On June 14th, our Weary Travelers men's small group met for the last time for our book study on "Gus Busbi," a novel by Catholic author Jim Sano. It is the second book in the Fr. Tom Fritzpatrick series. Even though only 3 of us were able to meet, because the others had various other things going on - out of the country, ministry meeting, assisting at hospice care, and illness, we had wonderful discussion nevertheless to wrap up the book study. As the title of this blog suggests, we discussed the last 6 chapters of the novel.
In Chapter 42, we get the background story of William "Willie" Bennett and his relationship with Celia and Jamiel, as well as what happened to Danny and Anthony. What struck me in this chapter is how Leonard "Cool" once again demands absolute "respect" and "loyalty", and an "you are either with us or you are against us" mentality.
In Chapter 43, I realized that while Fr. Tom does not appear much in the story, when he does, he brings much wisdom. Fr. Tom: "Gus was a man of strong faith. Love and forgiveness are at the center of that faith, and he cannot bring himself to do either. . . We are asked to love and forgive even those that hate us and wish to do us harm. . . I think Gus believes it will dishonor Danny to forgive someone who isn't sorry for what they did." Those are but a few of the "nuggets" from Fr. Tom.
In Chapters 44 - 46, Fr. Tom reminds Jamiel that he is there for him "anywhere. anytime. any reason." Moreover, Gus realizes that it is time he starts living again, telling Jamil: ". . .spending a life hating him will only rob you of your life. . . [do] not let the anger and resentment eat you up like it has me." Yet, Busbi is still not ready to forgive the man who killed Danny because he does not want to "cheapen Danny's memory. . ." Jamiel also comes to his own realization that "it wasn't the car that he loved, but the time he had spent with Gus working together on it, the talks they had, and friendship they forged, and the man it helped him to start becoming."
The novel wraps up with Chapter 47; however, I will not give away the ending except to say that Gus Busbi is at peace and Jamiel's yearning for a father in his life comes to fruition.
We all enjoyed "Gus Busbi" and had lots of great discussions over the course of the book study. One of the lessons that the novel taught us is that, like Gus Busbi, Fr. Tom, Mike, and Reverend Rich, we men must not only be positive male role models for the young men and boys in our lives (our sons, grandsons, nephews, etc.) but also for the fatherless in our communities - just like how Saint Joseph stepped up and answered God's call to be a father to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Many thanks to Jim Sano for another great novel for our men's small group book study. We look forward to our next book study on the 3rd novel in the Fr. Tom series - "Stolen Blessing," which will start in the late-October / early November timeframe.
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Invitation to "Gus Busbi" Book Study - https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/01/invitation-to-gus-busbi-book-study.html
"Gus Busbi" Book Study Recap: Chapters 1 - 5 https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/03/gus-busbi-book-study-recap-chapters-1-5.html
"Gus Busbi" Book Study Recap: Chapters 6 - 19 https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/03/gus-busbi-book-study-recap-chapters-6-19.html
"Gus Busbi" Book Study Recap: Chapters 20 - 26 https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/04/gus-busbi-book-study-recap-chapters-20.html
"Gus Busbi" Book Study Recap: Chapters 27 - 33 https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/04/gus-busbi-book-study-recap-chapters-27.html
"Gus Busbi" Book Study Recap: Chapters 34 - 41 https://dcnphuc2019.blogspot.com/2023/06/gus-busbi-book-study-recap-chapters-34.html
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