Father Joe

by Tony Hendra

Pages are clean and not marred by notes, highlighting, creases or folds of any kind. Cover is intact, but does have some small nicks, tears, and slight shelf wear on cover, but otherwise, good. Spine has no signs of creasing. Shipped by Amazon.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Religion, Spirituality, Catholic, Biography Memoir

271 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Tony Hendra (born 1941) is an English satirist and writer, who has worked mostly in the United States. Educated at St Albans School (where he was a class-mate of Stephen Hawking) and Cambridge University, he was a member of the Cambridge University Footlights revue in 1962, alongside John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor.

Reviews

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE SPIRITUAL PATH IS NOT EASY. IF YOU DON’T FINISH IT, IT WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU.
- Chogyam Trungpa

BLESSED IS HE WHO HAS A SOUL;
AND BLESSED IS HE WHO HAS NO SOUL;
BUT WOE, WOE TO HIM WHO HAS A SOUL THAT IS STILL GROWING!
- George Gurdjieff

Now that I’m at the end of this fabulous memoir I just have to take a time-out to warmly recommend it to GR readers.

There are two roads we can take in this life: the road of the spirit, or the way of the world.

Father Joe represents the way of the spirit.

And Tony? Well, he always coveted the wide-open road to fame and success.

A restless kid, Tony at first finds solid ground in the wisdom of this old monk and in the Rock on which his faith was built.

But the flesh is weak - and Tony can't anchor himself anymore after awhile.

And it’ll haunt him for the rest of his life.

Now, to say this book is engaging is an understatement...

It grabs you by the collar and shakes you. It is warm, human and very, very fallible. It contains a terrible beauty.

But for a long time in the middle - when the book dragged - I was turned off by Tony's apparent egotism.

NOW I see how hard he has worked to make a well-deserved name for himself in the unforgiving world of showbiz - and it’s admirable.

He is very talented, very energetic, and can never contain his enthusiasm. And you know what else?

He's still very much a kid when he looks back on his early years...

And so honest!

But he has been DESPERATELY unhappy, and he’s never found peace.

Father Joe, on the other hand, has found his rainbow's pot of gold.

Peace and empathy flow from him like a river. And he always forgives Tony, no matter how distant and cynical the young man becomes.

He's a saint.

William Butler Yeats once said that (like these two men) we have only two choices in life: to perfect our lives - or to find perfect success in our chosen vocation (our work).

So, at the end of the book, Tony, with all his success with National Lampoon, sadly sees that he has -alas! - "refused a heavenly mansion, raging in the dark."

But you know, that’s OK.

Cause he’s just like the REST of us!

When I was a kid, I was an OK student but a dud in athletics...

But I had a friend, slightly older than I was, who was BOTH an Outstanding Scholar and Athlete. He was the ideal all-round Canadian kid. He was now in Med School. I revered him.

But med school sometimes turns men to apes, though these guys are not to blame for their errant behaviour. Like the School of Engineering the Faculty of Medicine is Tough as Nails.

So he misconstrued my adMIRation as adORation. He propositioned me.

I was thrown for a loop. And dove into a tailspin. It’s a Sewer out there, and it hit me hard.

I crashed.

And burned.

I was admitted to urgent care with the consent of players who were (rightfully) concerned about my raging homophobia:

“... to remind me of (my) and Adam’s Curse,
And to be cured, (my) sickness must grow worse.”

And grow worse it did. For fifty years...

“... (until) refined by that Refining Fire
Whose Flame is Roses, and whose Smoke is BRIARS.”

That was fifty years ago. And you know what?

Now I forgive the guy. And all his friends!

For when our souls are hardened - by our work or by our life circumstances - they can Sour. And he (and they) were only following his deepest compassionate impulses, albeit soured - and he (and they) honestly misunderstood my admiration.

They were only human. And I was ingenuous - without having a strong defence for it.

I’m extremely thankful that I now see that point of view now, and accept it as valid - flawed maybe - but valid.

I’m also grateful for what he taught me: never again to let my impulses mar my behaviour (though they made my life erratic and socially distanced for a long time before Coronavirus).

I have now learned that lesson well, believe me!

Though EACH of us remains fallible...

But in a priest, it’s much more serious.

It’s a betrayal of Trust.

But again, you know what?

THAT’s how I KNOW Tony will be OK.

BECAUSE FATHER JOE, A SAINT THROUGH & THROUGH, HAS NEVER BETRAYED TONY’S TRUST!

Neither Father Joe - nor even, God Himself - has ever rejected Tony. They always loved him simply for what he is.

Our alienation “out there” is only an blind automatic defence. Which makes us more of a target.

Tony has made plenty of wrong choices, and continues to pay for them, for alienation is self-perpetuating until expunged. We must learn to nip our anger in the bud, once and for all.

And that HURTS.

But divine love once shone upon his soul through the selfless love of Father Joe - for whom the ONLY sin he can commit is Selfishness.

So Tony, like the rest of us, by accepting the rending experience of pain in his life as unavoidable, has learned to live. And love again, perhaps?

THAT takes time.

But with such love to inspire his heart in the midst of his pain, he will find the ONLY way to honestly live his faith: just by trusting, moment by moment, in the presence of love in Faith - and in the Real World.

That’s it - simple trust.

So, in effect, the innocence of Trust is still VERY MUCH intact in Tony...

He just has to rescuscitate it.

And THAT innocence reborn will leave him faith enough to withstand all the bitter storms of life, till the end.

That trust in God transfigured my pain, too.

And it can show Any of us what REAL love is - once again - at the end of all our own Long and Winding Road back Home. It can make us human.

Just so - at the end - Tony has Lost a guru, a real teacher:

And Gained a BFF.

And that, friends (just so you know!) is Taylor's Version of Father Joe.

[Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fully prepared to go to battle with this book. I knew it was about a Catholic kid who found a mentor in a Benedictine (Catholic) monk.

I don’t like Catholics, I don’t like Benedictines and I don’t like monks.

I have to go back a few years. I was in a Methodist church. I had read some very good reviews on this book. I was less cynical. I started to read it and found out that our pastor had just finished it and loved it. That same week, I left the Methodist church in disgust, not so much with the church, but with the two pastors who represented it. I was disillusioned with both of my pastors, with churches, religion and God. Consequently I didn’t want to read the book that my pastor had recommended and I put the book down and stuffed it onto my sagging bookshelves to sit and stew for a while. Now, three years later, I picked it up ready to hate it. I had paper and pen in hand to write down all my rebuttals to this “God book;” but somehow, along the way, I was drawn into the writing. This is a language lover’s dream of a book. And the story ain’t half bad either.

Tony, as a young kid, meets this monk sequestered in an old Benedictine monastery in England. He fully expects to be chastised and lectured on his behavior, but instead he is received warmly and listened to. And so begins the first of many meetings with a man who would become closer than his own father. As Tony grows and wanders through life, Father Joe is always there, whether front and center, or in the back of Tony’s mind, tucked away for future reference. His insight, his ability to cut to the chase, to peel off layers of glitz and theoutside world to bring Tony to pare down his thoughts to the medulla – is frankly remarkable.

A couple of favorite quotes:

[Father Joe talking:]


Father Joe
“You see, dear—I think there are two types of people in the world. Those who divide the world up into two kinds of people… and those who don’t.” Love it. Love it.

A rather long quote, but well worth the read and the re-read:

“Without God, people find it very hard to know who they are or why they exist. But if others pay attention to them, praise them, write about them, discuss them, they think they’ve found the answers to both questions.”

“If they don’t believe in God, you can’t blame them.”

“True, dear. But it still makes for an empty, unhappy person. I’m sure Mrs. Thatcher wasn’t always the way she is. As she came to power and got more and more attention, she began to be more and more what people wanted her to be. But that’s not the true Mrs. Thatcher. The Mrs. Thatcher God wants her to be.”


Tony Hendra
“I’m not sure Mrs. Thatcher would see the distinction you do between herself and God.”

At least I got a smile out of him.

“Are you saying, Father Joe, that in the matter of motives, or even morally, there’s not ultimately much difference between me and my targets?”

I’m afraid not, dear. If the result is that you only have a personality other people shape. If you really exist only in other people’s minds.”

“I think you’ve just described celebrity.”

“I’ve just described pride, dear.”

[Tung · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tony Hendra is a British satirist with a Forrest Gump-like lifetime. He performed in college with John Cleese and Graham Chapman (Monty Python fame); was editor of the National Lampoon; was in This is Spinal Tap; attended school with Stephen Hawking and other famous people. This memoir (supposedly) focuses on his spirituality: his early years when he wanted to become a monk, his lifetime straying from his faith; and his return to his faith in his later years – all as the direct result of knowing a monk named Father Joe, a caring saint who acted as his emotional anchor. In general, this book disappointed me every which way. First, as a satirist and semi-famous humorist, this book was not funny ANYWHERE. Second, this book suffers the problem shared by most memoirs – and that is the inability of the author to truly make his/her experience relatable or remotely interesting to the reader; this failed on both accounts. Thirdly, the book uses Father Joe more as a straight man from which to pose existential questions, complaints against the Catholic Church of England, and/or rants about society, organized religion, and culture, than as an honest wrangling of faith; many of the conversations simply aren’t believable as actual instances or dialogue between people. Lastly, the memoir is less of a way to explore a man’s faith than it is a way for the author to excuse his lifetime of drugs, failed marriages, and general bad behavior – his first marriage failed because of a spiritual issue and not because of rampant infidelity; he became a satirist because he believed laughter is from God and not because he enjoyed the attention and fame; he spent his lifetime with drugs not because he enjoyed them, but because he had lost his faith, etc. I was looking for an honest account of a struggle of faith; this turned out to be a straightforward memoir. Big pass on this one.

[Lisa Butterworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best book I've ever read in my whole life. Okay, maybe not really, but it was stupendously awesomely fantastically beautifully relevantly perfectly exactly what I needed to read right not. Tony Hendra (probably most famous for his role as the Spinal Tap's Manager) writes a memoir about himself and his relationship with Father Joe, a benedictine monk. It starts when he is fourteen and visits him as a confessor after an affair with a married woman. His love and admiration for Father Joe sparks a nearly decade long obsession with becoming a Monk himself, then his loss of faith, his journey through satire and debauchery, always with wise kind always loving Father Joe as the defining relationship of his live.

Plus lots of lovely wisdom from the mouth of a true saint, and loads of achingly beautiful writing.

Brilliant.

[Sandy T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never heard of Tony Hendra and didn't realize he was famous until I listened to his narration of this book. But the title intrigued me so I decided to give it a go. What I found though, was that this book titled 'Father Joe' was much less about Father Joe than it was about Tony Hendra. Hendra was ego-centrical, obsessive, self-absorbed, and never missed the chance to do some name dropping. I was fascinated with Father Joe, however. A Benedictine Monk from the age of 17, he knew more about the world and it's traps and about what brings true happiness than you would imagine he could. What a gentle, kind soul he was... I wish I could have learned more about him. So the 3 stars are for Father Joe, not Tony Hendra....

[Leroy Seat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very interesting, moving book. Earlier this year I had read, and was greatly impressed by, Hendra's "The Messiah on Morris Avenue," so I was captivated by this book, which is Hendra's memoirs. I had not read the magazines he wrote for or watched the TV programs he was associated with. Still, it was interesting reading, and Father Joe was certainly a remarkable person.

After finishing the book, I had two thoughts: I wish I could have had a mentor such as Father Joe and I wish I could be a mentor like Father Joe.

On one occasion Father Joe says to Tony, “War involves terrible sins, and it arises more often than not from hate. But you can’t conquer one sin with another, hate with more hate. It only makes hate stronger. Love alone can conquer hate” (p. 117). “. . . true courage is not to hate our enemy, any more than to fight and kill him. To love him, to love in the teeth of his hate—that is real bravery” (p. 118).

Toward the end of his book, Hendra writes about a “spiritual fear far worse than the physical, because flight from the physical is always possible, but there is no flight from the terror of drifting untethered through cold cosmic loneliness” (p. 265).

I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy reading autobiographies/memoirs.

[Karla Petersen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps one of the worst books ever written - so bad that the only reason I'm reviewing it is to make sure no one wastes their time on this one. The writer is self-important and uses his "faith" as a platform to name drop, fabricate, and exaggerate. I wish I had this time back.

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. So, I never had heard of this book and just stumbled upon it. Excellent writing + spiritual odyssey= I'm in love. The first half I listened to on CD, which I highly recommend b/c it's read by Tony Hendra himself, so you get a good idea of how Father Joe sounded, and the jokes Hendra inserts in the text are funnier when he reads them to you...So much loveliness here, so much wisdom. Hendra's journey from burning bright faith as a young boy who wants to be a priest to Cambridge youth who loses touch with his religion to famous comedic writer wherein he abandons God completely, to his return, and all along there is Father Joe, a wise old monk who just keeps loving him and talking him through his long journey out of darkness...

"The only way to know God, the only way to know the other , is to listen. Listening is reaching out into that unknown other self, surmounting your walls and theirs; listening is the beginning of understanding, the first exercise of love...We must listen because we are so often wrong in our certainties. When we pass a motion in the chaotic debating chamber of our heads, it's never completely right , or even, most of the time, half right. The only way to edge closer to the truth is to listen with complete openness, bringing to the process no preconceptions, nothing prepared."

A conversation between Father Joe and Tony Hendra about his chosen vocation of writing satire, poking fun at the Establishment, etc. Father Joe asks him why he does it:

"Well...the truth is, Father Joe, what we really do it for is--attention. We all jostle enedlessly to be on talk shows, get items in columns, or columns in papers, or books on the best-seller list, or green lights for our pilots and our movies, to ... how did you used to put it...to extend our selves out into...other people's awareness.
He considered this, looking out at the Solent.
"Needing attention is a powerful force in the world, isn't it?"
"Absolutely. Most people would think of it as a very natural need. ALmost a right."
"Without God, people find it very hard to know who they are or why the exist. But if others pay attention to them, praise them, write about them, discuss them, they think they've found the answers to both questions."
"If they don't believe in God, you can't blame them."
"True, dear. But it still makes for an empty, unhappy person. ...If the result is that you only have a personality other people shape. If you really exist only in other people's minds."
"I think you've just described celebrity."
"I've just described pride, dear."

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently my papa read this book on a 3-day silent retreat and came home and raved about it. I vaguely remember this and thinking it sounded weird. So I am glad the book on CD found its way to me.

This book was pretty wonderful. It captured the potential for deep, serious, sincere religious reverence of youth in the person of the author as a teenager determined to be a monk, as well as the torture of loss of faith and continued need for penance and peace of the author as an adult. Which is pretty cool - because he ends up fairly agnostic, but still loves many things about the church of his youth.

The book found its way to me at a pretty rough time, a time when I'm sort of trying to figure out why or how anything matters - and Joe and Tony's discussions of art and love and vocation and forgiveness and repentance were really calming and good and reminded me of things I value and how complicated and beautiful the world is, and how a sense of humor (be it Joe's sweet, but not dumb, one or Tony's angry,satiricial one) is always always necessary.

My favorite moment probably was when Tony came to Joe as a teenager, despairing, fearing he had lost his faith, and talked to Joe about existentialism, finally concluding that Hell is the self, and Heaven is really in loving other people. So hard to get your head around, and sometimes hard to practice, but so necessary.

Lost a little bit when it got into Tony's comedic career, but that is a-ok, for the greatness of the larger book.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listented to this book read by author Tony Hendra. I bought the book when it went on sale on Audible.com because I was curious about Hendra, having read George Carlin's memoir in which Hendra collaborated. I didn't know much more about Hendra except that he was a satirist and connected with the National Lampoon. I also like memoirs that explore spiritual questions, especially those by authors who were raised Catholic.

I have since purchased a hard copy of the book that will go on my shelf of favorite spiritual/religious favorites. Hendra is a great writer (though sometimes verbose) who does an exceptional job reading his book (more unuusal than one might think). There were many parts that I would have marked and underlined as meaningful and that's why I bought the book because I want to read it and do just that. The man about whom the book was written--Father Joe--is the kind of spiritual guide many of us seek--kind, loving, gentle, perceptive, and forgiving. Hendra's questions/quest and Father Joe's responses are both full of insight and wisdom and since it's Hendra writing, witty and at times comical. I particularly liked places where he examined issues related to pre/post Vatican II.

I recommend the book to memorisits and memoir lovers, lapsed Catholics, and those who enjoy reading about a slice of life in the second half of the 20th century, here and in the UK.

[Rosalind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hardly ever give books a five star rating, but this one gets one. Found it in a pile of second hand books at a Salvation Army store. What a gem! Read it in two days and put reading the ending off for a perfect time of quiet, in order to savor the last few pages. I am so grateful that the author decided to pen his spiritual journey; and with complete honesty of all the bumps in the road, even a trek through atheism. Father Joe was a great monk, but I know that there are many Father Joe's living their chosen path, in many churches. Wonderful read!

[Nerdread · Rating 1 out of 5]

one star for father Joe ..... I wish there is a zero star on goodreads.

It was a struggle to finish this book!the only good thing this book has is Father Joe. Very disappointing, I advice anyone to stay far away from this as possible. I hated Tony throughout the book, he is unlikeable, selfish, obsessive, and shady. I found him to be very creepy.
His soul was never saved in my opinion, he was just using Father Joe as an excuse to write this book and drop famous people name he met through out the story.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent. I was expecting something very different, saccharine at worst and fluffy at best. This thing is gorgeous on so many levels. Hendra is a big name in the American satire world and he tells his story with equal amounts of relish and repentance. His honesty is ravaging or was it ravishing? Anything but shallow and everything but ulterior in motive. Gorgeous writing that parallels a depth of wisdom life has given him. And, of course, the title is catchy.

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Subtitle: "The Man Who Saved My Soul" I so beg to differ. What did Fr. Joe do for Tony but send him out into the world to mess up so many lives? His wife, his daughters. Satire may be clever, but his part in the destruction of what others have built is despicable. Satire is easy, chaotic, entropic. This book is going in the garbage. I wouldn't want anyone else to read it.

[William Schrecengost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great stuff. Father Joe is such a great example of wisdom and how mentors ought to be able to cut through the fog and counsel their sheep and subtly guide them in the correct direction. Joe’s patience is truly incredible. Don’t expect immediate changes, plant seeds and nudge, but be alright with waiting 20+ years to see the fruit of your labor.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book can’t quite seem to make up its mind as to whether it wants to be a spiritual autobiography or a spiritual biography, and thus it never quite satisfies as either. As the former, it’s a sort of spiritual autobiography in reverse, a story of losing, rather than gaining, faith. Or perhaps it’s more a story of gaining and then losing and then partially re-gaining faith, which is the pattern of most spiritual journeys, I suppose.

The author is not likeable, but nor does he take pains to be. He spends a good 1/6th of the book ranting against conservative politicians and another good 1/6th of the book name dropping. Did you know he used to sit behind Stephen Hawking in class? I know because he mentions it three or four times. The author is a satirist, but you wouldn’t guess that from the conspicuously unfunny book. He’s not very relatable, at least not to me, except when it comes to his opinions of literature; I feel like I could have said almost the same things and have often wrestled with the same questions about my enjoyment of dark Catholic literature. I don’t necessarily have to relate to the subject of a spiritual autobiography to appreciate the journey, but I sometimes felt as if in this book the journey was not a journey in and of itself so much as a vehicle for self-excuse, name dropping, and political ranting.

As a spiritual biography, the book is not much more satisfying. Father Joe seems likeable enough, and I get the impression he was a true man of God who made a real difference in the real lives of a great many people, but he’s the sort of man who, in the words of the apostle Paul, becomes all things to all men that by all means he might save some. Or, in the words of the author, “a spiritual chameleon.” Thus, the Father Joe we see is the Father Joe Tony Hendra needed to see, but the Father Joe Tony Hendra needed to see may not be the Father Joe any particular reader needs to see. So what we end up seeing is Tony Hendra’s idealized version of a monk, but Tony Hendra’s ideals aren’t necessarily my ideals. Thus, for me, Father Joe grows a little uninteresting as the story progresses, and his refusal to call sin sin becomes a bit bland after a point.

Father Joe is not a nuanced or developed figure, and he does not take the title role in the book (the actual title of the book notwithstanding) - that role goes to Hendra himself. In real life Father Joe was perhaps a much more complex and interesting figure than the teddy bear Jesus Hendra portrays him to be, or maybe he wasn’t, and maybe I just find saints boring. But I was honestly more interested in the very brief glimpses Hendra gave us of other monks and priests (ones he didn’t particularly like) than I was with Father Joe; these others seemed to be human characters with sweeping human flaws and idiosyncrasies. The monk shooting the seagull sticks out in my mind, as does this early line from a priest at the unholy boys’ school Hendra briefly attends: “You’re going to settle this with fist and gloves, just as Jesus intended.” I’m not saying either of these is a good model like Father Joe, by any means, I’m just saying that in literature the human is often more interesting than the ideal. When it comes to a "spiritual chameleon" like the apostle Paul, we have a real spiritual biography as well as diverse letters that paint a fascinating and flawed portrait of the man; in "Father Joe", we have only Hendra's fantasy of a flawless, liberal monk.

I give the book three stars because I did enjoy reading it. It is fairly well written, moves at a reasonable pace, and contains a number of spiritual insights (most from the mouth of Father Joe) I felt the need to highlight

[Robert Federline · Rating 4 out of 5]

God is real. He is not an abstract, theoretical being in the clouds. He is ever-present and accessible. Part of His mystery, however, is how He makes Himself present to us.

The title of the book grabbed me, without knowing who either Fr. Joe or the author was. Fr. Joe sounds like a likely candidate for sainthood in the future, although like many saintly people, his memory may just fade, while the ripples from the good he did in his life on earth still echo through the ages.

The author, on the other hand, is a man of considerable more earthly fame. It was good to discover him by reading the book, however, rather than going in knowing who he was. the innocence of youth, and the discovery of a link to God are always poignant. It is especially helpful when God places a person in our paths to help us find Him and to keep to His ways. Fr. Joe was just such a person for Tony Hendra. Tony, as a youth found a vocation to be a Benedictine monk. It was his choice, however, and not God's. God did have plans for him, however, as He does for us all. Fr. Joe turned out to be Tony's personal GPS - God Positioning System.

There is a proverb which tells us that if you "raise up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it." Fr. Joe helped to build the solid foundation in Tony's life. As a typical youth, he wandered far and strayed from what he was taught and what he thought was right. This book is the fascinating tale of how God does not forget us, even if we forget or deny Him. Tony can find his way back with the help of Fr. Joe, his spiritual guide, or sherpa. When he is old(er) he does not depart from the path in which he was raised up.

Like a compass, Fr. Joe can only point to the Truth of God. Tony is, even at his most skeptical, at least open to hearing the message, even during those times when he rejects it. The consistency of Fr. Joe's influence, and his grand example of freely loving his charge bears its own fruit.

This book clearly shows different stages in a modern life, and how we can be influenced by the cynicism of the world around us. It also shows the unchanging presence of God and His openness to us and His ability to forgive and welcome us home. It is not a saccharine tale, nor overly gritty, but very real. It is a tale which can give hope to anyone wandering in the world, and wondering where God is. He is ever present, and He is open to us. It is up to us to open ourselves to Him.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book but not the author. It is spoken of as a book about Father Joe, and it is but it is even more about Tony Hedra who I don't find really likable. I do find Father Joe a fascinating and amazing person who I'd want to emulate in some fashion so I'm thankful to have been introduced to him.

[JanB · Rating 1 out of 5]

Loved Father Joe, a gentle soul full of wit and wisdom. Too bad I can't say the same for the author. He was unlikable and it ruined the story of Father Joe. Father Joe deserved better.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent read; whether one is religious or not; deep insights; and not always those that one would expect.

[Alastair Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perplexing and complicating, redeeming and irresistible...all in equal amounts!

Wasn't prepared for what I got. "You see, dear—I think there are two types of people in the world. Those who divide the world up into two kinds of people... and those who don't."

[Jay French · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable story of a life with learning and reflection along the way, led by a mild mannered Catholic monk. While I am not a Catholic, I liked the description of the thought processes involved in choosing a monastic life, then being denied. Hendra isn’t afraid to describe in detail. The “alternative calling” in the middle of the book was really out of left field and not explained in as much depth. Or at least that explanation didn’t feel complete – it was too different from expectations. Maybe that’s why it was a calling, eh? Another thing I enjoyed is that Hendra didn’t shy from rarely used words. This wasn’t a quick read since I had to figure out what he was saying so often, but I felt it was well served. I had a choice to listen on audio, and I’m glad I read this instead so I could take the time to think through the verbiage.

I loaned this book to my 89 year old Catholic father-in-law. He enjoyed it a lot, and couldn’t stop laughing when reciting the song Hendra taught Father Joe to sing when he was exercising. It has to do with Nazi leaders' genitalia.

[John Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

My girlfriend, a pretty devout Catholic, gave me this book, and once I started, I found it slow going--at first. The author discusses his teenage love affair with a British monastery, and I was quickly bored.

But in the second section, he recalls abandoning his plan to become a monk himself, and embarks on a career as a satirist--something right up my alley! Hendra's portrayal of Father Joe, meanwhile, is superb, painting him as a "foundation of faith and love," and Hendra's process of tying his and Fr. Joe's worlds together at the end was excellent.

The best thing I took from this one was about the author himself. I had no idea when I started the book that Hendra played the band manager in "This is Spinal Tap," one of my all-time fave films. He also co-wrote "Last Words," the autobiography of some dude named George Carlin. I immediately ordered "Last Words" from Amazon, and it's next on my list!!

[Eva Nickelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting tale which started strong and ended rather weakly. The only constant source of engaging material was the bits which featured Fr Joe. Hendra himself has led a rather different lifestyle, and while I am glad that he had someone like Fr Joe who could help him through some of the rough spots, I just got more and more angry at him. In his credits, he mentions his second wife and their young children, but nothing about his two children from his first marriage. He is angry that Vatican II led to non-Latin masses. He projects a superiority and self-importance, which at first is interesting, but after awhile becomes stale.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is almost a cross between a Monty Python movie and Newman's Apologia Pro Vita Sua. The author's own spiritual journey is vividly detailed, yet with the piety of a British sitcom. The author is upfront with his foibles and shortcomings; which only allows the stark contrast of the mercy he receives and the redemption he pursues.

The main subject of the book is looked upon fondly by the author and for good reason. Despite the author running the gamut of pursuing a vocation in the monastery to living the high life in Hollywood, Fr. Joe's counsel and perspective is done in a wonderful and inspiring manner. The writing is plaintive and soul touching.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting but not riveting. Hendra's return to the Catholic faith of his English boyhood is assisted by his confessor, Father Joe, a monk living in England. While away from practicing his faith, I felt that Hendra missed the ceremony of the Catholic services as much as anything else about Catholicism, and I don't think that's a good motive for returning to the church.

[Jeremy Hatfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm no Catholic, and I'm no liberal, but despite all this, I found this book to be a fairly worthwhile read, if only because of Father Warrilow's example of selfless love towards a really conceited soul.

[Mike Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The start of the book reads like a high school English student trying to impress his teacher with his vocabulary. Painful. There are bits and pieces of wisdom and sound teachings, but I never felt an attachment to Tony.

[Merry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Father Joe is a wonderful (real) character. Tony Hendra sounds nsn.

[Kat Orton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My vicar gave this to me to read, I found the first half a bit hard going, but the second half really made up for it and even found myself bawling my eyes out at the end.