Godtalk: Travels in Spiritual America [Hardcover]

Brad Gooch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2002

From the author of City Poet, the brilliant biography of Frank O’Hara, now comes a fascinating account of thriving forms of spirituality in what is being called a “post-denominational” age.

As the nineties were drawing to a close, Brad Gooch set out on a journey to explore traditional and nontraditional forms of spirituality that took him across America and to India. Gooch’s quest—partly personal and partly investigative—took him to Chicago to read the mysterious Urantia Book; to Goa and La Jolla to experience the talks and treatments of Deepak Chopra; to Ganeshpuri and South Fallsburg, New York, to listen to the charismatic leader Gurumayi Chidvilasananda; to Bardstown, Kentucky, to observe the quiet solitude of the Trappists and to Dubuque, Iowa, to see the Trappistines; to Dallas to worship with the members of the gay congregation of the Cathedral of Hope; and to New York to talk with Muslims and Sufis. As Gooch proceeded on this unique spiritual odyssey—from fringe to mainstream—he witnessed diverse movements and religions and their strong appeal to a broad spectrum of followers.

Brad Gooch has written a revealing, richly detailed document of our time. In Godtalk, character, dialogue, and setting come together in an irresistible, fast-paced narrative that is both engaging and informative about the unexpected nature of spirituality in America today.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Godtalk novelist Brad Gooch stumbles into the gracelands and wastelands of contemporary spirituality. In the late 1990s he embarked on an unconventional odyssey to explore the spiritual movements of America. The result is a rich memoir about a "frequent flier pilgrim" who mixes with celebrities like Deepak Chopra as well as cloistered nuns and chanting Sufis. He finds committed, disciplined disciples alongside individuals who treat religions like self-help programs and mix rituals, prayers, and practices into a personalized stew. Gooch has a novelist's narrative skills and is able to pan back and give sweeping overviews. "We spent most of the week sitting cross-legged in large white plastic chairs or lying on blankets breathing carefully in and out, trying to slip into what Chopra called 'the gap'--the missed beat where bliss lies," he writes of a meditation retreat. "For anyone who peeked into the tent, we must have looked like we'd been knocked out by a powerful bug spray." His rich experiences in ashrams, monasteries, churches, and retreat centers are engaging as stand-alone chapters (some were the basis of magazine articles). Unfortunately, Gooch rarely ties these experiences all together. For readers who want their fingers on the pulse of American spirituality, this makes an interesting, but limited, armchair pilgrimage. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

Gooch, a professor of English at William Paterson University, introduces his book as "close-up, detailed reporting on the social aspect of the spiritual scene in America," the subjects of which are based on his own "deep whim." They include readers of the Urantia Book, followers of Deepak Chopra and Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, communities of Trappists and Trappistines, gay churches and Jerry Falwell's interaction with them and Muslims in New York City. Each chapter is indeed detailed, with Gooch including lengthy descriptions of interiors, rituals and beliefs, as well as interviews with adherents he meets (and, in the case of the Urantia Book and Chopra, with critics as well). The book's thorough detail at times causes the narrative to lose focus, as when Gooch veers off from an interview to mention that the interviewee is the cousin of the author of Six Degrees of Separation. His own explorative "whim" also causes the narrative to ramble. For example, one chapter begins with architect Philip Johnson talking about designing the Cathedral of Hope, then minutely discusses various gay churches and leaders as well as the California and Texas cultures in which they move, and then describes a potentially confrontational encounter between Mel White and Jerry Falwell. The title itself seems to encapsulate the book's lack of focus; this is an ethnographic portrait of several religious groups, not a study of "Godtalk." However, those willing to follow the meandering trails of Gooch's detail will find an engaging portrait of at least five religious movements.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679447091
• ISBN-13: 978-0679447092
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #649,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Religious Curious, April 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Godtalk: Travels in Spiritual America (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating book which mixes personal observations and historical background to reveal, with insight and humor, a number of religious quests in contemporary America. For me the most satisfying chapter was "A Busy Mosaic: Islam in New York City." After September 11, we have come to demonize Islam as a religion of hate and terrorism. What this chapter reveales is the binding sense of community that has drawn to Islam in America a disparate group--including those seekers from other faiths. Islam is not an easy religion to follow, and I was profoundly moved by Gooch's ability to describe how the principles of the Moslem faith become the string that binds people together even in the most distracting city in the world--New York. The extent to which Thomas Merton has influenced several generations of monks was also a revelation to me. For someone like myself, who is not religious but religious curious, I admired the non-hokey tone of the book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gooch is fascinating, April 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Godtalk: Travels in Spiritual America (Hardcover)

A good book takes you on a journey...this one will take you on a spiritual marathon. Gooch's writing, a graceful blend of intellect, humor and straightforwardness, left me longing for more...each chapter like a visit to a small story book town...a town you don't want to leave. From the mysterious Sadler and Book Urantia to the minimalistic way of life of the Trappists, to the detailed accounts of Jerry Falwell's ministry, the experiences reads with a naked, rich, insightful, yet intangible simplicty, the very core of what one hopes religion is truly about. Gooch is on the pulse...genius.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you like this genre..., July 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Godtalk: Travels in Spiritual America (Hardcover)

This book might not be what you're expecting. As the other reviewers point out, it's more about his experiences than anything. The author avoids almost any editorializing, which I wish he would have inserted more often. I personally like this genre, which I would call the "behind-the-scenes" look at different, often esoteric, religious expressions. To write a book like this involves a long time, many interviews, and the willingness to participate in a variety of often strange religious ceremonies and events (and, in his case, apparently alot of money to pay for Deepak Chopra's and other's seminars). If you're at all Catholic, I would recommend Michael Cumeo's "Smoke of Satan" and "American Excorcism" as excellent examples within this type of religious writing.

Overall, Gooch's book was a page-turner but, again, should be read more for pleasure and subtle insight than for systematic treatments of "spirituality in America."