Jul

6

Review of Seventy Times Seven

Filed Under Books & Mags, Religion 

Seventy Times Seven by Salvatore SapienzaSeventy Times Seven by Salvatore Sapienza, is a fast paced, and riveting sexy story about coming to terms with life, sex, love, faith and devotion to ones religion that I devoured in one evening.

I actually bought Seventy Times Seven for my partner as I thought that he would enjoy it more than me, however after skimming the first few pages I decided that he would have to wait to read it; fortunately for him I quickly finished reading the book.

Books with religious themes and story lines usually don’t turn my crank but Salvatore and I had bumped into each other on MySpace and I had taken a look at his website. Intrigued, I had to know more about this hot looking, former Marist brother and his book.

Why on earth would a gay man such as himself hole himself up in some religious order and teach a bunch of teenagers English in a Catholic high-school?

The answer to that lies partially in Salvatore’s first time novel Seventy Times Seven, a fictional account of just such a person.

What can I tell you without giving too much away? Well basically, Seventy Times Seven is the story of Brother Vito Fortunato, an out gay man, just months away from his final vow, who teaches a boy’s high school religion class in New York.

Vito escapes New York to volunteer at an AIDS center in San Francisco during the summer, only to find himself in a love affair with a recently divorced man who works as a landscaper at the center and is almost Vito’s polar opposite.

Along the journey is a colorful cast of characters gently helping Vito to decide his future and how to choose life.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book was the references to pop gay culture that was heavily interspersed throughout. The book was illuminating, fascinating, funny and erotic. I have a deep loathing of religion in all its forms but found Seventy Times Seven to be a very enjoyable and easy read.

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