Pelican Crossing Press

Review from Nancy Carpentier Brown of Flying Stars, 15 July 2008

After spending every waking moment trying to finagle more moments to read just one more page of this book, I finally finished it much to my regret. I wanted more.

Passport is a difficult book to describe. It is a novel, yes. But what do you call a novel that makes you want to be a better person? That helps you see the sacrifices you've made aren't really that much, and you should do more? That turns your mind to your own selfishness and lays it bare? That makes you ask yourself if you're doing God's will in every little thing, and not just when His will and yours converge?

This is an adult novel, and yet, it's not that kind of adult novel. It's adult because it deals with mature stuff. Not that kind of stuff, although that's in there, too, just not graphically enough to give it an "R" rating. It's adult because the mature stuff is about sin. And sacrifice. And loving someone enough to give up everything for them. And the consequences of even a moment's lapse in judgment. And the love of Christ to help you walk through the darkness.

There are many situations in Passport which are comparable to real life. I've talked with Catholic women who have conceived out of the usual order. Who have married in court because they didn't yet have an annulment. Who have children in their homes with two different last names and complex arrangements for parenting. Who have endured hardships in marriage due to mental health issues, physical health issues, lack of being on the same page with the Church issues.

There are stories no one will ever hear. Stories of self-sacrifice and pain and days of quiet martyrdom that no one will ever know about in marriages all over the world. People who should be declared saints for what they go through; people who silently offer up daily difficulties for the sake of their children, or their spouse, or someone else.

This is a novel about a situation like that. A difficult situation. A very complex story about the complexities of sin, sacrifice, love, honor, chivalry, manliness and womanliness. It's a story about parenting, and families, and children, and faith, and hope. It's a story about a normal man, an average man, and a story about humans as we are. It's a story about how we try, and fail, and try again.

I think the greatest virtue in this story is hope. The main character never seems to give up hope, even though the situation--brought about by his own sin-- seems so hopeless. I loved his circle of friends, the garage where they work on cars and talk about life, the community center where they volunteer.

And even though the main character is often hopeful, he is real and human. He often fails, there, too, and tries to run from his sorrows and pain in ways many of us will recognize, because we've run like that, too.

And although this story is told from the guy's point of view, I still liked it, and I could still relate to everything that was happening because it is a human story, and hope is something anyone can understand.

The story is set in Chicago (mainly) and so I could really relate to that. When the author describes Evanston, or some Chicago neighborhood, I could picture it because I live here. I guess I could also relate because of being a parent and a spouse, and the story revolving around those states in life and issues relating to them. I don't know what an unmarried young adult or a grandparently adult would think of this book. But I suspect the emotions and situations are universal enough for most any adult to be able to find the story compelling, interesting, and even challenging.

I recommend this book to any adult looking for some leisure or commuter-type reading. This book is easy to read. It's a page-turner because you want so badly for the situation to be resolved in a good way, and there are so many almost insurmountable obstacles in the way. You won't be uncomfortable reading it because it keeps itself modest, and yet, talks about subjects you might not talk about with your friends, unless you know them really, really well, and trust them with your secrets.

Passport: A Novel. Bring a tissue. Bring your hopes and fears. Prepare to be changed. Prepare to be challenged.

NEWS: Christopher Blunt was interviewed by Catholic Bookmarks Radio about Passport. An audio link to the interview, which aired on July 13, 2008, is available on their website.

NEWS: CatholicMom.com has named Passport its July, 2008 Book Club Fiction Selection.

From Regina Doman, author of Angel in the Waters:

[Passport is] a great read whose message doesn't obscure the page-turning romance, a story that will have a special resonance with Catholic men, especially dads.

On the first page of the book, Stan Eigenbauer, vintage car specialist and comfortable Catholic, meets the girl of his dreams -- or so he hopes. The tangling of their lives and a fateful choice throws Stan into a heart-wrenching moral dilemma with tragic consequences. But Stan decides to make a heroic choice and shoulder a burden most men would want to leave behind.

Stan's saga is one my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed, and we're happy to recommend this book. For those of you on the lookout for emerging Catholic genre fiction, you will want to check out this book.

Review from Ars Catholica, 5 June 2008

This well-paced book describes the life of Stan Eigenbauer, a young Catholic in the city of Chicago, who discovers the true meaning of the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and most of all, love.

When we first meet Stan, he leads a comfortable life unaccustomed to challenge, change, or controversy. He’s a by-the-book Catholic who hasn’t really had the opportunity in life to understand why following the book is important. But early on in the novel, he falters, and this begins the extraordinary story of his trials to care for the woman he loves at great sacrifice to himself.

Stan’s daily commitment to carrying his cross challenges the reader to consider their own commitments. The novel is in many ways an instruction on Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body told through the lives of Stan and the woman he loves. The narrative flows well, the story keeps the reader turning the page, and while there were some instances when I could predict what turn the plot would take, the end caught me very much by surprise.

In short, we need more novels like this. Stan’s life presents the Catholic view of marriage in a divorce-ridden world, where love is often reduced to lust, whether on the page or on the television screen.

 

Review from Stony Creek Digest, 16 May 2008

Passport is a real page-turner.

I don’t normally go in for books like this. It’s a work of fiction in a contemporary setting, my least favorite literary genre. But the book doesn’t feel like fiction at all. The characters and their lives are all-too real, their errors and failings all-too familiar. The book could be the story of anyone but for a few salient features that make this novel exceptional.

Passport is written by a man who quite obviously has traveled some distance himself on the el camino real, the road to sanctity, and because of this he is able to capture the silent workings of grace in the lives of his characters in a way that is beyond the reach of most writers. The main characters - both of them - are faced with agonizing and frankly humiliating choices. Even I, a supposedly seasoned Catholic, found myself longing for the characters to take the easy way out, the way of respectability and comfort and happily-ever-after. Although there is plenty of romance (hence the attraction for female readers), the Catholic life is not romanticized or sugar-coated. In fact the book vindicates one of the primary reasons for my own conversion, the realization that Catholicism is a religion thoroughly obsessed with reality, no matter how messy, no matter the cost, and often the cost is high indeed.

The personalities of the book were meaningful to me. The central character is a man much like myself - in many respects a better man, and in others, perhaps less so. Stan Eigenbauer’s story was often uncomfortable reading due to its honesty and familiarity. I don’t know how many other Catholic men would have the same reaction, but I can think of a few who might. The other characters had remarkable similarities to people I know, or have known in the past.

This is a story about an ordinary man who does an extraordinary thing: he takes up his cross and follows Christ. Despite his hopes of breaking free, he is nevertheless determined to go all the way if he must. In the process, he takes a few others with him - even those who don’t realize they are going - and discovers a new freedom that is beyond anything he has ever experienced.

Every book has a target readership. I’m not sure who Dr. Blunt has in mind, exactly, but in my opinion this is a book best suited for Catholic young people, maybe age 18-30, who are not strangers to the ways of the world. The book is utterly without any trace of profanity, obscenity, or objectionable material of any kind. But it does deal with “adult” issues and isn’t something you want your 13 year old homeschooled daughter picking up. The book presupposes a Catholic reader, but I can think of quite a few non-Catholics who would enjoy the book and benefit from it.

 

 It is one of those rare books that you will still be thinking about several months after finishing.

Catholic Media Review (11 June 2008), cross-posted at Catholic Fire, 14 May 2008

Passport is the debut novel of author Christopher Blunt, who describes his book as a “coming-of-age story about a young Catholic man’s discovery of self-sacrificial love.”

At the beginning of the novel, we meet Stan, a likable but somewhat shy and unassuming fellow. Stan is an average guy who is trying to live out his Catholic faith but who has not yet found a lifetime mate. Soon thereafter, Stan finds himself in the difficult and agonizing position of being torn between two women: one he cannot marry (but who needs him) and one who would be the ideal Catholic wife. Throughout the rest of the novel, we journey with Stan as he struggles to make choices, most of which, though painful for him, are selfless and moral.

Passport illustrates the growth of a man who strives to do the right thing, and shows that the struggle to live chastity does not end with marriage; it is simply lived out in a different way. Stan eventually comes to the realization that only in dying to ourselves can we truly love others and find meaningful happiness. It was a joy to read such an uplifting story in this day and age where self-centeredness is the norm.

I most strongly recommend Passport to Catholics in their twenties and thirties, although all people would find the story interesting. There are some romantic elements in the book but this is decidedly not a romance novel in any traditional sense. As a woman, I enjoyed reading a story from a man’s perspective, especially the inner workings of a man’s mind regarding chastity and natural family planning.

The author does an excellent job of incorporating teachings on both the indissolubility of marriage and natural family planning without being preachy.

I would highly recommend Passport as it is easy to read, well-written and the characters are rich and well-developed. Blunt’s portrayal of family life is especially real, down to earth and believable.