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Portofino: A Novel (Calvin Becker Trilogy) Paperback – August 10, 2004

by Frank Schaeffer (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 104 ratings
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Calvin is the son of a missionary family, and their trip to Portofino is the highlight of his year. But even in the seductive Italian summer, the Beckers can't really relax. Calvin's father could slip into a Bad Mood and start hurling potted plants at any time. His mother has an embarrassing habit of trying to convert "pagans" on the beach. And his sister Janet has a ski sweater and a miniature Bible in her luggage, just in case the Russians invade and send them to Siberia. His dad says everything is part of God's plan. But this summer, Calvin has some plans of his own . . . Portofino is the prequel to the noted trilogy that includes Zermatt. A huge bestseller, Portofino has been translated into seven languages.
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    Calvin Becker Trilogy
  2. Print length
    288 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    August 10, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0786713755
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0786713752
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A wry coming of age tale ... splendid laugh-out loud moments."

About the Author

Frank Schaeffer is the author of the New York Times bestseller Keeping Faith and the memoir Crazy for God. His novels, including Portofino, have been translated into nine languages. He lives in Massachusetts.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo Press; Reprint edition (August 10, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786713755
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786713752
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 104 ratings

About the author

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Frank Schaeffer

Frank Schaeffer

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New York Times best selling author of more than a dozen books Frank Schaeffer is a survivor of both polio and an evangelical/fundamentalist childhood, an acclaimed writer who overcame severe dyslexia, a home-schooled and self-taught documentary movie director, a feature film director and producer of four low budget Hollywood features Frank has described as "pretty terrible," and a best selling author of both fiction and nonfiction. Frank is the author of "And God Said, 'Billy!'" and many other books. Frank's three semi-biographical novels about growing up in a fundamentalist mission: "Portofino," "Zermatt" and "Saving Grandma" have a worldwide following and have been translated into nine languages. Jane Smiley writing in the Washington Post (7/10/11) says this of Frank's memoirs "Crazy For God" and "Sex, Mom and God": "[Schaeffer's] memoirs have a way of winning a reader's friendship...Schaeffer is a good memoirist, smart and often laugh-out-loud funny...Frank seems to have been born irreverent, but his memoirs have a serious purpose, and that is to expose the insanity and the corruption of what has become a powerful and frightening force in American politics... Frank has been straightforward and entertaining in his campaign to right the political wrongs he regrets committing in the 1970s and '80s...As someone who has made redemption his work, he has, in fact, shown amazing grace."

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
104 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Karen Ashley Greenstone
5.0 out of 5 stars Frank Schaeffer's Calvin Becker Trilogy: Engaging Mind & Heart
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2010
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Portofino is the first novel of Frank Schaeffer's delightful Calvin Becker Trilogy. In this trilogy, Frank recounts the adventures of the lively and mischievous Calvin Dort Becker, the son of Evangelical Christian missionaries in Switzerland, as he moves from childhood into his teens. The Calvin Becker Trilogy consists of these novels:

PORTOFINO, about the Becker family's annual summer vacation in Portofino, Italy
ZERMATT, about the Becker family's annual winter vacation in Zermatt, Switzerland
SAVING GRANDMA, about the Becker family's experience when the outspoken, profane Grandmother Becker comes to live with them in Switzerland

I believe that Frank Schaeffer's message in the Calvin Becker Trilogy is the same as his message in his memoir, Crazy For God: there is a particular brand of fundamentalist Christianity which, when carried to its extreme, will drive you crazy. This craziness unfolds through the eyes of the life-loving and adventure-seeking young Calvin Becker. And Frank's wonderful storytelling takes us to such emotional depths that we experience the craziness not only with our minds but also with our hearts. I'll try to explain how this works for me.

HUMOR. The Calvin Becker Trilogy is funny - and I mean laughing-out-loud-for-minutes-and-minutes funny. The stories are constantly funny. What's funny? Calvin's theological misunderstandings are funny. Church splits over miniscule points of doctrine are funny. Grandmother Becker's profane outbursts are funny. Elsa Becker's extensive talks about sex with her children are funny. Puberty and sex are very, very funny. Obviously, my list isn't the least bit funny - but Frank's stories are! Sometimes as I'm going about my day in what I hope is a relatively sane manner, a Calvin Becker story will flash into my mind and I'll start laughing out loud!

BEAUTY. Frank weaves many passages of absolute beauty into the Calvin Becker Trilogy. I think of Frank's wonderful descriptions in Portofino of the town's aromas and of the sensuous meals the Becker family ate there. I also think of Calvin's memories and fantasies in Saving Grandma about his best friend, Jennifer from England, whom he sees only during his family's annual Portofino vacation. While taking care of Grandmother Becker back in Switzerland during the year, Calvin remembers and fantasizes about Jennifer: the time Jennifer's bathing suit strap slipped as she pushed off from the bottom of Portofino Bay, giving Calvin a glimpse of her breasts; Calvin's fantasy of diving with Jennifer into the deep waters of an isolated cove and their struggle to regain footing on land; Calvin's fantasy of having sex with Jennifer for the first time. These are exquisite.

HORROR. Frank includes a few truly horrifying stories. Perhaps the most horrifying is the punishment Calvin receives from his father, Ralph Becker, for drinking alcohol at a yacht party. Frank's description of this incident causes me to gasp in horror. (I realize that I keep repeating variations of the word, "horror," but this is truly the most fitting word here.)

THE WHOLE. The whole of the humor, the beauty, and the horror - told so masterfully by Frank and therefore experienced so deeply by me - affects me profoundly. The laughing out loud is enjoyable and opens me to "get" the point of the story. The beauty, too, has an opening effect. Then, somehow, the fact that I've laughed so heartily at Calvin's antics makes the horror all the more horrifying. I believe that I feel the horror more deeply because I've gone so far in the direction of laughing. I experience how funny this extreme version of Christianity can be and how horrifying. And the beauty Frank creates draws me in yet further. I find myself thoroughly enjoying the Calvin Becker Trilogy, experiencing a full emotional range, and receiving insight after insight about life and faith as a result of the way Frank engages my mind through my heart.

Thank you, Frank.
7 people found this helpful
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Kenman
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable story of Frank Schaeffer as a boy
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
Excellent semi-biography of Frank Schaeffer's youth. I say semi because it is written as a novel but he himself says it is accurate. Son of a now famous missionary/evangelist Francis Schaeffer, this book covers his early life living in Europe and his family vacations in Portofino. It is the first of a 3-part story which is followed by Zermatt and then Saving Grandma. All are thoroughly enjoyable reading. Highly recommend.
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Joy
4.0 out of 5 stars satiric coming-of-age tale
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2010
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I liked this author's non-fiction and thought I'd try his fiction. This book is hilarious. At least partially autobiographical, it's the story of a boy (10 in the first half; 13 in the second half) named Calvin who goes on vacation every year to Portofino, Italy. His parents are fundamentalist missionaries of a severely Calvinist sect that keeps splitting; his mother is one of those super-pious types who weaponize prayers and try to "witness" to strangers on trains using gimmicky things like the "Gospel Walnut," while his father has Moods and the kind of temper that results in things getting broken a lot, but bonds with Calvin while hiking the trails around Portofino. Calvin loves the freedom to explore the Italian coast and town life; despite his parents' anti-Catholic stance he sneaks into the local church to pray to Mary; he's friends with the local artist and beach attendant; and he's falling fast for an English girl named Jennifer who stays in the same pensione. The descriptions of Italy--the light, the sea, the sounds, the smells--are lyrical, also.
4 people found this helpful
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Lilly's Mom
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read about an unusual family
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2017
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I really enjoyed this book. It had me laughing most of the way through. I liked the story told from a young boy's perspective. Some readers might find it too irreverent, but I did not. I like to see hypocrisy exposed, since there is most likely a lot more of it in the world than we realize.
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Kathy L.
3.0 out of 5 stars This is an interesting book - true to life for those who experienced religious upbringings. ..
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2015
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This is an interesting book that will appeal to those who grew up in a religious mileou similar to Shaffer's. Otherwise, it may not resonate. Very true to life, as Schaffer's parents were well-known in the fundamentalist movt.
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Joan Jacobson
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, but not for thin-skinned fundamentalist Christians
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2014
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Hilarious! Several years after reading this I recommended it to my Book Club and re-read it before the discussion. Upon re-reading it and checking out online reviews, I did get concerned that some of my club would find the humor vindictive (as some online reviewers think it is), rather than charming as I had at the first reading. Never to worry, they all loved it.
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Top reviews from other countries

Caroline Wong
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and best of the three
Reviewed in Canada on August 21, 2014
Verified Purchase
A great coming of age novel based on the author's experience with his famous Evangelical missionary parents and three sisters. It is *fiction* along the lines of movies that claim to be "based on true events". Schaeffer later clarified what was true and what wasn't in "Crazy for God" which is a very good memoir. He invited comments from his sisters. I later read two biographies of Francis and Edith Schaeffer just to get the other side of the story. One only mentioned Frank's birth and full name (he is Francis #5). The other ended his book with a chapter long diatribe on how Frank ruined Francis and Edith Schaeffer's legacy with books like the Calvin Becter Trilogy and Crazy for God. All in all a fascinating and oh so human family
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