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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed, August 23, 2002
Let me preface this review by saying I have read most of the Blackie Ryan series and have loved them all, despite a few irritations. Let me also disclose that I am a moderate Republican and practicing Roman Catholic. If that shoots my credibility in the foot for you, move on to the next review. I found the story line in Bishop in the West Wing to be very thin. The central problem of the poltergeists in the White House is brought up from time to time to string it all together, but it seems an afterthought. The true purpose of this novel seems to be to recount Father Greeley's visits to the White House during the Clinton administration, with Blackie playing the part of Greeley and President McGurn as President Clinton. While I would be interested in reading about that subject, I would prefer it in a nonfiction text, as opposed to under the guide of fiction. Having Republicans as a group stereotyped as hate-spewing elists, as they are in this book, is no more fair than stereotyping all Catholic priests as pedophiles, which they are most certainly not. Also, there is a real Rasputin-ish quality to the part that Blackie plays in the White House in this novel. Am I the only one who noticed this? I was bothered by Father Greeley's characterizations of teenage girls in this novel, as I have been in his past novels. It seems especially evident in Bishop in the West Wing. He portrays them as modern-day "Valley Girls", with ditzy personalities and brainless slang used in every sentence. When one conducts a conversation with most teenage girls and young women, I believe one will find that most of them, especially those of the type Father Greeley is representing in his novels, speak much like the rest of us. I won't even get started on the "ebonics" he imposed on a high-level African-American White House aide in the book. I am hoping that this novel is an abberation in the Blackie Ryan series, and not a sign of things to come in future novels. Despite the negative tone of this review, I would still nonetheless recommend this novel to Blackie fans such as myself (hence the two stars instead of one). Blackie is a fun, clever character, and spending some time in his world is always an escape from our own. Just hold your nose in parts and pray that Father Greeley will juice things up in the next Blackie novel.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Needs more story and less politics, July 24, 2002
By A Customer
I have read every work of fiction that I can find that Father Greeley has written, and I love the Father Blackie mysteries. However, I was disappointed in this book because so much time was devoted to promoting the Democrats as victims of a vicious Republican conspiracy. I have always known that Father Greeley was a Democrat, but this was a bit much. It seemed he even went so far as to imply that maybe our former president was not guilty of some of the moral decadence that he finally admitted to, but was really set up by the Republicans of that time period. If you can get past or ignore the political chapters, the Father Blackie story is a good one. I hope this was a one time only jaunt into this level of politics or I may have to find another favorite author.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Book of Bias and Hate, December 29, 2005
Like many, I have been a long-time fan of Father Andrew Greeley and especially his Bishop Blackie Ryan series. The good Father, however, has now betrayed the trust of his readers with this book of bias and hate. Throughout the book, the author accuses Republicans (not some or a few but all) of being wealthy, corrupt, and crooks. He does not miss an opportunity to level an attack againsts all Republicans, even those who died well over one hundred years ago. One might expect that from a partisan book written by political lackeys. One expects more, however, from a novel written by a priest. What is most disturbing is that a Catholic priest using a fictional Catholic bishop to directly and indirectly debase all Republicans leaves the impression that his views have the imprimateur of the Catholic Church. Unlike the ficitonal church in this book, the real Catholic Church teaches love and forgiveness. While he condemns the demogogues of the religious right, Father Greeley has adopted the very same tactics of hate and bias which he supposedly deplores. Perhaps Father Greeley should write future novels with the words of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, who also hailed from Illinois, in mind: "With malice toward none, with charity for all." This is one book which should not have been written. Or, perhaps it should have as it exposes the real Father Greeley.
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