That Office Boy

Francis J. Finn and Francis J. Finn, S.J.

Read by Maria Therese

(4 stars; 10 reviews)

A new story by Father Finn! It will be glad news to many to learn that Father Finn has found time from his many duties to write a new story, and such a story! From the opening chapter to the last page of the book the interest never lags. The plot is very simple, turning on a prize contest for pianos offered by certain newspapers to the school, society or club that receives the greatest number of coupons. Of course, this calls for keen competition on the part of the young people of the city, and it is in this contest that Michael Desmond, "That Office Boy," figures prominently. The characters in the book are just those people that Father Finn delights in drawing—people that we meet every day, that we know intimately—good, straightforward folks and others, too, that we would not care to associate with. What the result of the contest is, who the successful competitors are, must be learned by reading the story.

Of course, there is a strain of Father Finn's delightful humor running through the book, with here and there a touch of genuine pathos that brings the tears to our eyes. Father Finn has so long been recognized as a master of fiction that he needs no words of commendation. Suffice it that "That Office Boy" is the equal of anything he has ever written. - Summary by American Catholic Quarterly Review (4 hr 45 min)