This is a brilliantly comic novel set in mid-20th century America. Logsdon tells the story of a time and place long gone, of eccentric characters and old-time religion. The setting is rural Minnesota in the early 1950s, where a group of seminarians make their way to Ascension Seminary in Shakopee to complete their education as Oblates of St Joseph. The young men question everything about the lives they lead studying for the priesthood. The protagonist, Blaise, changes the spelling of his name to Blaze, and he and his friends, Gabe and Fen, lead a band of brothers who come to be known as “the most troublesome class in seminary history.” They pillage the storage area of the seminary, spend the summer doing grueling farm work instead of studying their breviaries, assist a local bootlegger in brewing moonshine whiskey, and take possession of rifles and shotguns that were previously confiscated from Josephian priests who had passed away. “They rarely shot at anything and when they did they missed,” writes Logsdon. One exasperated friar dubs them “the Sonuvabitchin’ Davy Crockett Boys.” Of course, they love it and the name sticks. But underneath the mayhem and merriment that the SBDC boys cultivate, lies a darker world of doubt and bewilderment about sex and sanity. What should they really be doing with their lives, they ask each other nervously. It is the resolution of that question—that is, who the hell is sane in this crazy world?—that brings their adventures to a surprising and triumphant conclusion. This novel was inspired by Logsdon’s ten years as a seminarian. As we follow the lively adventures of the SBDC Boys, we encounter a rogue’s gallery of colorful characters and religious situations. Logsdon has cobbled together a rollicking narrative that is reminiscent of such American originals as Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller.

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