Book Review of Holy F*ck by Joseph Incardona (trans Sam Taylor)

 

Name of Book: Holy F*ck 

Author: Joseph Incardona (trans Sam Taylor) 

ISBN: 978-1-916725-25-6

Publisher: Bitter Lemon

Type of book: 2000s? USA Georgia, summer, prostituion, Nevada, road trip, escape, run a way, religion ,hit, comedy 

Year it was published: 2026 (2024) 

Summary:

(From goodreads)

Stella works miracles. Literally. She heals the sick and the paralysed, just like in the Bible. The Vatican is overjoyed—imagine, a real saint in the 21st century, and in Georgia, the heart of the American South.

The only hitch? Her method: she heals the people she sleeps with in her motorhome. And she sleeps with a lot of people, it's what she does for a living. And that's precisely what's bothering the Vatican.

For Luis Molina of the Savannah News, this story smells like a Pulitzer for sure. For the Vatican, it smells more like trouble. A saintly hooker isn't exactly presentable. A martyred saint, on the other hand, has a conveniently rewritten past. That’s a job tailor-made for the Bronski twins—the best contract killers in the business. Provided, of course, they manage to get their hands on innocent little Stella. America is a big place.

Joseph Incardona sets his new story in a dusty, wacky United States. He excels in its film noir atmosphere: travelling funfairs on the outskirts of small towns forgotten by everyone, lost motels, freaks and the disenfranchised. It's reminiscent of the Coen brothers, Tarantino and del Toro, but also a homage to the novels of Harry Crews.

Characters:

So the important characters are Stella Thibodeeaux, Father James Brown and the Bronski twins. Ste3la is best described as well, Karen from Mean Girls movie, she has an ideal body and the mind that is not too bright and sees sex work as a calling. Father James Brown is a former Navy SEAL turned into Catholic Priest who desires to rectify his mistake and decides to save Stella by devising some interesting means. There is Santa Muerte who is Stella's best friend as wella s teh Bronski twin brothers who are hired to take out Stella by the Vatican and who have a casual approach to murder and killing as well as a reporter who is determined to claim a prize and so forth. 

Theme:

Enjoy the improbable

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Stella's, Father Brown's and Bronski Twins' points of view, although some other characters also make their narratives known, in particular the woman who hires the Bronski twins and the Pope who desires to get rid of Stella. Its a story that doesn't take itself seriously and instead invites the readers on a fun ride of improbable healing. The story features road trip from George to Nevada as Stella and Father Brown attempt to run away from the Bronski Twins and it also has a nice build up. As relates to desolation it could have been written  better, but then where would the comedy have come in? I also am wondering if some comedy was lost in translation as well because I don't think I really understood the location of James Brown jokes (I get that James Brown was an African American popular singer) But yes, a fun and quick read. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

N/A

Opinion:

In my opinion there is a secret to enjoying this book, and the secret is, don't take it too seriously. Treat it as a farce, a comedy that begs to be laughed at, but there is literally nothing serious in it, which is how I approached it. (I definitely expected it to be a lot like MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Brathwaite, which was a very fun read) and while it didn't have the oomph of MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER, it was a fun story on its own featuring memorable characters of Stella the Saint, Father James Brown, the Bronski twins and so more. I definitely love reading stories with unique and memorable plotlines that take a dark topic and turn it into comedy and this definitely fit into that category. For a fun and fast read, definitely pick up Holy F*ck. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)