Enright, Michael 1958–

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Enright, Michael 1958–

PERSONAL: Born 1958, in Chicago, IL. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES: Home—Chicago, IL. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Tor Books, 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010.

CAREER: Roman Catholic priest.

WRITINGS:

Daisies in the Junkyard (novel), Tor Books (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: In his first novel, Daisies in the Junkyard, Catholic priest Michael Enright discusses the issues and challenges that face families growing up in the barrios of modern Chicago. The novel centers on the adventures of Tony and Carlos, two young Latin American men about to graduate from high school. Through no fault of their own, the two are drawn into the circle of violence that continues to plague their South Chicago neighborhood. Although they have constantly struggled to avoid being sucked into gangs themselves, the fighting seems to seek them out. Tony is caught in the crossfire between gangs, taking a bullet to the hand, and Carlos's younger brother is murdered. Eventually, the violence costs both young men their jobs with UPS, and they are reduced to working in a junkyard that doubles as a site for fencing stolen cars.

Enright emphasizes two points in his novel: The situation in which Tony and Carlos find themselves is not their fault, and that there are no easy answers to their problems. Critics respected the author's forthright approach. Although the Church does figure prominently in the novel as a temporary refuge for the boys, neither parents nor authority figures, including the local priest, seem to have any answers. "Enright," stated a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, "ably captures the experiences of the boys." "Though Enright falls at times into bathos," a Kirkus Reviews contributor concluded, "for the most part he shaves things close to the bone."