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Priestdaddy
- A Memoir
- Narrated by: Patricia Lockwood
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
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Editor reviews
Editors Select, May 2017
I want to be careful about the way in which I write about this book. Not because the subject matter is scandalous (it's not), but because, like all beautifully complex things, it'd be easy to mislabel or to put Lockwood's memoir in a box, to diminish its magnificence and, ultimately, the spell it cast over me. It deserves more than that. So, I'll say this: Great writers are often lauded for having an original voice. Well, Lockwood has that and then some (including an amazing - and amazingly absurd - sense of humor). More importantly, she's an original thinker whose devotion to language and words and poetry - her primary trade - can be felt in every line, every turn of phrase, and every bit of confounding imagery that seems to reveal some hidden, intangible truth that normally exists just outside of fingertips' reach. —Doug, Audible Editor
Summary
From Patricia Lockwood - a writer acclaimed for her wildly original voice - a vivid, heartbreakingly funny memoir about having a married Catholic priest for a father.
Father Greg Lockwood is unlike any Catholic priest you have ever met - a man who lounges in boxer shorts, who loves action movies, and whose constant jamming on the guitar reverberates "like a whole band dying in a plane crash in 1972". His daughter is an irreverent poet who long ago left the church's country. When an unexpected crisis leads her and her husband to move back into her parents' rectory, their two worlds collide.
In Priestdaddy, Lockwood interweaves emblematic moments from her childhood and adolescence - from an ill-fated family hunting trip and an abortion clinic sit-in where her father was arrested to her involvement in a cultlike Catholic youth group - with scenes that chronicle the eight-month adventure she and her husband had in her parents' household after a decade of living on their own. Lockwood details her education of a seminarian who is also living at the rectory, tries to explain Catholicism to her husband, who is mystified by its bloodthirstiness and arcane laws, and encounters a mysterious substance on a hotel bed with her mother.
Lockwood pivots from the raunchy to the sublime, from the comic to the deeply serious, exploring issues of belief, belonging, and personhood. Priestdaddy is an entertaining, unforgettable portrait of a deeply odd religious upbringing and how one balances a hard-won identity with the weight of family and tradition.
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Priestdaddy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Cat's Mother
- 01-10-23
Fabulous audiobook!
I chose this on impulse, having enjoyed the author's No One Is Talking About This, but was unsure how I would feel about a 'memoir'. I'm so glad I went for it - it showcases her writing even better than the other book and is a wonderful story not just about herself but also about her extraordinary parents. It's a real rollercoaster ride, by turns funny, filthy, and genuinely thoughtful and moving. It's also read to great effect by the writer herself, so well that I now can't imagine anyone else doing it.
Highly recommended - though I suspect the hangover from it will ruin my next book . . .
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- Lizzie
- 17-02-23
Hilarious and heart filled
Probably the best memoir I’ve ever read, and I will be going back to it. Glorious.
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- Amazon Customer
- 29-05-20
Funny and Poetic
I wasn't sure about this and followed positive reviews to find that it is a story that is beautifully crafted and at the same time many good laughs through acute and astute observance. warmly recommended.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 20-06-23
Every line is Poetic
I think if you don’t like this book you just don’t get it. I thought the narration was perfect and thought it could only be the writer that could do this justice. Nothing really happens but it doesn’t need to. The author captures the everyday in her own life, like a fly on the wall. I think the poetry and irony comes first and any comedy is incidental. Imaginative, full of gorgeous metaphors and definitely different.
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- Sue
- 04-09-17
The eccentric and quirky life of a Catholic family
This is an intriguing memoir about the author's experiences of living in an unconventional, but highly religious family, with a Catholic gun-toting priest for a father. It is highly sarcastic, and hilarious at times, reading about Patricia Lockwood's family antics. When I first began this autobiography, I honestly believed it was set in the 1960s as her father disallows the sisters to go to college, instead spending money on guitars, and describing the effects of living next to a radioactive plant. But lo and behold, Lockwood is writing about only a decade ago.
She leads an eccentric lifestyle, following in her family's footsteps, writing poetry and travelling across the US after a marrying a man off the internet. But it also reveals her doubts about their customs and practices, and how she questions the function of the church - especially with claims of molestation. An interesting and enjoyable listen.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Oscar Lamont
- 25-08-21
So funny
One of the best audiobooks I've listened to. Author's narration is hilarious and brilliant. Makes this even better than the book!
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3 people found this helpful
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- roseroserose
- 22-10-19
Really wanted to love it but didn’t
The first half of this book is great, funny and entertaining, but found the narrators voice grating and couldn’t finish it. The story also gets a bit lost towards the end. As a wayward daughter of a preacher I really wanted to love this but didn’t unfortunately
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ells Bells
- 26-01-22
Hilarious - both warm hearted and irreverent
Beautifully written and performed. It had me laughing out loud a lot of the time and at other times it was incredibly moving. Her portrayals of her parents are hilarious, especially her mother who surely deserves her own show!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Mrs. Meryl Williams
- 03-02-18
surprising, moving and original
I loved hearing the author read her own work and give voice to the characters. This made the experience so complete. She plays with language and confidently dives into lyrical asides sometimes just for the pleasure of it. This book feels raw and honest and beautiful ... and very funny too.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 12-05-24
Majestic and nourishing
this was a pleasure from beginning to end. an extra treat to hear it in the authors own voice. a proper gem.
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