Fatherless

Called a book of the century, powerful, gripping, deeply moving, hauntingly beautiful, masterfully done, a must read and a freight train page turner! An intensely human tour of the great spiritual battles in the US Catholic church during the late 20th century. Brian Gail takes us out into the trenches and shows what life was like for Catholics good and bad during this critical time. This book is a great opportunity for Catholics to take hold of who they really are. Meticulously researched, brilliantly crafted, Fatherless takes the reader on an unforgettable journey inside Fortune 500 boardrooms and Madison Avenue screening rooms, behind one-way mirrors in America's heartland and two-way screens in church confessionals, to the very peak of Ireland's highest mountain and inside the papal dining room of John Paul II in Rome. It is the searing journey to the center of conscience, however, that marks Fatherless as the signature Catholic novel of its generation. In its pages we meet flesh and blood characters - noble and flawed, driven and seeking; each struggling to achieve the American Dream ... discovering instead a uniquely American nightmare. How each confronts the reality of ethical and moral dilemmas - while struggling to balance faith, family, and career - goes to the very heart of the Catholic experience in America in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This is a tale you will never forget.

View the Study Guide

Reviews

'Fatherless’ more than just a Catholic novel  (Catholic News Agency Review by Katherine Haas )
In a literary world comprised of the works of Danielle Steele, Stephen King, Nicholas Sparks and J.K. Rowling, many people have forgotten the power or purpose of the novel. What is normally used as an escape or for a bit of entertainment once had the power to change the world. Books like The Jungle, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Lord of the Flies both captivated their audiences and caused people to think and sometimes even act.  Brian J. Gail’s book “Fatherless” is a renaissance of the serious novel, and it even creates a new genre: the serious Catholic novel. I have to admit, when I first picked up the book, I thought I was in for a nice, entertaining story about some nice, Catholic people. Creating such a story, however, was not the author’s intent. Gail’s novel delves right into the heart of American Catholicism. His Church is neither the church of the pedophiliac priests which the media tends to overemphasize, nor is it the Church that many young people know today: a Church vibrant with the truth reemphasized by Pope John Paul II, ready to march for life, interested in going to Theology on Tap, and actively reminding Catholics to live their faith in the public square.     (...More) 
     

Catholic author writing to change a generation    (CNA STAFF)
CNA recently reviewed “Fatherless,” a book that has been dubbed “the Catholic novel of our generation.” The book, however, isn’t simply just story, author Brian Gail says of his work, “I’m hopeful that the unrest which courses through its pages will spark something that will contribute to a renewal of the Catholic Church in America.” (...More)
 

Called to holiness    (An Interview with Celebrate Life Magazine, a publication of American Life League)
With the upcoming release of Childless, the third novel of his highly acclaimed series, Catholic author Brian J. Gail has now finished his chronicle of the American tragedy. His best-selling first novel, Fatherless (2009), has sold over 20,000 copies in some 20 different countries, and in its first two months, Motherless (2010) sold out its initial printing of 8,000 copies.

“Nobody wants to hear hard sayings if they’re put as a ‘no.’ John Paul II presented the theology of the body as a glorious yes,” he observed during his recent interview with Celebrate Life. Now Brian has presented that glorious “yes” to a new audience by writing a trilogy that is, at once, a sermon, a warning for our age and a realistic fiction thriller.   (...More)