Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi

This is an amazing book that shows how Francis was a real human being, not the figure of legend that we've all grown up to believe. It shows how he struggled his entire life trying to figure out what God's will was for him and how he failed repeatedly. This gives us a Francis we can actually relate to. But don't buy the DVD that's supposedly based on this book. It's terrible, leaving out huge amounts of important information and done with really cheesy production values.

I have been enjoying reading this book because not only do we learn about francis, but we also have the opportunity to learn about the society in which he lived in and its values, etc. And what I also love is that francis is portrayed as the human he was and not as some fantasy land, high in the clouds character. You will enjoy this book!!!

St. Francis of Assisi acquired an amulet-like quality. He's a saint well-known in the popular vernacular--the humble friar in sackcloth with a penchant for caring for animals. The "real" Francis gets written about by numerous biographers. But Spoto's treatment nonetheless stands out as a worthy read. This book explains the main events, context and ideas of Francis' life and ministry. Spoto, a theologian by training, employs a narrative voice which is anything but Hemingwayesque, as he tries to set up the setting for both the historical and theological context for Francis. The result is a literate, relatively brief, and fascinating good read. The Francis who emerges is, not surprisingly, a more complex character than the garden-gnome St. Francis of the vernacular. Spoto uses a light touch to set forth not only Francis' triumphs and innovations, but also his many frustrations and asynchronies. What becomes of a rebel who is determined to cause revolution within a faith not entirely ready for him? This biography raises and addresses this question, without quite answering it. Sometimes the narrative commentary distracts a bit, but overall, the narrative voice is a welcome companion. I was disappointed that Spoto rushes to put an "orthodox" face upon the universality of Francis' last songs. Spoto seems to be shadow-boxing with prior writers, without quite showing us the wayang play in progress. But Spoto wisely recognizes that Francis is best treated as one who led by example, not complex doctrine. He also appreciates that Francis' life is not only extraordinary, but also adventurous and many-faceted. His Francis is no dry virtuous saint, but a living, eccentric man who pointed out a new way to live. Can anyone live the truly virtuous life? This is what Francis' story asks of religious person and the irreligious alike. Although this book is written by an apologist, it's not a mere work of Christian apology disguised as a biography. Nobody knows, really, quite who Francis was. But this life tells a lot about what western religious culture aspires to be. This is a good treatment of a fascinating life, well worth reading.

This is a definitive biography of St. Francis, placing his life in context of his cultural and religio-political times as few have done before. Spotto takes advantage of the most recent work of Franciscan scholars to piece together a wonderful, complex, historically accurate image of St. Francis and his radical gospel charism. However many Francis biographies you may have read, this one will offer you insights and facts you haven't come across before...unless you're one of those Franciscan scholars listed in Spotto's excellent bibliography -- or have worked your way through all three of those fat volumes of the new "Omnibus." As a Secular Franciscan, I've read dozens of Francis books over the past thirty-plus years, but I couldn't put this one down. If Franciscans had a required reading list (unthinkably un-Franciscan!), this book should be at the very top of it.

You'd think there would be little left to say about Francis. Thousands of articles, monographs, and books have been written about the little poor man over the last eight centuries. But Spoto has risen to the occasion in his new book. He makes sense of the frequently confusing chronology of Francis' life in a manner that marks him as a master biographer. But along the way he also offers rich insights about Franciscan spirituality and theology in particular and Christianity in general. (Spoto, by the way, has a doctorate in theology from Fordham University.) Here's an example: "Francis could not but surrender to the immediate impact of Jesus' words: indeed, he approached them simply but fully, putting into practice the biblical counsels without waiting to consider their every implication. In other words, in following the lessons of the New Testament he pursued the reverse of the usual means of pedagogy. He did not try to understand what the Gospel meant and then attempt to find ways of carrying out its message. Rather, he dared the experiment of first living that message, and from living it, discovered a new and practical way of understanding it." (p. 68) Reflections such as this alone would make the book worth reading. But Spoto is such a wonderful stylist and penetrating biographer that the entire book is a joy. I'd recommend it alongside Adrian House's recent "Francis of Assisi: A Revolutionary Life."