Danny Gospel

by David Athey

Bethany House
ISBN-10: 0764204440
ISBN-13: 978-0764204449

When I 1st heard about this book about a month ago, I have to admit that the fact that it took place in Iowa intrigued me. Being a proud Iowa Boy I was curious to read it just to see how well Iowa fared. I began looking for the book & finally had to order it at 1 of my local Catholic bookstores. It came in last week & within 3 days I had finished reading it. & then started rereading it. Why? I'll get to that later.

Danny Gospel is a 25 year old mail carrier living in a trailer park in Iowa City, IA. His one prayer is to have a "normal, happy life". Something that has been sorely lacking in his life until now.

When the book opens, Danny introduces himself (the story is told in the 1st person) by explaining how he acquired the last name of Gospel. It came about 15 years earlier when his family began travelling arround Iowa performing free concerts. As a result the family became known as the Gospel Family. The family consisted of his Grammy Dorrie, a Baptist; his father, a Johnny Cash look-alike, ex-marine, Vietnam Vet Catholic; his mother; brother Jonathan & sister Holly. The story proper begins in October of 2001, shortly after Danny turned 25. Most of his family is dead. All that is left is his brother Jonathan & they are somewhat estranged. Then 1 morning a perfectly lovely woman dressed in white appears in his bedroom & kisses him. Thus begins his quest to find her so her can marry her.

However, things don't work out so simple. His life & responsibilities quickly intervene. & that makes up the rest of the book. As events unfold he is continually reminded of things from his past. & as he shares those events we come to know how the rest of his family died & why things are so strained with his brother. & we meet a wide variety of interesting people, some friends some not so friendly.

1 of these characters is Grease, Danny's best friend. Through all Danny's ups & downs Grease is the 1 person he can completely depend on to help him out. Another is his Grammy Dorrie. There are many more.

Right from the start, I was hooked. Danny is a character that I found real easy to like. & given that my life didn't work out as planned made it easy to understand his feelings about how his life worked out. Danny struggles like so many of us to try & make sense of things. He struggles with knowing what is God's will for his life. He tries to live out that will even when he doesn't fully know or understand it. Danny's relationship with his Grammy reminded me of mine with my Grandpa Stasi. & Danny is a cat lover, another plus in my mind.

Most of the book takes place in Iowa. Athey has Danny use just the right amount of details that you would expect from someone talking to a friend who was just as familiar with the area. When Danny goes on his trip to Florida the details increase. The depth of detail is what you would expect of someone discovering a place for the 1st time. That added to the realism for me.

I have to admit that because I am from Iowa & familiar with the places he talked about, I was able to fill in the blanks. I grew up with uncles that farmed. The struggles with farming that Danny's father had are very real. I had family in Iowa City & Des Moines. So, when he described those areas I had no trouble knowing where Danny was at. Athey also does a good job of catching the beauty that is rural Iowa.

At times it seemed that the timeline for a few of Danny's memories didn't seem right. But, that is normal for all of us. I know that there are times when things happenned earlier or later than I remember.

The book doesn't have a neat ending. It leaves you with a lot of questions about Danny's past & his future. I especially would like to have learned more about Danny's past & his family. Why? Because the author created a character that I really came to care about. Actually he created a whole group of characters, Danny, his family, Grease, Brother Paul & Rachel to name a few, that I wanted to know more about.

As I mentioned at the start I am rereading the book. As I do, I am discovering things I glossed over the 1st time. I am seeing different aspects of the events & noticing some things that may, or may not, give me answers in better understanding Danny & how he got to this point in his life.

I also have to say that writing this review has been difficult. I have tried to tell you just enough without giving away too much. This is 1 of those books that works best when you read it for the 1st time with minimal knowledge of the plot.

That having been said, this is a book that is definitely worth reading. It is 1 that I had a hard time putting down. As I said, I was hooked early on. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Danny next, & every flashback helped you to understand better how he got to this point in his life.

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David Athey is an Assistant Professor of English at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. This is his 1st novel.