Description
Book SynopsisBrother Stephen dies suddenly. That's when things get complicated. Is Stephen's death his wake-up call? This possibility slowly dawns on him. Soon, though, he is behind the wheel of a Prius, driving through his afterlife, listening to himself being interviewed on NPR. "It's just like high school, Terry. You know, maybe it is high school," he tells her, in the interview, as she questions him about lawsuits filed by students who claimed to have been molested by pedophile Brothers. As an administrator of his Roman Catholic religious order, he was caught in the middle of these heartbreaking cases. In fact, the lawsuit he was dealing with the moment he died is one that strikes especially close to his heart. He once knew the plaintiff--he once knew her very well--but he also knew the Brother who is named in the lawsuit. Now that he's dead, he's more determined than ever to get to the truth. He spends his afterlife unraveling this terrible mystery, learning more about the plight of the survivor and that of the accused, but the biggest mystery he faces is one about himself.
Trade Review"Though Di Prisco takes a heartbreaking look at the scars left by pedophilia, and some readers will surely feel anger at the sins, the tale unfolds, bravely, with much humor thanks to Brother Stephen's bemused narration." --Publishers Weekly "What makes Joseph Di Prisco's novel work is its narrative voice--poignant, rueful, and wise-crackingly sardonic. This voice belongs to a just-deceased Catholic Brother, lingering in the afterlife to sort out his life's meanings and errors, confronting friends and enemies. This is a novel about posthumous discoveries, reunions and revenge. Readers of J.F. Powers' Morte d'Urban and Alice McDermott's Charming Billy should find their way to All For Now." --P.F. Kluge author of Eddie and the Cruisers "What will the afterlife be like? If we're lucky, it would be something like the humorous and humane version Joseph Di Prisco imagines in All for Now, a smart, sparkling tale about faith, religion and devotion under less than ideal circumstances--that is, the average existence." --Oscar Villalon, managing editor Zyzzyva
