Overview

2015 NOMINEE FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR FICTION New York Times-bestselling author James McManus offers up a collection of seven linked stories narrated by Vincent Killeen, an Irish Catholic altar boy, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Persuaded at age eight by his grandmother that entering the priesthood will guarantee salvation for every member of his family, Vince eagerly commits to attending a Jesuit seminary for high school. As the meaning of a vow of celibacy becomes clearer to him, however, and he is exposed to the irresistible temptations of poker and girls, life as a seminarian begins to seem less appealing. These autobiographical stories are enlightening and evocative, providing keen, often humorous insight into Catholicism, faith, celibacy and its opposite, as well as America's-and increasingly the world's-favorite card game. James McManus has been called ""poker's Shakespeare."" He is the New York Times-bestselling author of Positively Fifth Street and Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker, among others. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper's, The Believer, Paris Review, Esquire, and in Best American anthologies for poetry, sports writing, science and nature, and magazine writing. He is the recipient of the Peter Lisagor Award for Sports Journalism, as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller foundations. He teaches at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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9781938160851

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Reviews

In writing about poker Jim McManus has managed to write about everything, and it's glorious. --David Sedaris McManus has captured a Chicago Catholic kid's universe with an accuracy that made me laugh. A royal flush. Bravo! --Sandra Cisneros Reading The Education of a Poker Player, I realized I had completely forgotten what it had been like to be a boy. McManus remembers it exactly. There are many things to admire--the delights of the Kennedy era Catholic household, the movement of a mind through time--but what stuck with me most was how McManus nails it dead: being a kid isn't anything like being an adult. Instead it is something stranger, something wilder, and something we shouldn't forget. Consumed with desire for girls, a place in the clergy, and a secret obsession with a certain gambling game that is played with 52 cards, McManus's narrator will help you reclaim something you may have lost. Pick up this book. --Jesse Ball The Education of a Poker Player is a thoroughly refreshing read, and you know that with McManus you're going to get an engaging journey. McManus has been there and done it, and he certainly speaks with the voice of experience. --Sam Marsden, Jackpot.co.uk The first chapter [of Positively Fifth Street] grabbed me like a whirlwind. I was reading the book already knowing the outcome, yet it all seemed fresh to me, thanks to Jim's Picasso-like painting of events... The poker world is lucky to have an established writer give us all a detailed account of the grueling four-day world championship event, coming just a hair away from capturing the title... A masterpiece that should be displayed on all poker's fans' bookshelves. --Daniel Negreanu McManus is a writer of immense talent, deft with language and with an ear that seems to catch all the right conversations. And he has a cast of characters that would be the envy of the most imaginative novelist. --Chicago Tribune McManus writes with verve and knowledge... Entertaining, informative and genial ... a copious, lively account of poker's past and present. --The New York Times Book Review McManus has a writer's eye for anecdotes and details that bring the material to life. The book covers a lot of ground, but thanks to McManus' particular blend of skills, it does so with insight, clarity and credibility. --Seattle Times With this plainspoken, highly readable coming-of-age story, McManus adds another winning hand to a growing body of work on the hearts and souls lost to the game of poker. --Kirkus Review Education...is...a refreshing read, and you know that with McManus you're going to get an engaging journey. McManus has been there and done it, and he certainly speaks with the voice of experience. --Jackpot UK

"A South Coast Today Best Fiction Pick from 2015 ""With this plainspoken, highly readable coming-of-age story, McManus adds another winning hand to a growing body of work on the hearts and souls lost to the game of poker."" --Kirkus Reviews, Starred ""What John R. Powers did for Catholic boys on the South Side of Chicago in his classic memoir Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (1975), McManus does for their counterparts in suburban Chicago ... This is well-trod ground, of course, but McManus enlivens the familiar material with zesty prose that goes beyond the jokes to capture that ever-melancholy transition from innocence to experience."" --Booklist ""In writing about poker Jim McManus has managed to write about everything, and it's glorious."" --David Sedaris ""McManus has captured a Chicago Catholic kid's universe with an accuracy that made me laugh. A royal flush. Bravo!"" --Sandra Cisneros ""Reading The Education of a Poker Player, I realized I had completely forgotten what it had been like to be a boy. McManus remembers it exactly. There are many things to admire--the delights of the Kennedy era Catholic household, the movement of a mind through time--but what stuck with me most was how McManus nails it dead: being a kid isn't anything like being an adult. Instead it is something stranger, something wilder, and something we shouldn't forget. Consumed with desire for girls, a place in the clergy, and a secret obsession with a certain gambling game that is played with 52 cards, McManus's narrator will help you reclaim something you may have lost. Pick up this book."" --Jesse Ball ""The Education of a Poker Player is a thoroughly refreshing read, and you know that with McManus you're going to get an engaging journey. McManus has been there and done it, and he certainly speaks with the voice of experience."" --Sam Marsden, Jackpot.co.uk ""When McManus writes about the social dynamics of teenage boys he is hilarious and dazzling. This poignancy continues throughout the book's second half as Vince becomes more emotionally complex. McManus' writing is often brilliant -- especially on baseball, poker, Catholic arcana, the juvenile humor of young men, and impressionable interactions between the young and authority."" --Alex Lemon, Dallas Morning News ""This entertaining coming-of-age tale treads lightly on issues of guilt, opting instead to allow witty cultural references and a likable voice to carry the narrative...the most memorable scenes here don't involve much poker at all; the fun comes from discovering with Vince that sin (and life, thus far) can't always be measured in Hail Marys and Our Fathers."" --Publishers Weekly ""Overall The Education of a Poker Player isn't going to make you a better card player...What it will give you is a little better appreciation of the game, perhaps a remembrance of how you got your start, and bring a smile to your face as you relive those memories."" --Earl Burton, Poker News Daily ""[T]he framework here...reminded me James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, as it follows one boy, Vincent Killeen, from ages 9 to 17 growing up in the Catholic Church. Like Artist, you get the sense Vincent is McManus's alter ego -- ""altar"" ego? -- and, like Artist, the voice matures as the narrator ages."" --Lauren Daley, South Coast Today ""McManus is a great novelist and poet. His stories are deeply humorous and stunningly insightful, finely crafted, and filled with phrases to be savored."" --Aaron Brown, Wilmott Magazine ""When McManus writes about the social dynamics of teenage boys he is hilarious and dazzling. This poignancy continues throughout the book's second half as Vince becomes more emotionally complex. McManus' writing is often brilliant -- especially on baseball, poker, Catholic arcana, the juvenile humor of young men and impressionable interactions between the young and authority."" -Alex Lemons, Dallas Morning News"

With this plainspoken, highly readable coming-of-age story, McManus adds another winning hand to a growing body of work on the hearts and souls lost to the game of poker. --Kirkus Reviews, Starred What John R. Powers did for Catholic boys on the South Side of Chicago in his classic memoir Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (1975), McManus does for their counterparts in suburban Chicago ... This is well-trod ground, of course, but McManus enlivens the familiar material with zesty prose that goes beyond the jokes to capture that ever-melancholy transition from innocence to experience. --Booklist In writing about poker Jim McManus has managed to write about everything, and it's glorious. --David Sedaris McManus has captured a Chicago Catholic kid's universe with an accuracy that made me laugh. A royal flush. Bravo! --Sandra Cisneros Reading The Education of a Poker Player, I realized I had completely forgotten what it had been like to be a boy. McManus remembers it exactly. There are many things to admire--the delights of the Kennedy era Catholic household, the movement of a mind through time--but what stuck with me most was how McManus nails it dead: being a kid isn't anything like being an adult. Instead it is something stranger, something wilder, and something we shouldn't forget. Consumed with desire for girls, a place in the clergy, and a secret obsession with a certain gambling game that is played with 52 cards, McManus's narrator will help you reclaim something you may have lost. Pick up this book. --Jesse Ball The Education of a Poker Player is a thoroughly refreshing read, and you know that with McManus you're going to get an engaging journey. McManus has been there and done it, and he certainly speaks with the voice of experience. --Sam Marsden, Jackpot.co.uk

In writing about poker Jim McManus has managed to write about everything, and it's glorious. --David Sedaris Reading The Education of a Poker Player, I realized I had completely forgotten what it had been like to be a boy. McManus remembers it exactly. There are many things to admire--the delights of the Kennedy era Catholic household, the movement of a mind through time--but what stuck with me most was how McManus nails it dead: being a kid isn't anything like being an adult. Instead it is something stranger, something wilder, and something we shouldn't forget. Consumed with desire for girls, a place in the clergy, and a secret obsession with a certain gambling game that is played with 52 cards, McManus's narrator will help you reclaim something you may have lost. Pick up this book. --Jesse Ball The first chapter [of Positively Fifth Street] grabbed me like a whirlwind. I was reading the book already knowing the outcome, yet it all seemed fresh to me, thanks to Jim's Picasso-like painting of events... The poker world is lucky to have an established writer give us all a detailed account of the grueling four-day world championship event, coming just a hair away from capturing the title... A masterpiece that should be displayed on all poker's fans' bookshelves. --Daniel Negreanu McManus is a writer of immense talent, deft with language and with an ear that seems to catch all the right conversations. And he has a cast of characters that would be the envy of the most imaginative novelist. --Chicago Tribune McManus writes with verve and knowledge... Entertaining, informative and genial ... a copious, lively account of poker's past and present. --The New York Times Book Review McManus has a writer's eye for anecdotes and details that bring the material to life. The book covers a lot of ground, but thanks to McManus' particular blend of skills, it does so with insight, clarity and credibility. --Seattle Times

In writing about poker Jim McManus has managed to write about everything, and it's glorious. --David Sedaris McManus has captured a Chicago Catholic kid's universe with an accuracy that made me laugh. A royal flush. Bravo! --Sandra Cisneros Reading The Education of a Poker Player, I realized I had completely forgotten what it had been like to be a boy. McManus remembers it exactly. There are many things to admire--the delights of the Kennedy era Catholic household, the movement of a mind through time--but what stuck with me most was how McManus nails it dead: being a kid isn't anything like being an adult. Instead it is something stranger, something wilder, and something we shouldn't forget. Consumed with desire for girls, a place in the clergy, and a secret obsession with a certain gambling game that is played with 52 cards, McManus's narrator will help you reclaim something you may have lost. Pick up this book. --Jesse Ball The Education of a Poker Player is a thoroughly refreshing read, and you know that with McManus you're going to get an engaging journey. McManus has been there and done it, and he certainly speaks with the voice of experience. --Sam Marsden, Jackpot.co.uk The first chapter [of Positively Fifth Street] grabbed me like a whirlwind. I was reading the book already knowing the outcome, yet it all seemed fresh to me, thanks to Jim's Picasso-like painting of events... The poker world is lucky to have an established writer give us all a detailed account of the grueling four-day world championship event, coming just a hair away from capturing the title... A masterpiece that should be displayed on all poker's fans' bookshelves. --Daniel Negreanu McManus is a writer of immense talent, deft with language and with an ear that seems to catch all the right conversations. And he has a cast of characters that would be the envy of the most imaginative novelist. --Chicago Tribune McManus writes with verve and knowledge... Entertaining, informative and genial ... a copious, lively account of poker's past and present. --The New York Times Book Review McManus has a writer's eye for anecdotes and details that bring the material to life. The book covers a lot of ground, but thanks to McManus' particular blend of skills, it does so with insight, clarity and credibility. --Seattle Times

Author Information

James McManus is a New York Times bestselling author. His books include Positively Fifth Street, Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker, and nine other books of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Believer, Paris Review, Esquire, and in Best American anthologies for poetry, sports writing, science and nature, and magazine writing. He currently teaches at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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