"Everyone has to have a strategy, don't you think? The question is...........is it a war strategy, or a love strategy?"



Frances Catherine, a.k.a. Frankka, is a lapsed Catholic who has the extraordinary ability to perform the stigmata. She exhibits this talent as a cast member of the traveling "Death and Resurrection Show"---a Catholic themed cabaret.But when Frankka finds her photo and story on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, she is no longer sure of herself, and she feels compelled to run and hide.......

I have eclectic taste in reading. I like the quirky, the obscure the subversive; writing that explores life's absurdities. And so THE TRAVELING DEATH AND RESURRECTION SHOW was a great find. Ariel Gore( whose own life would make a fascinating book) has written an affecting novel about longing, belonging, love/hate, forgiveness, and acceptance.
( )

The fact that Frankka is able to spontaneously display the stigmata is interesting enough for a book; the fact that she uses extreme hunger to manifest it is even better; but, that she does it as part of a traveling troupe makes it darn near impossible NOT to read.

There are several interesting aspects to the way the book is written. First of all, the first page of each chapter has a statue of a saint at the top of the page. While I was able to identify some and not others, I found myself wondering if the saint used at the beginning of the chapter related to the content of that chapter. In addition, some of the status are facing the reader and some are turned so that their backs face the reader. I also found this interesting.

Secondly, Frankka writes lovely stories about saints. After cross-referencing a few of these, I found them to be accurate, complete with interesting facts found only after looking at several reference sites. The stories are written in a notebook which she misplaces in her journeys, but she continues to write the stories on scrap pieces of paper and napkins.

Other members of the troupe are interesting, but are by no means a main part of the story. This is all about Frankka and her journey.

Favorite quotes:
•Sometimes it is right to battle death, but sometimes death has its reasons. p60
•I hate it when that happens -- when something that seemed to important just a few days or hours earlier suddenly loses its meaning. p176

An enjoyable and recommended summer read. ( )

A young woman finds a substitute family in a troupe of misfits who put on a show during which she is able to spontaneously make her hands bleed, as in stigmata. ( )