The Holy Fool

“One of the best novels I have read in a very long time.”


—J. F. Powers, author of Morte D’Urban and Wheat That Springeth Green





“There is a breathtaking precision in the rendering of Ted March, his family, and the milieu in which he braves his spiritual and temporal storm . . . a victorious accomplishment.”


—R. V. Cassill, editor of The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction





“Harold Fickett’s writing is elegant, precise, and compulsively readable. His psychological insights on the life of faith and its many shadows and valleys hit the bullseye every time. This is an honest, compassionate novel that is worth every minute of your time.”


—John Zmirak, Senior Editor, The Stream





“The Holy Fool is a brilliant story about faith. Its plot develops gradually and not as the reader will likely anticipate. It deals with profound questions with subtlety, and its characters are complex and recognizable. (Especially real is Fickett’s depiction of a contemporary marriage.) This is a novel for adults, but it is hardly smutty. It is remarkable, imaginative, and affecting.”


—Jonathan Leaf, playwright and critic





“Harold Fickett deals with a subculture seldom viewed either from within or without with such authoritative, realistic, grainy details or internal resonance . . . and carries off his story with sheer comic gusto and joy in the telling.”


—Larry Woiwode, author of Beyond the Bedroom Wall





“I grew up reading books purported to be written by others but which were really written by Harold Fickett. But I missed The Holy Fool the first time around. Thanks to this wonderful edition you can avoid making that mistake.”


—Mark Joseph, producer, author, and columnist for USA Today