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Read Touch (2002)

Touch (2002)

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Rating
3.5 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0060089598 (ISBN13: 9780060089597)
Language
English
Publisher
harpertorch

Touch (2002) - Plot & Excerpts

What do you get when a defunct Southern evangelist and a politically militant Catholic traditionalist discover, at the same time, a former Franciscan monk who seems to be able to heal by touch? You get one hoot of a tongue-and-cheek read. I mean this is Elmore Leonard we’re talking about here.Then, on the turn of a toe, you are presented with the true nature of the book – a beautiful love story. Not a romance, mind you, but a love story. Huh, maybe not so traditional Elmore Leonard after all.But, do not fear. The man doesn’t let his readers down. Before it’s over you will contend with religious fanaticism, racial prejudice, narcissism, manipulation, televised character assassination and attempted murder. And through it all weaves the story of Juvenal, a man who appears to be able to heal by touch. The evidence of the healing is often immediate, such as the blind now being able to see. But it is also evidenced by blood coming from the five points on his body that correspond to the five points of the crucifixion of Jesus.However, Juvenal cannot control this process; he does not consciously choose the recipient of the touch nor can he stop the process once it starts. And, most important of all, he does not wish, nor does he feel the need, to exploit this gift, not personally nor financially. Unfortunately, the defunct Southern evangelist and the militant Catholic traditionalist do wish to exploit him for personal and financial gains. Hence, the manipulation and the attempted murder, not to mention the media’s need for public proof, come into play.What starts out as a humorous read turns brutal and ugly and on-the-edge-of-your-seat serious. But through it all is the thread that asks if you can believe in what you can’t prove, if you can accept in others what is different from yourself, if you have the capacity for unconditional love or are you a close-minded fool.In the end, this is the story of a selfless love whose touch heals in more ways than one.

And you think Elmore Leonard's only about guns and sex? Try Touch. Juvenal has the gift of healing, or so it appears. It happens whenever his stigmata start bleeding and some lame or halt or blind individual is in the neighborhood. The thing is, he doesn't take it all that seriously. He can't seem to control it, and it's just there, like his hair color or height, not something he feels like taking credit for.Of course, it could be a moneymaker, and some folks think that would be a great idea. (I'm reminded of the trials of Teresita in Urrea's Queen of America.) In the mix is a retrograde zealot who thinks Vatican II was the ruin of the Catholic church and longs to return to the days of Latin Mass and Priests with their backs to the congregation. He's got his own designs on poor Juvenal.There are guns and sex in this terrific novel, but the guns don't fire often or do all that much damage, and the sex is touching, comical, and renewing by turns. It's softer than many of Leonard's other works in that respect, but nevertheless Leonard for all of that. And where else have you read a modern novel about stigmata. You might not even know what it means. Look it up. Then read the book.

What do You think about Touch (2002)?

Charlie Lawson joined a Franciscan order and became a Monk serving in Brazil.Bill Hill is a former minister who currently sells R.V.s. He used to run the Uni-Faith ministry in Dalton, Georgia. He's present when a young man named Juvenal touches a woman who has been blind for fifteen years. Suddenly, her sight returns.Juvenal is the name Lawson was given when he joined the Monks. Now, Bill is sure that Juvenal has a healing touch and if he could persuade him to join Bill for a TV ministry, the result could be an economic boom.There are interesting characters in the story, as usual for the author. One of them is August Murray who is part of a group called Outrage and want the Church to go back to its traditional ways and have Latin be the language of the Mass.This is very different from Leonard's usual novels and I enjoyed the picture of Juvenal putting his healing touch to work with children who had serious ailments.Overall, this was a pleasant read with interesting characters and a well described setting.
—Michael

read this in march, 2014 and here it is december the 19th...almost the end of the year. i do not remember much about this story...but it is a solid four-star story. leonard never disappoints. has a comedic vein that reads well. too...i shelved this "time passages" which has to do with a character using his/her imagination...something one rarely sees in fiction and when it is on display it is a joy to read. leonard does, has done it a lot...as have some others whose stories i enjoy. means nothing to you, perhaps, most likely...but it is something that i have noted and have begun to track.at some point, perhaps i'll come back and describe the time passages. til then, cue al stewart and enjoy the read. ooga booga!Touch, Elmore Leonard: Another key word, daydream, that Leonard uses to set up this time passage. In a daydream he used to serialize when he was younger--and still imagined from time to time--August was Augustus, a Christian of ancient Rome. This time passage is short, a long paragraph, but it works in this case for the way it builds on August's character. Too, if you're a Leonard fan, this story is worth checking out. In the foreword, Leonard writes, TOUCH takes place in 1977. That's the year the book was written and, within a couple months, rejected by more than a dozen hardcover publishers. He goes on to describe some of the problems a writer faces--and I believe in 1977 he was an established writer...I think this one was finally published in 1987. He says I had a good time writing Touch, imagining mystical things happening to an ordinary person in a contemporary setting...friends of mine who read a lot think it's my best book. The foreword was written in 1987...and Leonard just recently passed.
—wally

Great. This is probably my 3rd favorite book that secularly tries to tackle religion (the other two being Moore's Lamb, and Morrow's God is Dead trilogy). I think it only faltered in one spot, where Lynn and Juvenal start discussing their feelings about each other, which I'm sure Leonard meant to be innocent, especially with regards to Juvenal ... but ultimately came off really saccharine. No worries though, he righted the ship. It's nice to see authors have some type of respect for religion, because it's cool and hip most of the time to bash it. But, if you do it right, books about God can be a-okay to read.
—Matt Piechocinski

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