Catholic Lives, Contemporary America (South Atlantic Quarterly)

Catholic Lives, Contemporary America is a collection of essays about Catholic lay experiences that are not officially recognized or sanctioned by the Church (such as street festivals, Madonna's dance music, and gay love). Contributors to this anthology are, almost without exception, working hard to figure out how they fit in the Christian story, and many of the essays--especially the contributions by Andrew Sullivan, Camille Paglia, Richard Rodriguez, and Patrick Allitt--are written in sweat, blood, and joy. --Michael Joseph Gross