Glorify Each Day [Paperback]

John Banks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2011

Tommy "Teach" Morrison - teacher, raconteur and alleged devil worshiper - can't stop crying over the loss of Cait, the love of his life, a loss caused by a violent nature that he struggles to understand and control. Can Tommy come to grips with his grief about his past deeds, a past that includes more than one horrible secret? He has many people in his life who could help - including several of his students, whose essays have important lessons for Teach, if he will only listen. Glorify Each Day is a remarkable novel depicting the consequences of violence. However, it is not a dark, brooding novel, as you will quickly realize as you turn its pages. John Banks is a masterful storyteller, full of humor both outrageous and wry, but with a compassion for his characters that always shines through.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Glorify Each Day is the study of a middle-aged man delving into his own psyche to find the source of his troubles. There is a definite complexity simmering beneath the surface of the narrative voice, a sense that by patching together life's remnants, one can create something whole and begin anew."
    --Foreward Clarion Reviews

John Banks typifies the tradition of southern writers through his use of engaging storytelling, meticulously drawn characters, and a penchant for finding humor in most anything. Simultaneously, he also demonstrates an ability to create moving imagery of the tragic side of people and situations.
  -Joseph Yurt for blogcritics.org

From the Back Cover

"Tommy "Teach" Morrison is one of the most humorous, haunted and honest characters to cross the page in a long time. Glorify Each Day is a witty and gripping, if not addictive, read.... A read this good should not be ignored."
     --San Francisco Book Review

"As Tommy retraces his troubled past and reads his way into the lives of his community college students, he comes to challenge our expectations about the qualities that make a teacher, a soul mate, and ultimately a good man who must confront the demons within himself -- and the demons abroad in the world."
     --Valerie Nieman, author of Blood Clay and Survivors

"(A) very compelling and thought-provoking reading experience. John Banks creates a unique realism in his characters, drawing the reader into the story in such a way one might forget you're reading a work of fiction."
     --Pacific Book Review

"John Banks does a wonderful job at creating a fascinating cast of characters. Glorify Each Day is quite a unique work of fiction."
     --Rebecca's Reads

"A unique, emotional story." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Glorify Each Day is as complex as Tommy himself. Patience is required. The reward is an interesting grab bag of clever commentary on modern-day life."
     --IndieReader.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: 819 Publishing (July 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0983333408
• ISBN-13: 978-0983333401
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,023,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars IndieReader Review May 21, 2012

By Amy Edelman

Format:Paperback

Tommy Morrison is too complex a guy for his own good and the story he tells reflects that. His impulses--often mischievous, sometimes violent--push Tommy to the limits of social acceptance, leaving him with a terrible secret that he struggles to suppress. He pays a life-altering price for his behavior by losing his one great love.

As Tommy stumbles along a path toward self-awareness, his story crisscrosses back and forth between the threads of his inner and outer existence. While living in the present, he simultaneously weaves in memories in which he mourns the loss of his college lover. Tommy the bad guy causes pain in his current relationships. Tommy the good guy crowns himself "Teach" and commits to helping his General Education Diploma (GED) students improve their lives by attaining their degrees.

Remaining fixated on his lost love and his secret, Tommy decides on impulse to assign his class the task of interpreting what getting their GED would mean to them. The resulting essays and their individual titles are interposed with Tommy's narratives about the past, through which Tommy finally gains an acceptance of this reality.

Glorify Each Day is as complex, and indeed as convoluted, as Tommy himself. Patience is required. The reward is an interesting grab bag of clever commentary on modern day life.

Reviewed by Eveline Speedie

3.0 out of 5 stars I really liked the story but it was missing in clarity~! November 25, 2011

By Jennifer Chatham

Format:Paperback

Glorify Each Day is a fictional drama.

Tommy "Teach" Morrison works as a part-time teacher at the Toxononomonee Community College. He teaches the GED, or General Equivalency Diploma, to a wide range of people both young and old.

Upon his first day of classes, he asks his students for their meaning of what GED stands for. They are each asked to write an essay explaining the acronym GED as it applies to their own lives. Each student hands in their accounts, some are horrifying accounts of life; others speak of the reasons why they are where they are in life and others are a mix of hodge-podge and nonsense.

Each of the students essays are shared as we explore the human nature of each of the individuals. As well, we are privy to the inner thoughts and emotions of Teach, who has begun to see a therapist on the bequest of his girlfriend, Cheryl.

Teach has many past issues with an old girlfriend from his college days, Cait. The reader is shown in retrospect, the love that is shared between the two and gives insight as to why Teach is unable to let go of his past. We learn of his weird sexual quirks and the reason he cries so much and at the oddest times.

When something tragic occurs at school and Teach is deemed a "hero", he must come to terms with the man he has become. The aftermath of the event tears into him, changing his perspectives on life.

I thought for the most part this book was delivered in an interesting and witty way. I liked the character of Teach and found him to be human in his approach. As well, some of the students found their way into your heart as you read the dilemmas they have to face daily.

I wasn't all that impressed with the Cait back story and how it was shared. Sometimes I felt like there were three or four stories in this one and it was confusing on the direction the author wished to strive for. I didn't feel like the whimisical romantic thoughts added anything to the overall story, other then to give the reader a sense that he truly is unable to let go.

I found the plot could have been much more interesting and provoking had Teach not been extremely centered on the Cait issue. I wasn't given any justification on why I should feel for Teach in his caring of his ex-girlfriend and found it to be almost sinister. In this, one can really feel for the character of Cheryl, who has no idea the man she has come to love. In her heart she knows there is someone from his past and its hard to live up to a ghost. Teach treated her very unfairly by not explaining his past to her before his commitment to their love.

I would give this three out of five stars. I enjoyed the wit of Teach and how he handled his situations, but sometimes he came off as too flamboyant and I felt it strayed off character. If you enjoy dramatic fiction with some comedy thrown in and a cast of misfit characters, then I am sure you will enjoy this book!