The Altar Boy Chronicles [Paperback]

Tony Pasquarello (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1578849535 | ISBN-13: 978-1578849536 | Publication Date: March 15, 1999

The hilarious romp of a logical mind trying to grow up Catholic in Philadelphia's Little Italy during World War II. A quasi-autobiographical account of the peripubertal life of a boy who would grow up to be a skeptical philosopher and professional musician.

Did someone really set a pornographic stained-glass panel in a window of a Philadelphia Catholic church? Or did a preadolescent surge of hormones merely make it seem so? Can you really get syphilis off a toilet seat? How can a really good Catholic boy be thinking of sex all the time, yet have as his personal hero that zany third member of the Trinity -- the Holy Ghost? Can a child who is both brilliant and artistically gifted grow up Catholic -- and stay Catholic all the way?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is the book Woody Allen would have written if he had been born into an Italian Catholic family. Anyone who has ever seen a Woody Allen film will quickly recognize the Angst that derives from the exercise of intellect in the midst of dogmas that hold no more meaning than a round-robin oration by the Three Stooges." -- From the Publisher

About the Author

Tony Pasquarello is an emeritus philosophy professor (the Ohio State University) who has successfully pursued a second carreer as a pop-jazz-classical musician and popular performer. A Philadelphian, he studied piano and theory at the Settlement School, the Philadelphia Conservatory, and the University of Pennsylvania. The author of numerous technical articles on philosophy and the teaching of philosophy, he also has written popular pieces such "Proving Negatives and The Paranormal," which appeared in the journal Skeptical Inquirer. Once an altar boy and possible candidate for the priesthood, he evolved into a skeptical philosopher whose delightful-but-trenchant writings are eagerly sought after by a variety of free-thought publications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: American Atheist Press (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578849535
• ISBN-13: 978-1578849536
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,144,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a funny, iconoclastic, ribald, romp. GREAT!!, June 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Altar Boy Chronicles (Paperback)

This book should be on every shelf in Philadelphia, in every Catholic family's library, and every man who, at one time, was a teen-ager. It reads in one risible, enjoyable, poignant evening. Wonderful!!

4.0 out of 5 stars The Growing Ant, April 10, 2011

By 

Drenn Workman (MANSFIELD, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Altar Boy Chronicles (Paperback)

Sometimes having personally met someone makes a review difficult. I enjoyed reading this book and think it should be required reading for boys from age 12 up. It amuses and makes the dispensation of a difficult topic more endurable. It would provide a decent read to anyone of any age.The Altar Boy Chronicles

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bearable life story -- but it's 100 pages too long, January 30, 2001

By 

Anthony R. Buccino (Nutley, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Altar Boy Chronicles (Paperback)

All right, Tony Pasquarello says up front that this book is not about Altar Boy pranks, or other mischief that boys get into in his Philadelphia neighborhood.

And for the first 100 pages or so, the author's hindsight and commentary, although annoying, is tolerable, because the writing is crisp and sharp and you think it's going to take you somewhere interesting.

But when Tony hits puberty his urges take over not only the young boy, but this biography as well. Consider it a Portnoy's Complaint with pasta.

And there's the rub, pardon the pun, but how can anyone recommend this book to anyone else? You interested in history, or Italians in Philadelphia? Don't bother with this book - unless you just read the first 100 pages. As for the next 100 pages or so, it's so distracting, you'll lose any insight you might have found in the front of the book.

So, sadly, keep your mind blank and pass on The Altar Boy Chronicles.