Saint Nick

by Fred Tribuzzo

Paul's trendy spiritual ambitions have guttered, leaving him a burned-out, middle-aged bankruptcy lawyer. Now it's almost Christmas, and the spirit world has decided to take Paul firmly in hand. Three iconic Native Americans of the nineteenth century, Black Elk, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, challenge Paul to a dream no guarantee of safe return. It's going to be a rough ride.

Fred Tribuzzo is a professional pilot who has flown aircraft from the J-3 Cub to the fastest corporate jet ever made-the Citation Ten. Currently flying a Boeing 737 Business Jet, his trips can range from thirty minutes to ten hours. It was on the far side of the world that he wrote Saint Nick.

Genres: Christmas, Holiday

76 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2009

Reviews

[David Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy on Goodreads Firstreads.

When I saw this book's description, I naturally thought it would be a re-telling of a Christmas Carol with a Native American twist. While this is true to a degree, it doesn't do this tale justice by saying that is all it is.

Paul Castellucci has reached a point where he is spiritually bankrupt and living a middle-aged loveless life. He is estranged from his son. For the most part he has given up on his religion and government.The spirits of three iconic Native Americans challenge him to take a dream quest that will make him examine his life and beliefs with no guarantee of a safe return.

Paul's quest will make him look beyond the surface to true substance. And by following him on his journey, the reader may even get a chance to see that substance in their own life.

[E.Michael Helms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saint Nick is a masterpiece! This short novella is packed with enough emotion and drama to fill a tome. The author paints vivid word-pictures in both the real and surreal worlds. Perhaps the best aspect of this story is the life-lessons that unfold as the tale progresses. Saint Nick would make a wonderful TV movie, perfect for the Christmas Season. Highly recommended!

[Al Gritten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting little book - it was short and a quick read. It is a remix of the classic Dickens tale. Paul is a lawyer whose personal life is nonexistent - he is alienated from his family and his faith is gone. He has admired Black Elk, the Lakota shaman, for his entire life and read the book "Black Elk Speaks" many times. Now on this Christmas Eve, Black Elk appears and takes Paul on a dream quest where he encounters not just Black Elk, but Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse as well. The story isn't an exact reproduction of Dickens, but does, in much the same way, explore a man's search for his life, his spirituality, and for the deeper meaning of Christmas. I enjoyed the connection with Black Elk and his kin - perhaps because I, too, have read and enjoyed "Black Elk Speaks." I also found an interesting connection to modern spiritual seekers in Black Elk's description of Paul's spirituality: "you're one of those. You find religion walking through the park on Sunday morning; the air in your face; the swaying trees. But never a church where someone's preaching, challenging you, pointing at the great mysteries and a lifetime of struggle. Any fool can walk through the woods, call it a church, and believe they're fulfilling some spiritual requirement. It's so easy, no decisions, no conflict, just whatever feels good.” Paul discovers, as I think we all must, that it takes much more to find that divine encounter and a deeper connection to God and one another.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Won this from Goodreads.

I found it well written and surprised on this author's twist on the Charles Dickens Christmas Carol. It was a fast short read. This was not the usual Christmas Carol. The three spirits are native American icons. Paul are main character has dreamed of becoming a shaman holy man like Black Elk a nineteenth century American native.

We meet the main character Paul who is a burned out middle age bankruptcy lawyer. Paul's out look on

life is at rock bottom. He has given up on everything. everyone, his religion and the government. He sees no good in anything at all. Paul is estranged from his only son who he walked out on even before he is born.

The spirits world has decided to take Paul firmly into hand. They have challenged him to a dream quest that makes him examine his life and his believes. There is only one thing about this... he is not guaranteed a safe trip back. What will he decide to do. Will he take them up on this challenge

This story will make you rethink this about your life and how you look at things.

[Karen M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is sort of a retelling of Dickens's A Christmas Carol, sort of. Paul is visited by the spirit of Black Elk, a Sioux shaman who he has read about repeatedly. Somewhere along the way Paul has lost his faith, his religion and has sought answers in Native American lore, in Egypt, in Stonehenge and even at Burning Man but has failed to look in the one place that he might actually find answers. Within himself. He abandoned his wife and child long ago and continues to seek his perfect woman or as he puts it big boobs and big brains. Not a very likeable man.

He is visited by three spirits in total (sound familiar?), Black Elk, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Paul goes on a dream quest and it's a bit more than he could have expected. We know in the end Paul will return to his real life but what he does from there is up to him. As we know from Dickens, it's never too late to change.

I won this book in a FirstReads giveaway.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for free in a Goodreads Firstreads giveaway.
This book was well written. It was interesting to read. It greatly reminded me of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, with how someone is bad in the beginning but gradually as the story goes along gets better. A story with a dynamic character always makes the book more interesting. Saint Nick was just more modern and easier to understand in so many ways. Instead of ghosts being used like in A Christmas Carol, it was 3 Native Americans that were being used in this story, further making it more interesting.
This book is neatly written, the characters are well defined, and the story overall is filled with great details of all kind. If you liked A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, I recommend this book to you. You will enjoy it.
I hope you enjoy Saint Nick by Fred Tribuzzo!

[Mareena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Castellucci was a down-and-out middle-aged bankruptcy lawyer whose high-flying spiritual ideals had guttered to almost nothing, leaving him depressed and cynical. Now it is almost Christmas and the spirit world has decided to take Paul firmly in hand through the intervention of three iconic 19th-century Native Americans: Black Elk, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. They challenge him to a dream quest through his past, present and future, no guarantee of a safe return. It's going to be a rough ride. I loved this book and give it an A+!

[Karen Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Fred for sending me a copy of your book. I really enjoyed reading it, even though it took me a little longer to read than I expected.....life got in the way. This is a short book (only 70 some pages) but it's cool and funny at times. It's sort of like "A Christmas Carol" but with more of a spiritual twist. The only thing that I think (and again, this is only my opinion and maybe it comes from reading really long novels) would be a little more detail/narrative. I'll be looking for the new book coming out in 2014; it'll be interesting to see what that book will be about!

[Linda Peavy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book for free from Goodreads Firstreads during the Christmas season.

This book reminded me of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens as many have already said. This was a fast, enjoyable read with a twist on the usual Christmas Carol. I won't get into spoilers and that sort of thing but will say Saint Nick is a more up to date take on the story. The use of Native Americans instead of ghosts had me looking at the cover again. It was interesting that I hadn't seen the Native American influences at first. I'd only seen a Christmas theme!

[Sherry Wheeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway. This is a cute short story (73 pages). The cover is very Christmasy. At first glance, it looks like a candle surrounded by holly. The "candle" is actually an Indian spear. This story is about an Ebenezer Scrooge-like man named Paul. He goes on a dream quest which begins with a visit from Black Elk. It continues with him being shown shadows of his past and future, which may be altered if he has a change of heart, and re-embraces Catholicism. Interesting interpretation of the Dickens classic.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book free in a Goodreads giveaway. This is a very loose re-telling of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It is a short book—just 73 pages—but reminds the reader of the power of and importance of just one person in everyday life. The protagonist, Paul, is a washed-up lawyer with no personal life. He is divorced and estranged from his only son. The appearance of 3 Native American “heroes” on Christmas Eve puts his life into perspective. A quick read.

[Anntonette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, this book made me think of things in a new way, so I think it was a success. However, I believe it has a political agenda that "sounds good" but is easily challenged. For example, there is a scene in the book where a dead Native American hero extols the virtues of modern oil exploitation. As a person who has worked in the environmental remediation industry, I found that portion of the book cynically manipulative at worst and sadly naive at best.

[Sue Pilski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book on Christmas Eve from the author, Fred Tribuzzo. It is a perfect little Christmas read and could easily be described as A Christmas Carol, 21st Century style! I'm sure the author has heard that reference many times over, but it's a compliment to Fred Tribuzzo! This compact story has so much to say!

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

In compliance with FTC guidelines, I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

I had expected a rehashing of A Christmas Carol, but instead I enjoyed a peek into what would parallel many peoples lives today. A looking for more spiritual content, wherever one can find it, and regrets for relationship issues in our lives. Short, but fully realized.

[Judy Dunbar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short book with a message particularly appropriate for the Christmas season. While this is not the type of book that I would normally read, it was well written and I think readers who like to read inspirational stories will enjoy this book.

[K.R. Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, it's a great, short story. Read it right before Christmas and it will remind you

(just like Charles Dickens did) that there is a little Scrooge in all of us but that we can turn

around our lives and that of others by being truly grateful for what we have been blessed

with.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for Xmas ghost stories, and this is one of the better ones! Well written and edited, it's a great read, especially for the Holidays.

[Beth Yeary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Goodreads and a snowy afternoon, I read Saint Nick. It was an interesting, fast, and fun read.