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 enlarge | Author: Justin Catanoso
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $12.97
You Save: $12.98 (50%)
New (30) Used (5) from $12.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 189758
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0061231029
Dewey Decimal Number: 282.092
EAN: 9780061231025
ASIN: 0061231029
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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| Showing reviews 6-9 of 9 | | « PREV | | |
Welcome Pilgrim June 13, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
What is it like to have a saint in the family? Go on - you can answer that. If you don't know already, you will discover, after reading Justin Catanoso's book about his cousin, that our families are full of saints, and that we, too, are on the same path. It's just that Justin's cousin won an Academy Award - so to speak--for his journey.
You don't have to be Catholic to enjoy this book, it is not about religion, it is about God manifest in the family - Love, something common to us all. And, it's loaded with every-day miracles, prayers answered and petitions declined. Daniela, a Calabrese cousin and self-described miracle herself, has an answer to why not all requests for miracles are granted. I'll not reveal it here.
Take the book to the beach - it's not heavy reading--and about two thirds of the way through the book and the day, when you have an inexplicable hunger for swordfish, gather the family together for dinner and your own little communion of saints. Can it be any wonder why Jesus chose a meal to share Himself with us?
Reading My Cousin The Saint after finishing Passion on the Vine by Sergio Esposito, another satisfying book about family, food, love, and more than a little wine, I think these Italians are on to something. Or is it up to something? Either way we are no longer strangers but pilgrims heading for the same place. What a pleasure to encounter Justin and his family on this path.
Faith From the Ground Up June 11, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The author is a most talented and engaging writer and he has quite a story to tell. He finds out that a deceased priest from Italy, who happens to be a cousin, is at the cusp of being declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. This leads the writer to explore his family roots in southern Italy and to delve into a faith that he has mostly set aside, all the while dealing with the emotional turmoil of losing a relatively young brother to cancer. While confronted with stories about the miracles attributed to the intercession of his cousin, St. Gaetano Catanoso, his own beloved brother appears to be beyond the aid of medical science or divine intervention. The author, however, never opts for the "cheap grace" that fails to question God's existence, purpose or goodness. Throughout this spiritual journey, this fine writer and reporter delves ever deeper into the meaning (if there is one) to his cousin's canonization, the impact of immigration on a family, and the role of faith in his own life. Mr. Catanoso provides a delightful picture of an extended, supportive Italian family that suggests that we pay a price for our independence, namely isolation. I read wistfully about a society that goes out for walks in the park in the evening rather than stays home to watch whatever is on television. This is not a book just for the devout, but for those questioning their faith, their priorities and values. Behind it all is the spirit of a remarkable priest whose death was not the end of his story.
Family, Faith and Miracles June 10, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
When a friend suggested that I read My Cousin The Saint, I hesitated for many reasons....I am not Catholic, I expected the book to be a boring tale of a religion that doesn't necessarily interest me and I was raised in a secular home. My friend persisted and I am so grateful to her.
By page 2 I was hooked.....and my interest continued all the way into the epilogue.
Justin Catanoso writes about a quest that could just as easily be mine..in another country with different characters.
He lovingly describes his family living at the Jersey Shore and the discovery that there are just as many Catanosos living in Southern Italy in Calabria....one of whom just happened to be canonized by the Pope in 2005. His story about his family's loss of their beloved Alan resounded within me, as I, too, lost a brother....but this story will impact on anyone who has suffered a family loss.
The history of Calabria, the family that Justin found there and, yes, the fascinating and detailed story of the Catholic religion and the life of a beloved Priest, Padre Gaetano Catanoso and the making of a Saint will intrigue every reader. The experience of Italian immigrants in this country will resonate with any reader whose family came to America for a better life.
I learned so much about why my Catholic friends believe as they do.
Justin's search for faith could just as easily be mine. His search for faith, family and miracles highlights his love for his wife and daughters, his loving parents who are in their eighties, his siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles and his discovery of a marvelous family in Calabria.
My family never searched for our relatives in Europe.....the Catanoso's are so blessed to have found theirs.
Justin Catanoso writes so beautifully...there is not a false note in the book....He questions himself throughout but the one thing he never questions is the love of family which is, perhaps, the best miracle of all.
I can't wait to read his next book.....whatever it's about.
"My Cousin The Saint" a Grand Slam May 29, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
It has probably been a couple of years since I learned about a story I found striking. The editor of the Triad Business Journal-- Justin Catanoso, who is of Italian descent-- had learned that a late distant cousin from the vicinity of Reggio di Calabria in southern Italy was being canonized by the pope. He was writing a book about it.
It was a story that has some meaning for me because my own grandmother-- Ernoldina Molinari-- was also from a part of Calabria, about 60 miles north of Reggio. And my two paternal grandparents were from a place close enough to be considered a part of "Old Calabria".
As I read Catanoso's book, I recognized some of the experiences his American family had that probably are shared by many of Italian descent. He revealed much about his family in the United States. But he also described the detective mission he undertook in Italy, part of which involved rediscovering and reconnecting with his extensive family in Calabria. I had done the same thing last year, on a much smaller scale, and was able to appreciate the excitement and poignancy that he experienced, all of which he related so well in his book. I found his descriptions of these meetings particularly moving.
But he also did a great job of describing the desperate circumstances of those who lived in this region one century ago-- and those who left at that time to go to the United States or South America. It was then an awful place, with horrendous poverty and living conditions. What he wrote about these matters is entirely consistent with information I had learned through other sources. He paints the picture particularly well of what life was like in those days, and of the paucity of leadership that would lift the locals above their circumstances.
I found particularly interesting Catanoso's research regarding the criteria the Catholic Church employs to decide whether to canonize a given individual, and how the process unfolds. This was all new information to me, even though I was raised Catholic, and attended Catholic school for nearly eight years. Catanoso's interviews, and his written account, made entirely clear and rational what had been a process that for many of us was shrouded in mystery.
He also researched his cousin the saint, whose name was Gaetano Catanoso. Justin Catanoso was able to learn much in Italy from family members, nuns, townspeople and other clergy. He related the miracles his cousin was said to have performed. But the main message was the power of his cousin's witness and his example. This was a man who devoted his life to lifting the circumstances of the disadvantaged people of the region-- assisting the poor, and the orphans, and the ill, and those in prison. He supported other priests and bishops from the region. And he founded an order of nuns that would work toward the charitable goals he had established.
But particularly dramatic were his early years working in the squalor of the hill towns of southern Italy from which so many others had felt forced to emigrate. It was a very difficult mission field; and he worked essentially in the midst of Third World conditions.
Justin Catanoso also explores issues of faith and church teachings in his book. He made no effort to conceal his ambivalence, or even his doubt, on some of these matters. But he describes a faith reawakening of sorts, that I hope will continue to build over time.
The author has penned a remarkable book that plumbs the depths of family and heritage intermingled with the story of a towering Christian example. He lovingly describes a part of Italy where he has roots that literally go back centuries; and of course also describes the people who have animated that particular region.
I am grateful to Justin for the work he put into this book, and am delighted for him that he had these rewarding experiences he is able to share. His book sheds much light on one very special life; an aspect of Catholicism that is widely misunderstood; and the experience and history of a significant ethnic group within the United States.
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