Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?

John R. Powers

Loyola Press, 2005 - Fiction - 294 pages

Hilarious, touching, beautiful . . ." --"Detroit News"
"A totally enjoyable novel with at least one laugh on every page." --"Fresno Bee"
." . . you'll never forget it." --"Publishers Weekly"

Growing up on Chicago's South Side in the 1960s, Eddie Ryan is learning a lot--and not just from the Brothers at his all-boys Catholic high school. Eddie's world is populated by peculiar adults, oddball classmates, and puzzling girls--the greatest mystery of all. He takes it all in through the prism of his Catholic upbringing, which often deepens the mystery, but sometimes clarifies it, too. Entering Eddie Ryan's world will delight not only readers who grew up there with him, but also those too young to remember.

Hilarious, touching, beautiful . . ." --"Detroit News"
"A totally enjoyable novel with at least one laugh on every page." --"Fresno Bee"
." . . you'll never forget it." --"Publishers Weekly"

Growing up on Chicago's South Side in the 1960s, Eddie Ryan is learning a lot--and not just from the Brothers at his all-boys Catholic high school. Eddie's world is populated by peculiar adults, oddball classmates, and puzzling girls--the greatest mystery of all. He takes it all in through the prism of his Catholic upbringing, which often deepens the mystery, but sometimes clarifies it, too. Entering Eddie Ryan's world will delight not only readers who grew up there with him, but also those too young to remember.

About the author

John R. Powers was born in 1945 on the South Side of Chicago. He earned a BA in sociology from Loyola University Chicago and an MA and a PhD in communications from Northwestern University. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on Studs Terkel, a Chicago radio personality and writer known for his oral histories ("Hard Times," "The Good War"). Powers was a professor of speech and performing arts at Northeastern Illinois University for six years. He also created and hosted a number of specials for Chicago public television during this time. Powers's stories first appeared in the form of articles written for "Chicago" magazine. The novels followed in quick succession: "The Last Catholic in America," " Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?," and "The Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice-Cream God." He has written one other novel, "The Junk-Drawer Corner-Store Front-Porch Blues," as well as "Odditude: Finding the Passion for Who You Are and What You Do." He and his wife, JaNelle, have two daughters, Jacey and Joy. He lives in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and is a motivational speaker.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?; Loyola classics series
• Author: John R. Powers
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Loyola Press, 2005
• ISBN: 0829421432, 9780829421439
• Length: 294 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Christian / Historical; Fiction / City Life; Fiction / Religious