The Song of Jonah

by Gene Guerin

Unjustly accused in a minor sex scandal, Fr. Jon Armitage, a charismatic but brash young priest accustomed to hobnobbing with the upper crust of New England society, is exiled to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in the early 1960s. There, in the bishop's office, he discovers mediocrity and corruption to match anything from his previous situation. In his zeal, Fr. Jon again overreaches. His punishment this time is assignment to the remote parish of Nueve Niños squatting at the edge of an ancient crater lake on the barren plains of northeastern New Mexico. In this modern retelling of the Book of Jonah, Fr. Jon, like his biblical counterpart, rejects the call from God to his own "Nineveh." In an ironic echoing of Jonah's fate, the priest is swallowed up by a metaphorical whale and deposited on the very shores of the place he was determined to avoid. Nueve Niños, with its long-standing reputation for mistreating its pastors, is an alien world that will prove his ultimate testing ground. Through his slow, often reluctant immersion into the lives of the villagers, Fr. Jon eventually gains insight into himself and his ultimate calling.

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2008

Reviews

[AuthorsOnTourLive! · Rating 5 out of 5]

We met Gene Guerin when he visited the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. You can listen to him talk about "The Song of Jonah" here: www.authorsontourlive.com/?p=211

About this podcast:
Denver author Gene Guerin, whose novel "Cottonwood Saints" won the 2006 Premio Aztlan award, a national award for first-time Hispanic authors, and the 2007 Mountain and Plains Independent Booksellers Association award for best adult fiction, reads from and discusses "The Song of Jonah." In this modern retelling of the Book of Jonah, a charismatic but brash young priest accustomed to hobnobbing with the upper crust of New England society is exiled to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in the early 1960s.

[Christine Granados · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book because it was about Catholic priests and Catholism. Was interested in the tale about the cursed town but then was disappointed by the simplicity of the characters. The town whore who sells her body to feel her husband once again, the layman eunuch who gets his balls shot off in war, even the too proud priest, who eventually helps the town out of its curse, these characters were so simple, nothing complex about them. A good book for junior high students.

[Susan Hester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern day version of the story of Jonah. About a small town in northern New Mexico where priests are sent for punishment and many of them die for unknown reasons. Enjoyed the sub-stories of politics in the Catholic church, including one on the take and the Spanish language.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a friend of the author and I had it a long time before deciding to read it--why did I wait so long. It was a great read. Guerin's love of the people of New Mexico shines and his disillusionment with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is evident.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I copyedited this, so maybe I can take credit for the 4th star? But even without me, there were some great moments in this.