Mr. Blue - a book for a young person

I finished Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly.

It's a short book, almost more of a parable than a novel.

I had actually read the book when I was in my late teens/early 20s, and even though I hadn't read it in decades, it still lingered in the back of my mind.

At the time I first read it, I was young and idealistic, and the romanticism of Blue appealed to me. I could dream of living like him, trying to be like him, trying to be a saint in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.

Indeed, I read the book around the time I saw Franco Zeffirelli's very romanticized bio pic of St. Francis, Brother Sun, Sister Moon.

This time, I found myself identifying more with the more pragmatic narrator, though some of his money and business comments grate. Given that I'm married, raised a family, pursued careers in journalism and education, that makes sense. Of course, I chose to pursue those careers as a religious journalist and a teacher in religious schools or ones working with troubled and inner-city youth.

And along the way I did become a Secular Franciscan.

So I think the path I followed lies somewhere between the idealism of Blue and the pragmatism of the narrator.

As a book, I enjoyed it. It brought back memories.

It was well worth rereading at my age, and it certainly contains ideas worth considering even at my age. We all need to be challenged.

Still, I think it's more of a young person's book.

Pax et bonum