Portofino

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Summary: Hilarious coming-of-age novel: Jesus against Hormones
Review: A family of Christian fundamentalists vacation annually on the Italian Riviera, and their 10yo son, Calvin, has discovered his Hormones, with a capital H.
Dad, determined to convert European Catholics to his Holy Roller way of thinking, is sometimes a little, shall we say...unpredictable. Calvin spends a lot of his time trying to gauge Dad's moods. Calvin is left to ramble on his own a lot of the time, and in his explorations comes to discover the pleasures of alcohol and women. Watching as he tries to permit himself to enjoy the world without outright lying to his parents is hilarious and very touching. His 'little thing' (a unique family euphemism, if ever there was one) develops a life of its own, and Calvin doesn't quite know how to keep it under wraps, especially when he's wearing only a bathing suit.
Splendid, all around.

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Summary: He told my story
Review: Although most reviewers of this book said it made them laugh out loud, I found it poignant, but not humorous for two reasons. First I was raised in a missionary family in Johannesburg in a fundamentalist sect. The story reminded me so much of my own family that it wasn't humorous, it was amazing.

Second some of the writings that helped me get out of my sect were the writings of Frank Schaeffer's mother, Edith, whom I adored. Calvin's fictional family matches exactly the details Schaeffer's mother wrote about in her book "L'Abri", the account of her family's missionary work in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was intensely upsetting to see the fictional Elsa portrayed as such a codependent personality, with all the foibles of that personality. However, upon consideration, I realized that if I took away some of the worst situations in the book, my family was all too similar. Also, as a writer, I realize that all my own fiction comes from real situations that I exaggerate, organize, truncate, etc. Good fiction involves intense conflict and tension. Some of the stories may be completely fictional, though if they are fictional, why does Schaeffer make no effort to disguise the fictional family? He leaves them as Reformed Presbyterian missionaries in Lausanne, Switzerland, exactly as his famous parents were. It seems like a deliberate statement to the world, yet one which he does not have to defend, because, after all, this is fiction.

At first I found Schaeffer's constant hammering at his fundamentalist upbringing accurate but irritating, however I realized that he also took various European ethnic and political groups to task as well. I also found the trashing of fundamentalist "villains" and the idealization of a gay hero a little too clicheed and politically correct.

All in all though, I was disappointed when the book came to an end, and I can't wait to read the sequel, Saving Grandma.

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Summary: Funny, poignant, evangelical memoir
Review: Calvin Becker looks forward to vacationing in Italy with his family every summer: the weather is nice, the waters are great for scuba diving, and his best friend Jennifer is there too. There's a problem, though: his family is a Reformed Presbyterian family, missionaries in Switzlerland who have come from America to convert those poor, lost, Roman Catholic youth. His mother prays too long before meals to show that they are the light of the world, and gives the most embarassing talks about sex. His father gets into "Moods" and doesn't seem very happy most of the time. And his two sisters get on his nerves by being alternately sweet or sour, often emulating their mother's sanctimoniousness. What's a normal, healthy, adolescent boy to do on the beach with them around?

I laughed out loud so much when I read this book! I grew up as a conservative evangelical myself, and there is much I can identify with, especially all the cliche phrases and behavioral patterns endemic to fundamentalism. I'm told that this book is really a thinly-veiled memoir of Frank's experience with his own family--and his parents are among the most famous evangelical icons, Edith and Francis Schaeffer, so he is giving us a glimpse into what it might have been like growing up with them. The results are often funny, but not always pleasant--the mother, father, and sisters turn out to be human after all, with significant flaws and foibles. Despite this, Schaeffer's portrayal is largely free from mean-spiritedness, and is buttressed by some strong descriptive passages about the title location and what it's like to fall in love for the first time. Ultimately, though, this book stands out as a good example of how the scions of evangelicalism deal with their past, and gives outsiders a glimpse into a world that often seems strange and loony. As someone working through similar issues, I found it a good laugh and good catharsis.

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Summary: whimsical "Life with Father" set in Tuscany
Review: Frank Schaeffer is great. I realize many think the book is an unfair jab at his family, but speaking from an objective standpoint, the book is damn funny. I grew up in a similar situation, though much less tragic, in Northeastern Italy, and Schaeffer's depiction of the Italian coastal town is beautiful. He correctly identifies the struggles and interchanges that take place in a fundamentalist Christian home overseas. I do not think I have read a more accurate depiction of being thirteen, in a missionary family, in Italy, and in love. It was a great read.

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Summary: Bravo for "Portofino"!
Review: Frank Schaeffer proves his skill as a storyteller in the coming-of-age novel "Portofino." This often hilarious tale revolves around the son of fundamentalist missionaries to Switzerland on annual family vacation in Italy. There is a lot of humor here, with an undercurrent of fear (father's "moods") and even, in one instance, cruelty. The boy, Calvin, tries to be normal in the face of his family's evangelical quirkiness, proving that "correct doctrine" does not preclude dysfunctionality. Some conservative Christians (a group of which I consider myself a part) may be offended, but only if they take themselves too seriously. The sexual euphemisms, the excessive "Thees and Thous" used in prayer (especially by the long-winded, super-spiritual mother), the splitting and resplitting of a denomination due to doctrinal hair-splitting (do they follow Hodge or Warfield?), and especially the infamous "Gospel Walnut" I found very humorous, probably from recognition as much as anything else.

With Schaeffer, it is fairly well known that he is the son of conservative Christian icons Francis and Edith Schaeffer, and that he has turned his back on his strict Calvinist upbringing and embraced Eastern Orthodoxy. Are Calvin's parents in the book Francis and Edith themselves, or just people based on them? I really don't know, but I'll give Francis and Edith the benefit of the doubt, and just say that Frank Schaeffer has given the world a terrific novel with excellent characterizations. Highly recommended.

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Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I am not much of a fiction reader, in fact the only fiction books I have read recently are the Chronicles of Narnia series. But that was until I picked this book up, and after I picked it up I could not put it down! Its a first rate story that captures the magic of youth through the eyes of Calvin Becker. This book does poke fun at most Reformed Protestants though, so beware if you are a long-winded Baptist. I don't know how much of this is autobiography, but many of the situations seem as if they may have actually occurred in Frank's life. Even though he may poke fun (and at times just criticize) reformed folks who are always saying that 'Catholics worship Mary, etc etc,' he still portrays his family as one that has a tender and loving side to it. His father's walk with his son in the hills of Portafino really touched me. It almost made me wish I was Calvin! This is a great book!

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Summary: A great book to read aloud
Review: I picked up Frank Schaeffer's Portofino in an airport bookstore as my wife and I took off for a trip to Europe. For the next week, as we prepared to go to sleep in different hotel rooms and camping grounds I read aloud the story of Calvin and his family.While the book is represented as a coming-of-age story, we were most enthralled with the challenges to a child growing up in a devout missionary family where religion was the sacred basis of life, but also the tedious anchor to adventure.Our favorite scene involved the 'bahini' (beach attendant) arguing with the English and the Italians after a dispute on the amount of time a rental boat was used.A delightful book, and moreso as a book read aloud between two adults

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Summary: a fun summer read
Review: Portofino can be read on (at least) two levels. The first level is as a light, fun, summer read, full of humor, romance, the beauty of Italy, the joy of vacation, the awkwardness of young love. At this level, the book is a delight. Calvin's struggles with his feelings about his family's religious beliefs, and his own, are the backdrop for many gently humorous situations. The writing, while flowery at times, is light, easy, flowing, making for a quick and easy read. The characters are almost all likeable, believable, and interesting.

On another level, this book can be read as a commentary on religious fundamentalism. The feeling one gets from this level is a conflict between tremendous love for one's family, but also a struggle against the family's beliefs, that comes out in both humor and anger. On this level, there is much to think about regarding religion and whether some doctrines have an "us vs. them" mentality that seems to be a contradiction to the teachings; a mentality which seems to be the antithesis of religion. Further, there's much to ponder on why Schaeffer wrote such anger and cruelty into one character, Calvin's father. On this level, the book is a great one for discussion.

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Summary: one of the best books I've read in a while
Review: This book is excellent in all ways -- funny, interesting, quality character development. The creativity of Frank Schaeffer is amazing -- I had only known him previously through "religious" works. He is a talented author. As soon as I finished this book, I picked up the sequel, "Saving Grandma," since I didn't want the experiences of the Becker family to come to an end. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: whimsical "Life with Father" set in Tuscany
Review: This book was well written and enlightening as to what Franky Schaeffer really thinks of his family.. All the details of this book are just a little too close for comfort to the way he grew up. Although I enjoyed the book for its literary merit, I thought that it was a very warped view of Protestant Christianity. I've also met some of his family, and most of them were extremely hurt by this book, especially because he was taking pot shots at his deceased father. It was , a very bittersweet book.