Those Gorgeous Ghosts:
Prize-Winning Stories with a Catholic Flavour.
Fatima-Ophel Books
ISBN
eISBN 9789898564078
ASIN B00EIGYNDW
This is an interesting collection of stories; it was compiled by the author and features stories that won awards between 2010 and 2013. The Authors page at the end of the volume lists which awards each story won or was shortlisted for. One story was a finalist or winner in three different competitions. Though some were originally published under other titles. The amazon description of the book has summaries of each story but is truncated on the final offering.
The description of this volume states:
“Set in locales as diverse as Italy and the Falklands, Siberia and Golgotha, these fourteen stories teem with as much life as the oceans on which many of them were written. The author’s background as a merchant seaman and teacher provide the canvases for these absorbing, plot-based stories. Most have won prizes in international competitions.”
The stories in this collection are:
1. Those Gorgeous Ghosts
2. The Siberian Swimmer
3. The Will of Quintus Kirkwood
4. A Coven of Cowls
5. The Protest of Abel
6. The Seduction of Fausto Batista
7. Our Lady of the Icehouse
8. The Death of Father Appleston
9. Golden Gloves
10. The Exorcising of St. Anton
11. The Falkland Twins
12. The Other Two
13. The Kambala Buffaloes
14. The Bogus Confession
Prior to reading this volume I had only read one of Madigan’s non-fiction works on Fatima. I was really intrigued by this collection and other of his fiction and non-fiction books after reading that first volume. This collection did not disappoint.
There are many excellent stories in this collection. From stories of reading with strange wills. To a youngster that can see Mary and predicts his own death. There are stories about regret, and transformed lives, a ghost brother and a monastery with surprising new postulants.
I have to admit this collection has left a lasting impact. I find myself thinking about several of the stories. I will need to return to the collection and read it at a slower pace, maybe a story a day. It also left me desperate to read more of Madigan’s works, both his fiction and his non-fiction.
This is a great collection of short stories, I can easily recommend it.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
Books by Leo Madigan:
Alexandrina da Costa: The Mystical Martyr of Fatima
Armchair Fatima: An Illustrated Tour of the Marian Shrine and Nearby Sites
Exquisite Miniature: Little Nellie of Holy God 1903-1908
Fatima Prayer Book
Fatima: Highway of Hope
Handbook to Fatima: The Altar of the World
Princesses of the Kingdom
Random Jottings for Young Seafarers
Safe or Sorry
The 2nd Catholic Quiz Book
The Catholic Quiz Book
The Children of Fatima
The Devil is a Jackass
The Fatima Guide
The Golden Book of Fatima
The Irish Monstrance
Why Fatima? The True Secret
…
Fiction:
Crystal Ball Cameos
Highway of Hope
Jackrandy
The Bank of Infinite Reserves
The Five Stones
The Weka-Feather Cloak
Who Told You You Were Naked?
…
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