Reviewing Foy: On the Road to Lost
TO LOST
Publisher: Material Media LLC
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Gordon Atkinson, of the popular blog RealLivePreacher, brings us Foy, a recently- divorced, recently-resigned pastor in the midst of redefining personal meaning. As Foy travels to New Orleans, hoping to find a new identity separate from the church, he keenly observes the everyday, rendering ordinary moments unexpectedly significant. Atkinson’s own background as a preacher and blogger inspires Foy’s confessional voice, the voice which characterizes this story about how our own experiences impact the universal search for meaning.
— Greg Garrett, author of The Prodigal and Entertaining Judgment
I confess – I’m not sure where to start in talking about Foy by Gordon Atkinson. I sat down late the other evening, with the simple intent to read a few chapters and clear my head of the day’s worries. When I set down the book – HOURS later – my dog was reproachfully looking at me from the end of the ottoman, where she waited patiently to accompany me to bed, and my were knees cramped from holding my curled-up position far too long in my comfy chair.
Atkinson has put together a collection of short stories that, while they can stand up individually on their own, together begin to put together a vivid picture of the man called Foy Davis. There is no set arc to his story – some stories flash back to Foy’s childhood, others jump ahead to his time in New Orleans, to where he has sort of run away after leaving his position as a minister. Individually and together, they offer a complex and human look into a fascinating character.
Foy is the everyman, questioning his beliefs. Only – Foy is a preacher. Aren’t they supposed to be pretty secure in their faith? And there is the hook – it is the honesty, the real-ness of the character that settles into your bones. This is the guy I want to sit down with over coffee (or a beer) and talk to about faith and life, because he makes you feel ok about your doubts.
But the book is more than that. There is a quiet presence in all his tales that really connected, a clarity in the writing, a total lack of pretense. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve every struggled so much in trying to capture in words the feel a book projects, or what exactly it was that resounded so much with me, but it did. Deeply.
Go. Read it for yourself.
New Novel by Gordon Atkinson Foy: On the Road to Lost, to be released March 1 from Material Media on Vimeo.
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Atkinson is the author of the books RealLivePreacher.com (Wm. B. Eerdmans), Turtles All the Way Down, and A Christmas Story You’ve Never Heard. He was a contributor for the magazine Christian Century and founding editor for the High Calling website, which brought together hundreds of independent writers and featured their work.
His writing career started on Salon where he was among the most read bloggers on the site. One of his essays was chosen to be included in The Best Christian Writing 2004 (Jossey-Bass) and his book RealLivePreacher.com won the Independent Publisher Book Award in the creative non-fiction category.
3rd Prize: Signed Copy of RealLivePreacher.com
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March 1 – 15, 2017
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4 Comments
Sydney Young
Great review, thanks!
Kristine Hall
What a fabulous review! It really makes me want to read the book — sometimes ministers/preachers/pastors seem like they don’t grapple with their faith like the rest of us. Foy sounds real.
Gordon Atkinson
Hey Jenn,
Thanks for reading Foy, and your review is very gratifying. I appreciate it.
Jenn
I only wish I could do it justice by better putting into words how it grabbed me. It’s profound and real at the same time.
Maybe that’s what I should have said!