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The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show:

by Ariel Gore

The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show: Cover

ISBN13: 9780060854287
ISBN10: 0060854286
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Orphaned at age four and raised by her black-clad, rosary-mumbling, preoccupied grandmother, Frankka discovered the ability to perform the stigmata as a way to attract her grandmother's attention. Now twenty-eight, Frankka's still using this extraordinary talent, crisscrossing the country with "The Death and Resurrection Show," a Catholic-themed traveling freak show and cast of misfits who have quickly become her new family. But when a reporter from the Los Angeles Times shows up to review the show, Frankka finds herself on the front page of the newspaper — the unwitting center of a religious debate. Now unsure of who she is and where she belongs, Frankka disappears in search of herself and a place to call home.

Review:

"Piercing and insightful, Gore's first novel limns one woman's complicated relationship with her religion and her personal faith." Kristine Huntley, Booklist

Review:

"[A] savvy rebuke of religious bigotry and a fun, fast, memorable read. Highly recommended." Library Journal

Review:

"An affecting tale about the search for home, connection and authenticity." Christopher Castellani, author of The Saint of Lost Things

Review:

"The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show has a clear, compelling premise coupled with a number of sassy renditions of the lives of the saints. But the most beautiful passages are, perhaps, in the descriptions of time spent in the woods catching fish for a rustic dinner." Portland Oregonian

Synopsis:

Orphaned at age four and raised by her black-clad, rosary-mumbling, preoccupied grandmother, Frankka discovered the ability to perform the stigmata as a way to attract her grandmother's attention. Now twenty-eight, Frankka's still using this extraordinary talent, crisscrossing the country with "The Death and Resurrection Show," a Catholic-themed traveling freak show and cast of misfits who have quickly become her new family. But when a reporter from the Los Angeles Times shows up to review the show, Frankka finds herself on the front page of the newspaper — the unwitting center of a religious debate. Now unsure of who she is and where she belongs, Frankka disappears in search of herself and a place to call home.
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About the Author

Gore is an activist, jounalist, and editor.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Susan Wiget, November 12, 2009 (view all comments by Susan Wiget)
The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show is about Frankka, a lapsed Catholic with a rather peculiar psychic ability: while fasting, she can concentrate on her wrists and make them bleed. For seven years she lives on the road with a performance troupe that includes a drag queen who levitates while dressed like a Catholic nun, a fortune teller and former battered wife with a small child, a fire-breather, and a bearded woman. They rarely stay in the same town or city for a week, and satirizing the Christian religion means they sometimes encounter hostility from fundamentalists (including the “God Hates Fags” picketers whom I frequently saw in Kansas). Meanwhile, Frankka has very realistic and moving flashbacks to psychological traumas from her childhood and youth.

Although I normally avoid books that are from a Xian perspective, I decided to read The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show because Ariel Gore impressed me at a couple of author readings. To my relief, this book did not handle Xianity in a way that made me want to hurl chunks: instead, the narrator is very critical of the patriarchy in organized Catholicism and aware that goddesses such as Brigit were taken and turned into saints. The book goes on to show that even Christianity--and dare I saw Catholicism--can involve genuine spirituality, when it is in the mystical tradition rather than the way it is practiced as an organized religion. Frankka has a hobby of writing her own versions of the lives of saints, each a mystical individual. If only they were typical.

This is an excellently written literary novel with strongly developed, believable, and engaging characters.
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KaraMaia, October 15, 2006 (view all comments by KaraMaia)
A fast-reading novel combing elements of vaudeville and Catholicism, starring Frankka, a traveling circus performer with a rare talent of the stigmata. When a reporter infiltrates the troupe and discovers Frankka's stigmata trick is real, her media exposure forces Frankka to flee for the California hills. Her vision quest of sorts helps her to discover who she is, and where she should go next. Ariel Gore's first novel is quirky, hip, irreverent, and inspiring.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060854287
Author:
Gore, Ariel
Publisher:
HarperOne
Subject:
Religious - General
Subject:
Young women
Subject:
Catholics
Subject:
Christian - General
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Christian saints
Subject:
Bildungsromans
Subject:
Christianity-Christian Fiction
Copyright:
2006
Edition Description:
Trade PB
Series:
Plus
Publication Date:
20060531
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
240
Dimensions:
8.02x5.30x.59 in. .42 lbs.
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The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show: Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$4.95 In Stock
Product details 240 pages HarperSanFrancisco - English 9780060854287 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Piercing and insightful, Gore's first novel limns one woman's complicated relationship with her religion and her personal faith."
"Review" by , "[A] savvy rebuke of religious bigotry and a fun, fast, memorable read. Highly recommended."
"Review" by , "An affecting tale about the search for home, connection and authenticity."
"Review" by , "The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show has a clear, compelling premise coupled with a number of sassy renditions of the lives of the saints. But the most beautiful passages are, perhaps, in the descriptions of time spent in the woods catching fish for a rustic dinner."
"Synopsis" by , Orphaned at age four and raised by her black-clad, rosary-mumbling, preoccupied grandmother, Frankka discovered the ability to perform the stigmata as a way to attract her grandmother's attention. Now twenty-eight, Frankka's still using this extraordinary talent, crisscrossing the country with "The Death and Resurrection Show," a Catholic-themed traveling freak show and cast of misfits who have quickly become her new family. But when a reporter from the Los Angeles Times shows up to review the show, Frankka finds herself on the front page of the newspaper — the unwitting center of a religious debate. Now unsure of who she is and where she belongs, Frankka disappears in search of herself and a place to call home.
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