Nicely written and very true to today. I was torn with Vito's thoughts vs actions and why he thought god would not honor a full life. Perspective.

It is a rare day when I give a book five stars. Why this book? For several reasons. First of all, the author, Salvatore Sapienza, is able to craft a readable story, and by readable I mean a story that unfolds with a certain pleasing ease and believability. The mark of a successful writer is the ability to make the reader forget they are reading fiction. I kept finding myself assuming the main character, Vito, was a proxy upon whom the author had projected his own struggle with integrating faith into an otherwise fractured life. Secondly, although the author is no Donald Windham or Alexander Chee (neither of who by the way, received five stars from this reviewer), it is of no matter proveded the message is important. Which brings us to the reason for five stars: There is a dearth of authorship offering readers a chance to see that Jesus is perfectly relevant in contemporary individual lives, especially GLBTQ lives. This is a vital issue. Thank you, Salvatore. I look forward to more in this vein!

This novel is a warmly written eye-opener. These days when Catholic priests are often called out regarding child molestation, this story deals with one man's challenge of being a gay man who is also a Brother of the Catholic faith, teaching religion in a Catholic school. It takes place in the early 90's when the dialog in such schools is more 'hip' with the culture of the decade in New York state. Vito Fortunato is also finishing up his Master's Degree at NYU in English, paid for by the Brotherhood. Vito is a great teacher, but in his mind he is always trying to justify his right to be gay and also spiritual. He reaches a point in his life where he must decide which life to give up. This novel is well written, the characters well defined, and very likable. I found this story easy to read, thought provoking, and just wonderful.

This is the novel that inspired a movie I truly love ("Brotherly Love")!
Set in the early 1990's, this is the story of Brother Vito Fortunato. Vito is a (mostly) open gay man, just a few months from his final vows as a Brother in the Catholic Church. He is increasingly finding himself internally at odds between his calling to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience...and the LIFE he feels when he is surrounded by his gay friends and community. To complicate matters further, during a summer of volunteer work at an AIDS center in San Francisco, Vito unexpectedly falls in love with Gabriel (a recently divorced landscaper who is himself learning to come out and embrace life in his Truth).
This novel is a great balance of spirituality and sexuality and serves as a good launching pad for discussion with those who are struggling with the compatability of Christianity and homosexuality.
While I loved the novel as an overall work...I have to admit that I liked the "updated" storyline of the film "Brotherly Love" a bit better!

When I first began reading this book, I struggled with relating to the main character. His obsession with pop culture, being trendy and fashionable, and his constant references to his good looks were unnerving and annoying to me. Add to this the fact that the book, in spite of several re-releases over the years, contained numerous editorial flaws (not just typos, but blatant errors that could have easily been corrected simply by proofreading), and I thought I was embarking upon a one-star read.

But the redeeming quality of this book is the story itself. When I was able to get beyond my own preconceptions and set aside all judgment of the protagonist's integrity, I began to fall in love with him. I wondered if, in real life, a person such as this would even give the time of day to someone like me, but at least while reading the story, I could pretend I was a part of his world.

Vito is about my age, born in the mid 1960s. In his early 20s he enters the priesthood in spite of the fact that he's known he's gay since the age of 17. He likes Madonna and all the pop music of the 80s and 90s, and he hangs out with his gay friends and parties whenever possible. He also teaches ninth grade in the Catholic school and is greatly admired and revered by his students who all think he's pretty cool for a priest.

Then for the summer, he takes a trip from New York out to San Francisco to volunteer at an AIDS outreach center. While there, he meets one of the volunteers, a man named Gabe, and he falls in love. He then must make a decision as to what he's going to do with his life. Does he continue with the priesthood and take his final vows, or does he give up his calling to pursue his relationship with Gabe?

I guess the reason I liked the story so much was because, in spite of the book's flaws, it was so honest. I don't know how much of the story is fiction and how much is autobiography, but it sincerely felt like the author was talking about his own life. I think it takes a lot of guts to write something like this, and there were sections of the book that moved me emotionally. I also really grew to love the main character's love interest, Gabe. I was so afraid throughout the story that he was going to get hurt badly. I loved the sweetness of the ending, though, and by the time I'd finished reading the book, I even loved Vito.

I was glad to learn that the story is being made into a movie, and I can't wait to see it.

I wish I could give more than 5 stars! I couldn't put it down!

A touching story about a young gay priest.

SPANISH:

Hurgando sin objetivo alguno fue como encontré este libro. De hecho, cuando deambulamos sin rumbo fijo, es el instinto lo que nos guía, y a veces tropezamos con las cosas más encantadoras.
Seventy Times Seven narra los avatares de Vito, un seminarista católico y homosexual, comprometido con su fe y con su sexo de forma abierta y honesta, mientras lucha entre la fe y el deseo, entre el amor de Dios como posta en el camino y el Amor como fin. Y en esas líneas, Salvatore Sapienza dibuja un mundo sencillo, tierno, repleto de sentimientos reales y muy vívidos, y de una ternura encantadora. La historia de amor entre Gabe, un hombre perdido en sí mismo, ansioso de dar amor, y de recibirlo, y Vito, capaz de darlo todo pero con sus desgarros internos y sus dudas, hace de Seventy Times Seven una experiencia única.
La casualidad me llevó a su libro lo mismo a que me llevó a encontrarlo, y forma parte de esa red absolutamente sublime de personas creadoras, comprometidas y únicas que, muchas veces, esta red de virtualidades mundanas cosecha con gran éxito. Y me gusta mucho jugar con su nombre: Sapiencia Salvadora…O, lo que es lo mismo, la aventura humana entre la fe, el amor, la vida y Dios: Salvatore Sapienza.

ENGLISH:

Salvatore Sapienza is a writer. A good one. Seventy Times Seven is a journey into Vito’s life, struggles, fears, feelings and realities fills with this gentle touch, this warmth sense of joy and greatfulness that made it such a brilliant and tender book.

It’s a love story. A love stroy between two men searching for love, understanding and acceptance. A love story between a soul and a religion and God. A discovery, an open journey into one man cosmos as he discovers the real world, the authentic world, inside him.

Vito and Gabe’s story is tender, touching and refreshing. It’s candid but direct; it’s funny but so romantic; is so real, that maybe it is real life and not fiction. And Seventy Times Seven teachs us that religion, homosexuality, God, sex and love are not too far from our real selves; even though, it’s an example of the ilusion that billions of people are still living: we’re all queer people, we’re all struggling with faith issues, love issues and self acceptance.

I do like to play with Savatore Sapienza’s name: Salvatore’s Sapience… His sapience is a wonderful gift. And I’m honoured to share it with him and with you.

An enjoyable read overall, actually enhanced by watching the film based on it. ("Brotherly Love".)

Though the premise is strong and interesting, this book initially suffers from a bit of stereotyping of the main character, but thankfully that abates as we delve deeper into Vito's character, and witness his fervent desire to be both a good Catholic AND gay.

WHile this issue has been dealt with numerous times in both literature and film, most of them are stuffy and dour (due to the momentous weight of the topic), while this novel (and film) bring a slightly lighter, less stultifying touch to the genre.