Myles Connolly - Mr. Blue (EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF)

"I first read Blue when I was a young teenager, and the short novel's simplicity, purity, expression, and color all formed how I viewed the world for the rest of my teenage years. Like Christ, Blue.... who I believe manifests modern-day real-world Christianity, or perhaps even a contemporary St. Francis of Assisi imagery..... found God's colorful inspiration in the good and bad in the world that surrounded him. Its a shame that Mr. Blue has gone out of print, and over the years I've taken pleasure in hunting down, buying and gifting copies of this wonderful book. If only today's youth could be be inspired to love, laughter and service through a book as wonderful as Mr. Blue. If only today's adults could revel in making the wonderful dreams found in this book come alive...." --Patrick A.

"A Wonderful And Inspiring Catholic Novella! Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly is that rare treasure of a book and story whose description triggers a need to obtain it. This 115 page, Loyola Press edition, novella got a mention in Fr. James T. O'Connor's wonderful book on the theology of the Eucharist, The Hidden Manna. What Fr. O'Connor said about this book intrigued me and I purchased it. It is a wonderful read. Originally published in 1928 the book was written by screen writer and producer Myles Connolly. He is most famous for his connection with the classic films It Happened One Night and State Of The Union. He was also a devout Catholic and that shows in his story telling. The main character, J. Blue, is the anti-Gatsby. He is a Jazz Age St. Francis seeking to divest himself of all things material and a saint of the streets who seeks out poverty to glorify God. Blue, who for part of the story lives in a packing crate on the roof of a skyscraper, sees the image of God in every man, especially the poor, and is in tune with creation. Where Gatsby sought to rid himself of his past and invested his life in social climbing, Blue seeks to lessen himself so that the glory of God will increase. Of note and interest is the author's describing Eugenics and the State in its most evil incarnation and eerily predicting Nazi religious persecution and racial law. Remember, this book was published in 1928. Myles Connolly apparently had his finger on what was going on in the world. Sadly, some of what the main character J. Blue sees in his dream has come to pass. This is a book every Catholic should read. It would make a wonderful book for parish discussion. Finally, it would make a great full-length movie. I say full-length because even though it is a novella Blue's dream, which he thought would make a great film, would take a full production to do it justice. Buy this book and pass it along to your friends, Catholics and non-Catholics alike." --A. Calabrese

"I don't know how I got a hold of this book when I was between 8 and 10 years old, but I'm glad that I did. I lost this book many years ago (20+) but have never forgotten it's message, LOVE LIFE, because it's beautiful, not in spite of the bad, but sometimes because of the bad. If you can get your hands on this book, do so, you'll be glad you did." --M. Gallegos

"I was given this outstanding work as a gift by one of the most precious people that has ever touched my life. She told me that whenever we were together, Jay Blue kept popping into her head so she gave me my treasured copy. I've probably read the book 100 times and continually find peace, encouragement and delight. No author has ever had such a profound effect upon my life and those I love. Whatever the price - read it!" --JoAnn F.

"This book was given to me by William Stringfellow, unquestionably the outstanding 20th century American theologian. Karl Barth called him that. Stringfellow was a laymen, a lawyer, and a prophet. His admiration for Jay Blue was exceeded only by his fidelity to Jesus Christ. Mr. Blue blew my mind. One of three best books I have read. I have no idea how my copy every left me. It's an incredible story about a sinful saint." --J. Schmidt

"I'm not ashamed to say that this book prompted my conversion to Christianity. If you read it, you will see why. I taught English literature for twenty years before I picked up this book in a dentist's office. I was immediately captivated. Then I was heartbroken. The next step for me? I decided to follow in his footsteps!" --Phil S.

"I first read Mr. Blue in 1963. He changed my life. Myles Connolly's tale of one man who embraces life with a rare exuberance is so refreshing. Although written in 1928, this book refuses to die as successive generations pass on the story. Mr. J. Blue takes living what it means to be Christian seriously. Both funny and full of pathos, Mr.Blue is truly a Twentieth Century American classic." --G. Mark

"A true modern classic! Mr. Blue is one of those timeless morality tales that never gets old, as valid today as when it first appeared almost seven decades ago. A man at odds with contemporary culture, J. Blue nevertheless holds fast to his values and beliefs despite the trouble that causes him, and his optimistic faith sustains him through his collisions with our secular society, the last of which ends his noble life. The narrator- both attracted to and troubled by Blue- tells the tale to keep Blue's short but meaningful life alive. There is the clear sense that the narrator's own life has been changed for the better for having known Blue, and by telling his story, we can be changed too. There are some compelling similarities in Mr. Blue with a young adult novel recently published, An Audience for Einstein by Mark Wakely. In Wakely's book, the main character- the brilliant Professor Percival Marlowe- doesn't achieve the kind of nobility Blue had all along until the very end, when Marlowe makes a difficult choice that elevates him to the greatness he finally deserves. Both books challenge what it means to live a successful, worthwhile life in a world where values and principles are too often compromised for the sake of worldly gain. Highly recommended." --Doug H.

"Jay Blue has inspired me ever since I first read this book in 1963. For over 35 years I have read and given this book to people I love. A spiritual classic, it seems to keep resurfacing as Myles Connolly says in his introduction. I never fly a balloon that I don't think of Jay Blue. Or blow bubbles, or ride the horse at the dime store. This is a MUST READ!"

"Blue is a modern saint. He is not afraid to fly kites, sleep on roof tops, and write letters to heaven. He is a poet, and artist, an idealist, and a noble soul. I have never been touched so deeply by any character before I met Blue. Read this book, and look at life a whole new way. I laughed and then I cried my heart out. This is a book for the soul."

"Mr. Blue, a Catholic novella, by Myles Connolly, is a very unique work of fiction and one that I thoroughly found pleasure in, because it portrays the adherence of faith and doctrine not as an obligation that bit-by-bit brings about mental burdensome affliction, but rather, it is presented as an exciting chllange that goes against the current social and political tide of what popular culture deems to be in vogue or the right way. It is a short work of nervy fiction that not only goes against the flow of what is thought to be acceptable in an age of thoughtless go-and-get-it modernism, but it addresses the core of ourselves and the very small universe which we temporarily occupy. Through Mr. Blue's religious unearthing of the one-and-only ultimate truth-Holy Church-a new freedom is thus discovered and hence, fully embraced, which in turn redefines life and living-with all its tumultuous struggles and assorted agonies, as something mysteriously beautiful and special. Mr. Blue was written in 1928, three years after F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the incomparable literary classic, The Great Gatsby. And the parallels, especially in characterization, between the two works are indeed quite amazing, and yet, the novella Mr. Blue, never received the full global attention that The Great Gatsby eventually did. It remained in the shadows, like a relic, whose message was deemed only for an antiquated bygone period. Perhaps it was so, because it conveyed a message that no one wanted to hear or were too afraid to live out. For gluttony and self-indulgence, if allowed to happen, can indeed destroy the God-given gifts of character, ethics and religious and moral conviction, et cetera, et cetera. In Connolly's novel, Mr. Blue is an aberration, an anomaly for the bulk of those who bear witness to what he utters and lives out: goodness, sacrifices, an uncompromising faith, the gem of suffering and full understanding that there is one who knows, one who went before all of us. And Mr. Blue is blatant in his expression of that fact, that Jesus the Christ: '...humanized infinitude...When God became man, he made you and me and the rest of us pretty important people. He not only redeemed us, he saved us from the terrible burden of infinity.' Perhaps the greatest example of living out the religious life as a lay person was the very author himself-Myles Connolly-a former Hollywood screenwriter who never deviated from the gem of Truth within himself. In a way, he held up the mirror to ourselves and showed us that indeed, we, all humanity, in a compliance to that joyful and painful Truth, have a little of Mr. Blue in us, too; we're just not aware of it yet." --Christian E.

"Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly is about a Jazz Age St. Francis. The character of J. Blue is the anti-Gatsby. Where Gatsby sought to deny his past and climb socializing, Blue abandons all things material in temporal all for the glory of God. This 115 page Loyola Press edition is a real treasure. I came across a reference to this wonderful work of fiction while reading Fr. James O'Connors wonderful work on the theology of Eucharistic thought, titled The Hidden Manna. Considering that this book was written in 1928 it is eerily prophetic. Myles Connolly was a Hollywood screenwriter and producer, best known for his association with the film classics It Happened One Night and State Of The Union. The book encompasses a polemic against Eugenics and the dehumanization of the individual in an industrialized state. The author, with some precision, describes what came to be the Nazi state. But this book is more than that, Conolly, according to his daughter was a devout Catholic, and in many ways like the main character of this story, J. Blue. That certainly comes across in this book. Blue's love the Catholic faith is played out in how he lives his life, his devotions, his sacrifices. The Loyola Press edition would make a wonderful book for a Parish discussion group. The story would also make a great full-length feature film. I say "full-length" because to do justice to Blue's dream sequence you would need 90 plus minutes. Ironically enough Blue states in the book that his dream would make a great movie. A quick read but a jammed packed story this book should be on the shelf of Catholics and non-Cathollics alike." --A. Calabrese

"A classic not to be missed! I first read "Blue" in high school; then again right after college and finally, three years ago when I retired (Sr. Citizen). It's impact is as enormous as it was when I read it as a teenager; in fact, depite its being a little dated, I find more more to think about and, yes, even emulate in my later years. I volunteer at a high security prison now and this is my gift to anyone who graduates with a GED/Associates degree, college undergrad diploma/is confirmed in his church/whatever he accomplishes. Despite the immense difference in our lives, they all absorb Blue just as strongly as I do." --Elizabeth W.

"Simply: the story of the happiest man in the world. (And his happiness--if not his religious life--WILL affect you.) I first read this book 30 years ago; I have reread it many times since. It is a part of my being. . .a part of my better being." --The Concise Critic