‘Ascension.’ The boys are all virgins in many ways—agriculturally, mechanically, spiritually (as in home-brewed whisky—yah, that kind of spirit), animal husbandry (oh, don’t read anything into that, geez), meteorology, as well as the old omniscient stand by—sexually. It’s their innocence and the pure joy the author has in telling their story that makes this such a wonderful novel. Every character is drawn with just enough detail and vibrancy to make them completely believable. Even the brother of Jesse James, who if real and not an apparition, would be something like 108 years old.

Fiat voluntas Dei. Homo sum humani a me nihil alienum puto. (God’s will be done. I am a human being, nothing is strange to me.) Don’t worry, the book is not in Latin. It’s just that I was the last person in America to take Latin in High School and I rarely get to use it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take a handful of young men, throw them into seminary, adhere them to the vows of obedience and poverty and chastity, and ask them to use their minds, and what do you get? An unholy uproar of life, love, and the pursuit of dreams. Based on Logsdon's own experiences in seminary, these adventures of the "Sonuvabitchin' Davy Crockett Boys" (SBDC Boys for short) explore the tenets of religion, the pursuit of traditional agriculture in the face of "new and scientific" agribusiness, the thin line between sanity and insanity, friendship, and the meaning of life itself. Is that too much to ask of a book? Not at all -- I enjoyed every minute of this maiden novel and found myself wishing I knew more of those SBDC Boys myself.

[Emily Heilbraun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was highly entertianed by this book. Being from the midwest I could picture the landscape and remember the dry humor of the people there. I would love to see the author write another work of fiction.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book about a group of young men becoming monks in Minnesota. A highly recommended read.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have read in awhile. I thought the characters were believable and belonged in the story world the author created.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky, to put it mildly, but Logsdon is still a master with words.

[Wayne]

Funny enough for me, I've read mostly Logsdon's stories and experiences of his life. This 2007 novel definitely drew on his life stories, theology/life philosophies and homesteading practices, but added multiple characters of his personalities. I'd be happy to write the screen play.