{"product_id":"a-guest-at-the-feast-essays-9781476785202","title":"A Guest at the Feast: Essays","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom one of the most engaging and brilliant writers of our time comes a collection of essays about growing up in Ireland during radical change; about cancer, priests, popes, homosexuality, and literature.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"IT ALL STARTED WITH MY BALLS.\" So begins Colm Tóibín's fabulously compelling essay, laced with humor, about his diagnosis and treatment for cancer. Tóibín survives, but he has entered, as he says, \"the age of one ball.\" The second essay in this seductive collection is a memoir about growing up in the 1950s and '60s in the small town of Enniscorthy in County Wexford, the setting for many of Tóibín's novels and stories, including \u003ci\u003eBrooklyn, The\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlackwater Lightship\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNora Webster\u003c\/i\u003e. Tóibín describes his education by priests, several of whom were condemned years later for abuse. He writes about Irish history and literature, and about the long, tragic journey toward legal and social acceptance of homosexuality. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn Part Two, Tóibín profiles three complex and vexing popes--John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. And in Part Three, he writes about a trio of authors who reckon with religion in their fiction. The final essay, \"Alone in Venice,\" is a gorgeous account of Toibin's journey, at the height of the pandemic, to the beloved city where he has set some of his most dazzling scenes. The streets, canals, churches and museums were empty. He had them to himself, an experience both haunting and exhilarating. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Guest at the Feast\u003c\/i\u003e is both an intimate encounter with a supremely creative artist and a glorious celebration of writing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eTable of Contents \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e PART ONE\u003cbr\u003e Cancer: My Part in Its Downfall\u003cbr\u003e A Guest at the Feast\u003cbr\u003e A Brush with the Law \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e PART TWO\u003cbr\u003e The Paradoxical Pope\u003cbr\u003e Among the Flutterers\u003cbr\u003e The Bergoglio Smile: Pope Francis\u003cbr\u003e The Ferns Report \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e PART THREE\u003cbr\u003e Putting Religion in Its Place: Marilynne Robinson\u003cbr\u003e Issues of Truth and Invention: Francis Stuart\u003cbr\u003e Snail Slow: John McGahern \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e EPILOGUE\u003cbr\u003e Alone in Venice\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Scribner Book Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/17\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781476785202\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.90lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.38h x 5.50w x 0.67d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/24\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2022\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Colm Toibin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42520590221493,"sku":"9781476785202","price":23.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_2806a79d-8520-43fa-bc4b-4d9aa341ecc4.jpg?v=1669130044","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/a-guest-at-the-feast-essays-9781476785202","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}