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Alter Boy Rules
When your world keeps turning upside-down, the trick is staying on top. Altar Boy Andrew Fisher, thirteen years old, born in an orphanage, stays with his grandfather who drinks more than he should and who loses more jobs than he gets.
Andrew is world-wise, finds humor in almost everything, a smooth way out of any situation.
A priest sexually molests him.
Can Andrew get back to the top? Yup. He’s sharp enough, he’s tough enough, he’ll find a way all on his own, no help needed from nobody.
The novel has been called "wickedly funny," "tragic," "blasphemous," "heart-breaking," "darkly satirical," and "ultimately uplifting," "a coming-of-age story about human resilience and the healing power of love."
Andrew is world-wise, finds humor in almost everything, a smooth way out of any situation.
A priest sexually molests him.
Can Andrew get back to the top? Yup. He’s sharp enough, he’s tough enough, he’ll find a way all on his own, no help needed from nobody.
The novel has been called "wickedly funny," "tragic," "blasphemous," "heart-breaking," "darkly satirical," and "ultimately uplifting," "a coming-of-age story about human resilience and the healing power of love."
511 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1988
1 person want to read
About the author
William Francis Jack
12 books15 followersI was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I've lived in warmer climes but have always returned to Minnesota. The world is never so pure as when snow is falling, and newly-fallen snow rounds all rough edges.
I have five college degrees and won't mention what they are because I don't use any of them.
I've worked as a law librarian and as a college professor of Russian literature. I fear that, having spent fifty years buried in Russian literature, its novels color my work. This means that I'm far from mainstream American and British fiction. Do students of Russian literature become depressed because of the novels they read, or do the novels draw depressed people into studying Russian literature? For me, it goes both ways.
My most recent work is "My Moms and Me". The story is about a quirky boy who lives in abandoned buildings with his grandfather while attending a ritzy private Catholic grade school. He's convinced himself that sexual abuse by a priest will not destroy his bizarrely fun life. This isn't a polemic or a religious tract. Well, it is, but there's more. It's been called "tragic, satirical, enraging, funny, and ultimately uplifting."
My novel, "The Greatest Vice", is about a professor of Russian literature who walks into his office one afternoon and finds out that in his two-hour absence, one year has passed...It's now 2005, not 2004. This lapse occurred while he was teaching a Russian novel of magical realism that includes the devil, "The Master and Margarita". He tries hypnosis with a therapist; she gradually steers him towards events he doesn't want to remember, and then... .
My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/williamfjack
My Twitter home is: https://twitter.com/
I have five college degrees and won't mention what they are because I don't use any of them.
I've worked as a law librarian and as a college professor of Russian literature. I fear that, having spent fifty years buried in Russian literature, its novels color my work. This means that I'm far from mainstream American and British fiction. Do students of Russian literature become depressed because of the novels they read, or do the novels draw depressed people into studying Russian literature? For me, it goes both ways.
My most recent work is "My Moms and Me". The story is about a quirky boy who lives in abandoned buildings with his grandfather while attending a ritzy private Catholic grade school. He's convinced himself that sexual abuse by a priest will not destroy his bizarrely fun life. This isn't a polemic or a religious tract. Well, it is, but there's more. It's been called "tragic, satirical, enraging, funny, and ultimately uplifting."
My novel, "The Greatest Vice", is about a professor of Russian literature who walks into his office one afternoon and finds out that in his two-hour absence, one year has passed...It's now 2005, not 2004. This lapse occurred while he was teaching a Russian novel of magical realism that includes the devil, "The Master and Margarita". He tries hypnosis with a therapist; she gradually steers him towards events he doesn't want to remember, and then... .
My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/williamfjack
My Twitter home is: https://twitter.com/
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 26, 2019
The best man is the alter boy who helps others.
This book is a bit different than most. It is educational and enlightening while trying to cover difficult subjects in a boy's life. When you have nothing and share it with love, you have everything.
I found my "acting my age of 15" very similar to the life of Andrew. This is a special time in boy adventure to learn about everything and to ask the hard questions. I was not so lucky to find the girl until many years later, but many of the events in our lives are surprising similar in the challenges faced. I lived in a car paper shack for 2 years after being born, then with grandparents for 5 more.
I lost my first best friend in second grade to a driver who did not stop for a red light at a school crosswalk. I have lost many more since to accidents, disease, military, and drugs. This book resonated in my brain, my heart, and my soul.
Yet it tries to take a light-hearted path to enlightenment and adulthood. It picks at events that are hard to process at any age, but unexpected for one as you g as Andrew. Yet he handles it well with a lot of crying and a lot of "family" support. Sadly, both school and religion fail to provide any support. Even the police only harass without addressing the problems.
But this is a happy book with recognition of self worth and positive attitudes. It has very strong psychological undercurrents and positive reinforcement for mental health.
Although best friends and important relationships are lost, the life cycle is beneficial for moving from youth to adulthood and independence while building long lasting relationships and strength to handle it all.
This book is a bit different than most. It is educational and enlightening while trying to cover difficult subjects in a boy's life. When you have nothing and share it with love, you have everything.
I found my "acting my age of 15" very similar to the life of Andrew. This is a special time in boy adventure to learn about everything and to ask the hard questions. I was not so lucky to find the girl until many years later, but many of the events in our lives are surprising similar in the challenges faced. I lived in a car paper shack for 2 years after being born, then with grandparents for 5 more.
I lost my first best friend in second grade to a driver who did not stop for a red light at a school crosswalk. I have lost many more since to accidents, disease, military, and drugs. This book resonated in my brain, my heart, and my soul.
Yet it tries to take a light-hearted path to enlightenment and adulthood. It picks at events that are hard to process at any age, but unexpected for one as you g as Andrew. Yet he handles it well with a lot of crying and a lot of "family" support. Sadly, both school and religion fail to provide any support. Even the police only harass without addressing the problems.
But this is a happy book with recognition of self worth and positive attitudes. It has very strong psychological undercurrents and positive reinforcement for mental health.
Although best friends and important relationships are lost, the life cycle is beneficial for moving from youth to adulthood and independence while building long lasting relationships and strength to handle it all.
Displaying 1 of 1 review