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Calvin Becker Trilogy #1
Portofino
Calvin's two older sisters-Janet and Rachael-survive the parental conflict by doing a little pounding of their own on the young brother. The boy turns outward: he learns his way around the colorful resort town of Portofino, makes pagan friends at every turn, helps beach boys haul boats, befriends a whiskey-sipping painter, and even visits a Roman Catholic church to light a candle to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
227 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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387 people want to read
About the author
Frank Schaeffer
51 books146 followersFrank Schaeffer is a New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books. Frank is a survivor of both polio and an evangelical/fundamentalist childhood, an acclaimed writer who overcame severe dyslexia, a home-schooled and self-taught documentary movie director, a feature film director of four low budget Hollywood features Frank has described as “pretty terrible.” He is also an acclaimed author of both fiction and nonfiction and an artist with a loyal following of international collectors who own many of his oil paintings. Frank has been a frequent guest on the Rachel Maddow Show on NBC, has appeared on Oprah, been interviewed by Terri Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air and appeared on the Today Show, BBC News and many other media outlets. He is a much sought after speaker and has lectured at a wide range of venues from Harvard’s Kennedy School to the Hammer Museum/UCLA, Princeton University, Riverside Church Cathedral, DePaul University and the Kansas City Public Library.
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January 26, 2021
This novel, about the author's fanatical Protestant fundamentalist family, published in 1999, is a companion volume to a memoir the author wrote about that family, "Crazy for God" (link below). The author is pretty serious with "Crazy," but in this novel he found a good deal of humor in his family situation, especially looking back.
The annual family holiday was on the cheap to an Italian resort town that gives this novel its title.
The pious mom took every opportunity to direct, what the author calls The Talk, in a long-winded way at his two sisters. The mother likened virginity to Christmas presents that should not be unwrapped until Christmas morning.
This provides the perfect metaphor for an incident that the author saw occur between one of his sisters, Janet, and a group of frisky young Italian males who had been following them for some time through town, making verbal advances toward the sister.
“The French girls seemed to be enjoying their attention. But Janet was made of sterner stuff. Indeed she was not about to let anyone look at her Christmas presents before it was time to share, “that most precious gift, our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit,” with the person God chose for her, as He had chosen Rebekah for Isaac.
As we came to the next corner in the alley, Janet pick-uped her feet and ran, then in one fluid motion, she stopped, let go of my hand, turned, and magnificently swept off one of her heavy, wooden-soled clog sandals. Holding it lightly by the toe she raised this instrument of virtue over her head just as the three laughing boys rounded the corner. “Hello, America!” Thwack! Janet cracked one over the top of his head.
Janet was strong, she was built more like Dad than like Mom. She could give you the worst Indian wrist burn ever. She had arm-wrestled our sixteen-year-old cousin Paul into red-faced ignominy.
These poor boys thought they were following one more silly tourist who would giggle at their advances. Wrong number! And great was their fall. As the first boy’s knees buckled, he had an expression of rapt and surprised attention on his pleasant olive-skinned face.
When Janet turned the wooden clog on edge and clipped the second boy smartly on the bridge of his nose, he wordlessly slid down the wall of the small cheese store we were next to and carefully settled his face in his hands where he no doubt began to rethink all the received wisdom of Italian manhood.
The third boy, the tall, handsome one, made the classic mistake of the French Army in World War II, he defended the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving his flank open. Janet, with a sweeping underarm softball pitching swing, gave his “Christmas presents” a resounding uppercut. This made him grip his testicles as he doubled over, and that was the very moment that he should have left his hands where they’d been, on top of his head, because Janet’s next blow was an arching tennis serve that slammed down on the back of his head, now bowed in reverent pain.
As we ran back the way we had come, we passed the French girls. They were now walking arm in arm with their “attackers” and were gigging. No such foolery for us! My other sister, Rachael, might have talked to the unfortunate boys, but not Janet! No one even got to peek at her presents let alone a tug at the ribbons.”
=================
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...
.
The annual family holiday was on the cheap to an Italian resort town that gives this novel its title.
The pious mom took every opportunity to direct, what the author calls The Talk, in a long-winded way at his two sisters. The mother likened virginity to Christmas presents that should not be unwrapped until Christmas morning.
This provides the perfect metaphor for an incident that the author saw occur between one of his sisters, Janet, and a group of frisky young Italian males who had been following them for some time through town, making verbal advances toward the sister.
“The French girls seemed to be enjoying their attention. But Janet was made of sterner stuff. Indeed she was not about to let anyone look at her Christmas presents before it was time to share, “that most precious gift, our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit,” with the person God chose for her, as He had chosen Rebekah for Isaac.
As we came to the next corner in the alley, Janet pick-uped her feet and ran, then in one fluid motion, she stopped, let go of my hand, turned, and magnificently swept off one of her heavy, wooden-soled clog sandals. Holding it lightly by the toe she raised this instrument of virtue over her head just as the three laughing boys rounded the corner. “Hello, America!” Thwack! Janet cracked one over the top of his head.
Janet was strong, she was built more like Dad than like Mom. She could give you the worst Indian wrist burn ever. She had arm-wrestled our sixteen-year-old cousin Paul into red-faced ignominy.
These poor boys thought they were following one more silly tourist who would giggle at their advances. Wrong number! And great was their fall. As the first boy’s knees buckled, he had an expression of rapt and surprised attention on his pleasant olive-skinned face.
When Janet turned the wooden clog on edge and clipped the second boy smartly on the bridge of his nose, he wordlessly slid down the wall of the small cheese store we were next to and carefully settled his face in his hands where he no doubt began to rethink all the received wisdom of Italian manhood.
The third boy, the tall, handsome one, made the classic mistake of the French Army in World War II, he defended the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving his flank open. Janet, with a sweeping underarm softball pitching swing, gave his “Christmas presents” a resounding uppercut. This made him grip his testicles as he doubled over, and that was the very moment that he should have left his hands where they’d been, on top of his head, because Janet’s next blow was an arching tennis serve that slammed down on the back of his head, now bowed in reverent pain.
As we ran back the way we had come, we passed the French girls. They were now walking arm in arm with their “attackers” and were gigging. No such foolery for us! My other sister, Rachael, might have talked to the unfortunate boys, but not Janet! No one even got to peek at her presents let alone a tug at the ribbons.”
=================
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...
.
September 4, 2008
If you’re still in the fundamentalist and/or evangelical fold and are familiar with the writings of Francis Schaeffer -- or even if you’ve left in the last few years -- the novel Portofino by Schaeffer’s son Frank is bound to be unnerving. Especially if you’ve also read his recent autobiography, Crazy for God.
In Portofino, Schaeffer writes about the son of an American missionary family living in Switzerland, following two of their summer holidays in the Italian town that gives the book its name. We immediately suspect biographical elements in the book, given that Calvin Becker’s family teaches intellectual ideas in a setting similar to L’Abri, the institution founded by Francis and Edith Schaeffer. The two family holidays take place in 1962 and 1965, about the same years that Frank would have been Calvin’s age. And Calvin, like Frank, is eventually sent to a boarding school in England because his education is sorely neglected in Switzerland while his parents concentrate on their more important ministry.
The similarities between the Schaeffer family and the fictional Becker family become more obvious as eleven-year old Calvin views the world through a strict Reformationist theological prism.
For example, he fully accepts that the Italian family he spends time with on the beach is "obviously not saved." When he takes a single sip of wine the family offers him, he judges himself: "...now I was drinking wine just like the Spaniards did while they laughed and swore and tortured real Christians because they would no longer worship Mary, whom we know was an ordinary girl, not anything special, but they worshiped her because they were pagans who served the Pope not our Lord. Now I drank wine too!"
This wrestling between viewpoints -- believing the strict Calvinist teachings of his parents while secretly being embarrassed whenever fellow vacationers find out about them -- the acceptance of some bizarre interpretations of the world (see the Spaniards, above), yet trying to enact those beliefs in daily life -- this all suggests just how odd and difficult it must have been to be a Schaeffer child.
Yet the behaviour of the Becker family is clearly overdone, a caricature, overemphasized merely to create humour from the contrast between a strictly Calvinist Protestant missionary family and the casual worldly atmosphere of Europe in the 1960s. Right?
We might assume this, if not for the autobiography, Crazy for God. The dark Moods of Ralph Becker are described in almost exactly the same words as the Moods of Francis Schaeffer. Elsa Becker’s smug, upper class Christianity (and secret contempt for her husband’s lower class) are astonishingly similar to Edith Schaeffer’s attitudes in Crazy for God.
Just how fictional is Portofino, really? Especially reading how unreasonable and even violent Ralph’s Moods are, and how they terrify his family. How tormented he is, having to live up to his ministry, his real self emerging only when he escapes to hike into the beautiful Mediterranean hills. Or escapes the holier-than-thou attitudes of his pious wife. And Elsa, broaching inappropriately intimate topics with her children, preaching judgementally to strangers and family alike in the guise of public prayer, swinging between overbearing control of the children and virtual neglect.
For some of us, the humour in Portofino tarnishes as we suspect that the novel is more than merely autobiographical, but is in fact Frank Schaeffer’s therapeutic working out of quite a bad childhood. It’s difficult, now, to wonder if books such as Edith Schaeffer’s L’Abri were merely an instance of wishful thinking, an expression of how she wished the personal lives of God’s faithful servants could be, instead of how they actually were.
Very likely, anyone who hasn’t heard of or studied Francis Schaeffer--- non-Christians, or people he would have considered more "liberal" Christians -- will find Portofino hilarious, as Calvin attempts to live his young life guided by sixteenth-century theology. But for those who once idolized Francis Schaeffer and his teachings, the book is more like a devastating obituary.
That may not be all bad. Portofino and its real-life counterpart, Crazy for God, remind us yet again of the dangers of the Cult of Personality. It’s as bad in a “Christian” context as, say, in a Stalinist. Unfortunately for us, and more unfortunately for Frank Schaeffer, who had to live through it, it seems to be a lesson we need to be taught over and over again.
In Portofino, Schaeffer writes about the son of an American missionary family living in Switzerland, following two of their summer holidays in the Italian town that gives the book its name. We immediately suspect biographical elements in the book, given that Calvin Becker’s family teaches intellectual ideas in a setting similar to L’Abri, the institution founded by Francis and Edith Schaeffer. The two family holidays take place in 1962 and 1965, about the same years that Frank would have been Calvin’s age. And Calvin, like Frank, is eventually sent to a boarding school in England because his education is sorely neglected in Switzerland while his parents concentrate on their more important ministry.
The similarities between the Schaeffer family and the fictional Becker family become more obvious as eleven-year old Calvin views the world through a strict Reformationist theological prism.
For example, he fully accepts that the Italian family he spends time with on the beach is "obviously not saved." When he takes a single sip of wine the family offers him, he judges himself: "...now I was drinking wine just like the Spaniards did while they laughed and swore and tortured real Christians because they would no longer worship Mary, whom we know was an ordinary girl, not anything special, but they worshiped her because they were pagans who served the Pope not our Lord. Now I drank wine too!"
This wrestling between viewpoints -- believing the strict Calvinist teachings of his parents while secretly being embarrassed whenever fellow vacationers find out about them -- the acceptance of some bizarre interpretations of the world (see the Spaniards, above), yet trying to enact those beliefs in daily life -- this all suggests just how odd and difficult it must have been to be a Schaeffer child.
Yet the behaviour of the Becker family is clearly overdone, a caricature, overemphasized merely to create humour from the contrast between a strictly Calvinist Protestant missionary family and the casual worldly atmosphere of Europe in the 1960s. Right?
We might assume this, if not for the autobiography, Crazy for God. The dark Moods of Ralph Becker are described in almost exactly the same words as the Moods of Francis Schaeffer. Elsa Becker’s smug, upper class Christianity (and secret contempt for her husband’s lower class) are astonishingly similar to Edith Schaeffer’s attitudes in Crazy for God.
Just how fictional is Portofino, really? Especially reading how unreasonable and even violent Ralph’s Moods are, and how they terrify his family. How tormented he is, having to live up to his ministry, his real self emerging only when he escapes to hike into the beautiful Mediterranean hills. Or escapes the holier-than-thou attitudes of his pious wife. And Elsa, broaching inappropriately intimate topics with her children, preaching judgementally to strangers and family alike in the guise of public prayer, swinging between overbearing control of the children and virtual neglect.
For some of us, the humour in Portofino tarnishes as we suspect that the novel is more than merely autobiographical, but is in fact Frank Schaeffer’s therapeutic working out of quite a bad childhood. It’s difficult, now, to wonder if books such as Edith Schaeffer’s L’Abri were merely an instance of wishful thinking, an expression of how she wished the personal lives of God’s faithful servants could be, instead of how they actually were.
Very likely, anyone who hasn’t heard of or studied Francis Schaeffer--- non-Christians, or people he would have considered more "liberal" Christians -- will find Portofino hilarious, as Calvin attempts to live his young life guided by sixteenth-century theology. But for those who once idolized Francis Schaeffer and his teachings, the book is more like a devastating obituary.
That may not be all bad. Portofino and its real-life counterpart, Crazy for God, remind us yet again of the dangers of the Cult of Personality. It’s as bad in a “Christian” context as, say, in a Stalinist. Unfortunately for us, and more unfortunately for Frank Schaeffer, who had to live through it, it seems to be a lesson we need to be taught over and over again.
October 1, 2018
A cute, delightful and endearing coming-of-age autobiography set in the madness of a fundamentalist Christian evangelical family.
The main character is a young boy attempting to be normal in this religiously fanatic family, whose mission, according to his parents, is to "convert the pagans" (which is, according to them, essentially everybody who is not part of the particular, minuscule splinter of one of the many USA Pentecostal "churches" to which they adhere), and whose pre-Enlightenment, 16-th century views can sadly still be currently seen in some population segments in some parts of the USA.
His resilience and attempts at normality, in the face of all this weirdness and fanaticism, are quite endearing and they contrast, oftentimes with a hilarious effect, with the holier-than-thou attitudes of his pious mother, and the troubling millenarian, righteous and ferociously uncompromising views of his father, whose fundamentalist, Bible-touting Christian beliefs do not prevent him from (or maybe provide a justification for) acting as a dictator in his family; a family which he frequently terrorizes with his unpredictable, sinister and even violent moods.
The setting is the holiday resort of Portofino in the 60's, where the boy's family spends the summer vacations in 1962 and 1965, a location whose relaxed atmosphere, and beautiful natural environment of the Ligurian coast, provide a sometimes hilarious contrast with the tensions and dysfunctions of his family.
A very nice little book, a page-turner deserving a good 4-star rating.
The main character is a young boy attempting to be normal in this religiously fanatic family, whose mission, according to his parents, is to "convert the pagans" (which is, according to them, essentially everybody who is not part of the particular, minuscule splinter of one of the many USA Pentecostal "churches" to which they adhere), and whose pre-Enlightenment, 16-th century views can sadly still be currently seen in some population segments in some parts of the USA.
His resilience and attempts at normality, in the face of all this weirdness and fanaticism, are quite endearing and they contrast, oftentimes with a hilarious effect, with the holier-than-thou attitudes of his pious mother, and the troubling millenarian, righteous and ferociously uncompromising views of his father, whose fundamentalist, Bible-touting Christian beliefs do not prevent him from (or maybe provide a justification for) acting as a dictator in his family; a family which he frequently terrorizes with his unpredictable, sinister and even violent moods.
The setting is the holiday resort of Portofino in the 60's, where the boy's family spends the summer vacations in 1962 and 1965, a location whose relaxed atmosphere, and beautiful natural environment of the Ligurian coast, provide a sometimes hilarious contrast with the tensions and dysfunctions of his family.
A very nice little book, a page-turner deserving a good 4-star rating.
June 2, 2017
Great story telling The least believable parts are the least fictional
The best way to enjoy this book is if you know almost nothing about the author. Therefore this will have two parts. Why this is a good read and then what you do not need to know.
Potofino is a fun, funny and touching book. It is the first of three books about a teen aged Calvin Becker and his humorous journey from the self-obsessive awareness of childhood into the larger world view of a not yet adult. This is generally termed a coming of age story, but too often that means a story of first time sex. Calvin is fourteen as the story opens and what little he will see of sex is largely innocent not the central theme of the book.
Calvin's family is from an extreme side of the Christian Fundamentalist faith. His father is a minister, a missionary from America to serve the otherwise damned souls of Switzerland.
As the book opens the family is on one of their two annual vacations, this one to a then less popular (less expensive) Italian seashore town, Portofino. His mother makes a point of pushing their transportation schedule to its limits as a way of proving that God will look after His Own and the Beckers, being among The Chosen, need not be too punctual. This is one of many aspects of the Becker Family's religious practices that will seem extreme. To an outsider they will seem unreal. There is some comic discription of these observances, but they are authentic to the Authors real life experience.
We will experience Calvin's vacation from his point of view. The narrative is sharp, insightful often funny yet it will retain something of the child's innocence even as is related by the adult Calvin who is the narrator. Much of this book is laugh out loud funny. Often I found myself having to see a world that should have been familiar, but was unique to the Becker family. Part of what make Potofino a good book is the richness of Calvin's insight, and Calvin's world.
This is not just a childhood romp. There will be major stresses within the Becker family and Calvin will have to deal with issues beyond his years. He will also build lasting friendships with people normally excluded by the exacting faith practiced by his family.
What you do not need to know.
All three of the Calvin Becker Trilogy are heavily autobiographic. The family makeup closely resembles Frank Schaeffer's family and the many of the events and places are drawn heavily from the facts and places of Frank's youth. The key to each book in the trilogy is that Frank will test some member of his fictional family and watch how the other might have dealt with these hypothetical - fictional developments. In Portofino the person most tested will be the Mother.
In all the Calvin books, Calvin will grow in mind and maturity by combinations of his innate character and the natural results of living, if partially, outside of the religious bounds of his non vacation life. Again the richness of the narrative carries the reader through this process while closely identifying with the adolescent.
Schaeffer uses his family and his experiences. This makes it tempting to think that the trilogy is ONLY thinly disguised autobiography or an immature effort to embarrass or put down his family. These books are fiction. One of the roles of an author is to take something familiar, make you see it in a new light and use it to create a believable fictional world. This is the same problem Phillip Roth has had and addresses in many of his books. The comparison is not unfair. Both writers have been accused of being disrespectful and damaging to the reputation of their families and their religions.
In the Calvin Becker Trilogy, Schaeffer is employing another artistic technique. The author creates an artificial problem, and tries to report, honestly, how his fictional characters handle this problem. Part of the method of controlling the fictional environment is to ground the fiction in the familiar and to build the story from the familiar. In this case the initial conditions are drawn from his real family and childhood. The specific events, conflicts and outcomes are the result of the author's ability to imagine and write.
Frank Schaeffer's Portofino imagines a world I enjoyed and recommend for your reading pleasure.
The best way to enjoy this book is if you know almost nothing about the author. Therefore this will have two parts. Why this is a good read and then what you do not need to know.
Potofino is a fun, funny and touching book. It is the first of three books about a teen aged Calvin Becker and his humorous journey from the self-obsessive awareness of childhood into the larger world view of a not yet adult. This is generally termed a coming of age story, but too often that means a story of first time sex. Calvin is fourteen as the story opens and what little he will see of sex is largely innocent not the central theme of the book.
Calvin's family is from an extreme side of the Christian Fundamentalist faith. His father is a minister, a missionary from America to serve the otherwise damned souls of Switzerland.
As the book opens the family is on one of their two annual vacations, this one to a then less popular (less expensive) Italian seashore town, Portofino. His mother makes a point of pushing their transportation schedule to its limits as a way of proving that God will look after His Own and the Beckers, being among The Chosen, need not be too punctual. This is one of many aspects of the Becker Family's religious practices that will seem extreme. To an outsider they will seem unreal. There is some comic discription of these observances, but they are authentic to the Authors real life experience.
We will experience Calvin's vacation from his point of view. The narrative is sharp, insightful often funny yet it will retain something of the child's innocence even as is related by the adult Calvin who is the narrator. Much of this book is laugh out loud funny. Often I found myself having to see a world that should have been familiar, but was unique to the Becker family. Part of what make Potofino a good book is the richness of Calvin's insight, and Calvin's world.
This is not just a childhood romp. There will be major stresses within the Becker family and Calvin will have to deal with issues beyond his years. He will also build lasting friendships with people normally excluded by the exacting faith practiced by his family.
What you do not need to know.
All three of the Calvin Becker Trilogy are heavily autobiographic. The family makeup closely resembles Frank Schaeffer's family and the many of the events and places are drawn heavily from the facts and places of Frank's youth. The key to each book in the trilogy is that Frank will test some member of his fictional family and watch how the other might have dealt with these hypothetical - fictional developments. In Portofino the person most tested will be the Mother.
In all the Calvin books, Calvin will grow in mind and maturity by combinations of his innate character and the natural results of living, if partially, outside of the religious bounds of his non vacation life. Again the richness of the narrative carries the reader through this process while closely identifying with the adolescent.
Schaeffer uses his family and his experiences. This makes it tempting to think that the trilogy is ONLY thinly disguised autobiography or an immature effort to embarrass or put down his family. These books are fiction. One of the roles of an author is to take something familiar, make you see it in a new light and use it to create a believable fictional world. This is the same problem Phillip Roth has had and addresses in many of his books. The comparison is not unfair. Both writers have been accused of being disrespectful and damaging to the reputation of their families and their religions.
In the Calvin Becker Trilogy, Schaeffer is employing another artistic technique. The author creates an artificial problem, and tries to report, honestly, how his fictional characters handle this problem. Part of the method of controlling the fictional environment is to ground the fiction in the familiar and to build the story from the familiar. In this case the initial conditions are drawn from his real family and childhood. The specific events, conflicts and outcomes are the result of the author's ability to imagine and write.
Frank Schaeffer's Portofino imagines a world I enjoyed and recommend for your reading pleasure.
July 10, 2014
This coming of age story is a real page-turner. I found myself at times laughing out loud, sometimes embarrassed, and often relating to Calvin's family. This is a fun novel with rights of passage and moments of brilliance all wrapped into one vacation destination. Frank Schaeffer does an amazing job of creating the tensions of a pastors family, but keeps it authentic and often very raw. This is not the "Christian Novel" that many are expecting, instead it seems more a memoir of the struggles facing a family trying to live above and beyond reality through extreme pious devotion. I enjoyed this book.
April 9, 2017
I first read this book 20 years ago, and revisited it in preparation for my holiday to the Ligurian coast, where the story is set. Told from the point of view of Calvin, the son of American Protestant fundamentalist missionaries, the narrative features two summer holidays in Portofino, one in 1962 and one in 1965. In addition to the dysfunction of the family, which can be at times sinister, at times amusing, the beauty of the area and the personality of the locals is brought to life by Schaeffer's writing. Looking at his bio, this might be due to the fact that the novel seems autobiographical.
An enjoyable read, and the perfect start to my holiday!
An enjoyable read, and the perfect start to my holiday!
June 15, 2016
to borrow from the reviewers on the book cover,this was wickedly funny,charming and raucous. A coming of age story. Some parts of the book reminded me of Ralphie from Christmas Story. Delightfully fun read, great summer read.
November 6, 2007
I grew up Fundamentalist so I can relate to this book.
Read
May 28, 2025This is his 1992 novel, the first book in the Calvin Becker Trilogy. I did like what Schaeffer said to me when we spoke. I'll paraphrase it poorly here: he said something like fiction represents the truth, while nonfiction captures a moment. I'm saying this poorly. Fiction endures, says something lasting? Nonfiction represents a moment in time. At a future point in history, for example, everything I said in Kids Without Horses (nonfiction) may not hold up. Is this entirely true? It is worth thinking about.
In Portofino, Schaeffer writes about an uber-Reformed Christian missionary family who vacations once a year in Italy. What do you know, but the family so closely resembles Schaeffer's real family and life that I have no clue if it's fact or fiction. I'm betting on a lot of truth here.
But I'll say this: I know this world (though I didn't get to go to Portofino, Italy). I know these people. I felt the protagonist's embarrassment and awkwardness and his words to his sister, "Our family's strange."
Yes, strange, indeed.
What does one make of strange religiosity? What does one toss out and what does one accept? Why is there such weirdness?
He's right about a lot, and the trauma is real, but he makes me sad too.
In Portofino, Schaeffer writes about an uber-Reformed Christian missionary family who vacations once a year in Italy. What do you know, but the family so closely resembles Schaeffer's real family and life that I have no clue if it's fact or fiction. I'm betting on a lot of truth here.
But I'll say this: I know this world (though I didn't get to go to Portofino, Italy). I know these people. I felt the protagonist's embarrassment and awkwardness and his words to his sister, "Our family's strange."
Yes, strange, indeed.
What does one make of strange religiosity? What does one toss out and what does one accept? Why is there such weirdness?
He's right about a lot, and the trauma is real, but he makes me sad too.
February 17, 2023
This book captures coming of age in a fundamentalist, Calvinist family, packaged neatly in a very awkward 1960s vacation story. Like, if the Durrells went to Corfu, but then handed out tracts. I’m not sure how well the humor carries over if you didn’t grow up in the same religious traditions as Schaeffer, but I found several moments completely hilarious (looking at you, Gospel Walnut Witnessing Kit.) Frank Schaeffer writes about what he knows, and it shows through in completely believable weirdness that frequently borders on cringeworthy, yet still manages of be endearing.
3.5/5 stars, rounded up.
3.5/5 stars, rounded up.
June 3, 2021
Portofino is a splendid place to visit and to vacation nearby is part of the summer vacation fun for our narrator Calvin and his deeply flawed, super religious, protestant family. As a young teen life is mostly spent at the beach among the Italians who live and work in the area year round. Family life back at the hotel is more challenging and embarrassing in equal measure.
July 1, 2016
This novel has such a wealth of detail about the inner workings of certain lives that I can't help but believe that the author has drawn heavily on his own experiences.
The reason I rated it so low is primarily because the author's portrait of a dysfunctional fundamentalist Christian family on vacation. He painted them all as outrageously self-righteous liars and hypocrites. The characters are unbalanced and unlikable.
The father is particularly awful. He seldom attempts to control his rage and he treats his family cruelly, both mentally and physically...until the book's climax, that is. Then he acts completely out of character. It isn't consistent or believable.
Furthermore, the narrator is a boy who lies pretty much constantly and spends far too much time talking about his budding discovery of sex. He refers several times to the interesting characteristics of "His Thing" and it's antics. Reading about this in these terms gets tiresome really quickly.
The descriptions of Portofino and the local people were good, but not enough to save the central characters. It seems there may be a sequel. I'll be sure to avoid it.
The reason I rated it so low is primarily because the author's portrait of a dysfunctional fundamentalist Christian family on vacation. He painted them all as outrageously self-righteous liars and hypocrites. The characters are unbalanced and unlikable.
The father is particularly awful. He seldom attempts to control his rage and he treats his family cruelly, both mentally and physically...until the book's climax, that is. Then he acts completely out of character. It isn't consistent or believable.
Furthermore, the narrator is a boy who lies pretty much constantly and spends far too much time talking about his budding discovery of sex. He refers several times to the interesting characteristics of "His Thing" and it's antics. Reading about this in these terms gets tiresome really quickly.
The descriptions of Portofino and the local people were good, but not enough to save the central characters. It seems there may be a sequel. I'll be sure to avoid it.
October 28, 2010
I liked this author's non-fiction and thought I'd try his fiction. This book is hilarious. At least partially autobiographical, it's the story of a boy (10 in the first half; 13 in the second half) named Calvin who goes on vacation every year to Portofino, Italy. His parents are fundamentalist missionaries of a severely Calvinist sect that keeps splitting; his mother is one of those super-pious types who weaponize prayers and try to "witness" to strangers on trains using gimmicky things like the "Gospel Walnut," while his father has Moods and the kind of temper that results in things getting broken a lot, but bonds with Calvin while hiking the trails around Portofino. Calvin loves the freedom to explore the Italian coast and town life; despite his parents' anti-Catholic stance he sneaks into the local church to pray to Mary; he's friends with the local artist and beach attendant; and he's falling fast for an English girl named Jennifer who stays in the same pensione. The descriptions of Italy--the light, the sea, the sounds, the smells--are lyrical, also.
December 20, 2008
Having been raised by strong fundamentalists, I had a hard time putting this book down. The language of the prayers, the choruses, the "winessing", the embarrassment of not feeling normal is probably universal among children who grew up in the same boat. I liked the subplot with Jennifer, a British girl whom he sees every year that the family takes their vacation in Italy. The flaws of the parents are so glaring. Yet, young Calvin, the protagonist, manages to have lots of beach friends. I would like to read more books in the trilogy. I read this after hearing Frank Schaeffer interviewed on NPR about Crazy for God. This fiction parallels his real life of growing up with an Evangelist with a volatile temper. My, how I admired his father, Francis Schaeffer growing up, and tried to read all of his books.
November 25, 2016
What a sweet, touching, uproariously funny novel! As one of those pagan Roman Catholics the Beckers were trying to "save", I was able to enjoy the book without the baggage of knowing the author's parents in real life were reknowned Protestant missionaries. That knowledge seems to be responsible for some of the ambivalent reviews.
The story reminded me of the show, "The Wonder Years," only set a decade earlier and much funnier. The narrator's voice is utterly convincing as a 10 to 14 year old boy growing up in a time when things were a bit more innocent.
Calling the Italian beach boy "The Banini," the octopus incident, the Gospel Walnut -- I was laughing out loud reading this gem. I give it 4 stars for what it is -- a light, breezy story that makes a great summer read away or on a staycation.
The story reminded me of the show, "The Wonder Years," only set a decade earlier and much funnier. The narrator's voice is utterly convincing as a 10 to 14 year old boy growing up in a time when things were a bit more innocent.
Calling the Italian beach boy "The Banini," the octopus incident, the Gospel Walnut -- I was laughing out loud reading this gem. I give it 4 stars for what it is -- a light, breezy story that makes a great summer read away or on a staycation.
September 28, 2009
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did, considering how little I have in common with the lead character. However, I did find that I could relate to his spirit and the way he questioned so many things and did what he wanted to. I thought the book was very well written and interesting to read. I did not find it as funny as others did, though the family interactions are humorous. Mostly I thought it was kind of a sad book because the family is scared of the dad and his behavior. I was also very appalled by his beating Calvin at the end. It just grossed me out. But, it was also very real.
July 28, 2012
Calvin Becker, the lad featured in Portofino, is one of the most self-absorbed, devious characters I've come across. In Elsa Becker, the author sketches a very strong-willed woman who uses her hyper-spiritual to manipulate others. The best thing about the novels is the wicked sense of humor. However, from this trilogy it is clear that Frank Schaeffer scorns his family but continues to make his living off of their fame. He is still hooked in! He needs to individuate and get on with his own life.
April 21, 2013
Having grown up in a family with fundamentalist leanings, I resonated with Calvin's desire to be "normal" and burst into laughter at several points as Schaeffer painted a picture of how ridiculous we Christians can sometimes seem. At the same time, the book paints a sad picture of broken people who feel the need to hide their brokenness behind religious platitudes. I kept changing my mind about whether I liked the story or not, and the 3 star rating reflects the fact that I still can't make up my mind.
March 19, 2017
Excellent!!! This is the honest, innocent account of life in a super religious missionary family, who are out to convert the Catholics in Switzerland and their vacation spot in Italy and yet Mom uses her prayers to correct the Dad and maintain her superiority over him. Dad has a nasty temper and even went so far as to throw all the supper dishes on the floor in one of his tantrums, and yank the toilet tank off the wall. This is humorous, and fun, just charming. I hated to see it end. No profanity and no sex. Good job, Frank.
October 8, 2008
The first book in the "Calvin Becker" trilogy, this is the semi-autobiographical work of the youngest son of one of the last century's great theologians -- Dr. Frances Schaeffer. The trilogy centers on the real retreat known as L'Abri,in Switzerland.
For anyone who grew up in a fundamentalist (Christian) church or home, this will be a fun read. If you enjoy the trilogy, I would save "Crazy For God" till after you have finished these three.
For anyone who grew up in a fundamentalist (Christian) church or home, this will be a fun read. If you enjoy the trilogy, I would save "Crazy For God" till after you have finished these three.
October 24, 2013
"Portofino" brings a good story and humor together, providing constant entertainment... I couldn't put the book down. All vacations end with forlorn, as did Portofino. When I reached the last page, I remembered the ache in my youthful heart when I looked out the back window of the car at the beach we were leaving behind.
For all those looking for a lighthearted, humorous read, you've found it.
For all those looking for a lighthearted, humorous read, you've found it.
October 19, 2015
Thoroughly enjoyed this. I suppose I've become a little jaded from reading so many junky killer-mysteries that I kept waiting for something untoward to happen. But this was remarkably tame. The rigors of growing up in an evangelical missionary family are revealed for all their quirky creepiness. But again not in a wholly unsettling way. Onward to the other two books in the series!
August 20, 2007
I think this is one of the funniest books I ever read. I keep so I can read about every year and it still cracks me up.
Little Calvin and his families quest to save the heathen Roman Catholics from certain damnation. on vacation . . . in Italy.
Little Calvin and his families quest to save the heathen Roman Catholics from certain damnation. on vacation . . . in Italy.
September 26, 2011
I loved this story. To this day this book makes me long to see Portofino! It has been at least 10 years since I have read this book and I can still picture the scenery there, the smells, and the people. Unforgettable.
December 23, 2011
This is one of my all-time favorite books. Schaeffer brilliantly and hilariously nails (and destroys) the theology of strict Calvinists. Calvin (the character) is my hero. And the octopus incident makes me cry laughing every time I think about it.
April 6, 2011
I thought this book was very funny and entertaining. The juxtaposition of Reformed Presbyterians trying to vacation in Italy without falling prey to any of its charms was very funny.
December 21, 2017
A cute, somewhat endearing story about a boy in a born again Christian family that takes an annual vacation to Italy. However, the story is pretty flat, and the writing is average. I almost gave up on this 200 page "novel" for lack of development a few times, so I can't imagine why it is part of a trilogy. I certainly won't read the next two.
The story never develops. We know early on that Calvin is a likable 10 year old boy who has a younger and an older sister. We know early on that his parents are born again Christian missionaries, and that this dominates their family life. And we know that many seaside Italian towns are picturesque, wonderful places to vacation. That's pretty much the whole story.
The voice of Calvin never changed in the 4 years that book #1 covered. At first he's an endearing 10 year old boy, full of mischief and simple sentences. Towards the end of the book, he is nearly 14, talks the same way, and seemingly wears the same clothes and eats the same amount of food. Anyone know a kid who changes this little from 10 to 14? His development, both academically and emotionally is retarded to some extent from home schooling and such an insular life, but really, the only change is that he starts to notice girls. Wow. Perceptive writing.
Finally, Schaeffer goes way too heavy on the religion piece. There are pages and pages of prayers and sermons and descriptions of born again beliefs. While I do think that he does much of this tongue in cheek, it just gets boring.
Midway through I had to check to make sure that this wasn't a Young Adult book. It wasn't marked as so in Goodreads, but it is kind of like a Hardy Boys book. Great is you're Calvin's age, but lacking for an adult.
The story never develops. We know early on that Calvin is a likable 10 year old boy who has a younger and an older sister. We know early on that his parents are born again Christian missionaries, and that this dominates their family life. And we know that many seaside Italian towns are picturesque, wonderful places to vacation. That's pretty much the whole story.
The voice of Calvin never changed in the 4 years that book #1 covered. At first he's an endearing 10 year old boy, full of mischief and simple sentences. Towards the end of the book, he is nearly 14, talks the same way, and seemingly wears the same clothes and eats the same amount of food. Anyone know a kid who changes this little from 10 to 14? His development, both academically and emotionally is retarded to some extent from home schooling and such an insular life, but really, the only change is that he starts to notice girls. Wow. Perceptive writing.
Finally, Schaeffer goes way too heavy on the religion piece. There are pages and pages of prayers and sermons and descriptions of born again beliefs. While I do think that he does much of this tongue in cheek, it just gets boring.
Midway through I had to check to make sure that this wasn't a Young Adult book. It wasn't marked as so in Goodreads, but it is kind of like a Hardy Boys book. Great is you're Calvin's age, but lacking for an adult.
September 16, 2020
I have read all of Frankie Schaefer's books including this one in which he describes his growing dissatisfaction and disillusionment living among an intensely Evangelically screened lifestyle. This book is about one of the family's vacation trips to Portofino, Greece, a common destination and getaway for his family. When growing up within a very religious, ie, Christian family, where the father is a very well-known and respected orator within the global community of rising political Relgious Right believers, it is not as easy for a boy to let loose, to free himself from the confines of a religious analysis of all activities and associations. Such a setup is stifling for a young man who wishes to experience life in a more balanced way. The frustrations he experiences, especially those in regard to seeking out relationships with young women, must be secretive. At L'abri, Frankie does meet up with a 17 year old woman who he eventually marries, while he places a good deal of effort into growing as a painter / artist, and writer of both autobiographical and semi-biographical events. It's the analysis, the constant 24/7 screening of all things human and natural that I related to best. For if my family of origin was as extremely religious as his was I too would have chosen to depart the family's Presbyterian faith in an effort to develop some natural balance. Franky chose the Eastern Orthodox belief system to represent his faith, which was a strong departure from Protestant evangelicalism. I recommend this book as an excellent example of disillusionment caused by decades of religiosity, which still had its good side, by helping to develop the victim into a writer.
April 18, 2024
This was a really interesting one - recommended by my dad, he remembered this book as laugh out loud funny and containing great scenes of Italy. Which it does indeed have! What my dad failed to remember is the sadness that accompanies a lot of the scenes of Calvin’s childhood growing up in a very conservative Christian missionary family. One in which his mom sings “This Little Light of Mine” at train stations to witness to strangers but can’t be bothered to teach Calvin to read (he’s 11) and his dad beats Calvin so hard with a belt that he loses feelings in his legs and has welts - all because he had a glass of champagne at 14 years old. This books reads so incredibly true and it turns out it is fairly autobiographical, which just made me so sad. Also some of the statements the mom makes reminds me a lot of my own childhood experience growing up in a conservative Christian southern community, which was an odd feeling. So yeah, this was really funny in the way that comedians are really funny because they’re usually so traumatized 🥴
September 14, 2018
This book is a stark reminder that Christians must not idolize their leaders.
Once I got over the disappointment of hearing about the dark side of the father character who is obviously based on Francis Schaeffer, I found this book to be very funny, keenly observant, and overall well-written. Being both raised Christian and a Christian still, I could identify with some of the ridiculousness of the “Christianese” language and customs; however, I can’t help but be sad that, if Francis Schaeffer is represented well here, he missed the forest for the trees, and, though he may well have had an impressive intellectual grasp on the faith, was clearly without love, rendering it all vanity. No wonder his son is not a believer.
Overall, I guess I could say I was one part horrified, two parts amused by this book. It certainly has given me a lot to ponder.
Once I got over the disappointment of hearing about the dark side of the father character who is obviously based on Francis Schaeffer, I found this book to be very funny, keenly observant, and overall well-written. Being both raised Christian and a Christian still, I could identify with some of the ridiculousness of the “Christianese” language and customs; however, I can’t help but be sad that, if Francis Schaeffer is represented well here, he missed the forest for the trees, and, though he may well have had an impressive intellectual grasp on the faith, was clearly without love, rendering it all vanity. No wonder his son is not a believer.
Overall, I guess I could say I was one part horrified, two parts amused by this book. It certainly has given me a lot to ponder.
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