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Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession

By Mark Graham, Special to the Rocky

Published October 16, 2008 at 7 p.m.

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* Nonfiction. By Anne Rice. Knopf, $23.99. Grade: B

Book in a nutshell: Since the publication of Interview With a Vampire in 1976, Rice has been one of this generation's most popular writers of horror and erotic fiction. While her life as an author and her personal philosophy can't be totally separated, in this book she concentrates more on her belief systems than on her writing.

Rice begins her memoir with the inconsistencies of her early Catholic life in New Orleans, from the beauty of church ritual to her hatred of school. She goes on to discuss how she lost faith during her college years and became as staunch an atheist as she'd been a Catholic. Finally, she reveals the details of how she came back to the church and some of the difficulties and joys of being a Christian once again.

Best tidbit: Rice reveals that her real name is not Anne. The name on her birth certificate is Howard Allen Frances O'Brien: Howard after her father, Allen for her mother's maiden name, and Frances because there's neither a St. Howard nor a St. Allen and the priest who baptized her said there had to be a saint in her name. She always hated her name and told her first-grade teacher her name was Anne.The kindly Sister Mary Hyacinth went along with it. Rice also confesses that she is, and always has been, a poor and very slow reader.

Pros: Readers who went to Catholic schools in the '50s and early '60s are certain to identify with Rice's vivid memories of her early experiences. She pulls no punches as she describes her "conversion" to atheism and the difficulty of returning to the beliefs she'd denied.

Cons: The last third of the book, after Rice's return to Catholicism, is a bit redundant, and the author tends to gloss over the contradictions between the draconian policies of the church and current realities in areas such as abortion, divorce, homosexuality and gender equality.

Final word: This is a revealing and very personal look at three stages of a writer's life and should appeal to a wider audience than merely the fans of Rice's horror novels.