The Last Supper

“Fascinating [and] engrossing … Elie persuasively chronicles the way writers, musicians and artists leveraged religious themes and responded to attacks … Elie’s book feels delightfully comprehensive, shifting from big exemplars of his themes to small representatives of crypto-religiosity.” –Mark Athitakis, The Washington Post

“Elie’s synthesis of the era is virtuosic and revelatory. And his mini-narratives are set pieces, laid out with such intricate detail that the book, at times, feels as finely chiseled as a work carved from Carrara marble.” –David Friend, Vanity Fair

“Gripping and essential … Elie’s brilliant book is a bracing reminder of art’s far-reaching power in matters of the heart and soul. His expansive vision of the ‘80s rings out like a clarion call for a new era of rigorous artistic engagement with the unknowable and the unseen.” –Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times

“Elie’s astute and imaginative examination of the intersection between religion, art, and a politicized culture is badly needed, both historically and today.” –Paul Moses, Commonweal

“Consistently enjoyable … [Elie] rarely encounters an artist about whom he cannot find something intelligent to say … [The Last Supper] is an altogether admirable piece of crypto-religious culture in its own right … I finished the book with a renewed appreciation for the way belief itself is a complicated thing, enfolded upon itself.” –Phil Christman, The Chronicle of Higher Education

“Elie seeks to understand the ways in which religious ideals find expression in literature, arts, music, and culture … Readers may not always agree with Elie’s contentions in this fascinating, well-written book, but they will never be bored.” –Library Journal (starred review)

“Paul Elie’s exhilarating and provocative meditation, The Last Supper, gathers together a disparate set of characters from the radical left to the radical right: politicians, philosophers, poets, filmmakers, visual artists, authors, but mostly musicians. What binds them in his telling is not simply a decade–the 1980s–or their work, notoriety, and genius; it is religion. Elie’s revelation concerning the role of religion in modern life is as important as it is novel. Important because in an age of confusion, it provides answers. Novel because he introduces us to the corners of pop culture where God exists hidden in plain sight.” –Mary Gabriel, author of Madonna: A Rebel Life

“Paul Elie has put together a creative jigsaw of the 1980s. Written with clarity and grace and style, the pieces of this cultural history interlock masterfully. If you began listening and learning and loving in the ‘80s, this is the book for you. Forget about grandeur, Elie reveals to us that the world is, in fact, charged with the grungeur of God.” –Colum McCann, author of Let The Great World Spin and Twist

“Only Paul Elie could give us this groundbreaking recounting of the hidden Catholic impulses that animated some of the most popular and influential artists of the early 1980s–everyone from Madonna to Andy Warhol to Martin Scorsese. Elie’s argument that many artists of that era were, in a sense, ‘crypto-Catholics’ is successfully borne out through a careful (and fascinating) analysis of their work and a thoroughgoing (and enjoyable) immersion in that era of volcanic creativity and change. Beautifully written, artfully presented, carefully researched, always surprising–and frequently brilliant.” –James Martin, SJ, author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything

“The Last Supper is a brilliant and daring work of history, one that shows how sex, art, and faith merged to produce not just the crazy 1980s but also the crazy world we inhabit today. Paul Elie follows an unforgettable cast of characters–from Andy Warhol to Madonna to Toni Morrison–out to shake up the world, in a book that’s equally smart and entertaining.” –Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life

Paul Elie is the author of The Life You Save May Be Your Own and Reinventing Bach, both National Book Critics Circle Award finalists. He is a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn.

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