Scan barcode
mheffner3031's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Abandonment, and Pregnancy
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
carriepond's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Although The Patron Saint of Liars mainly takes place during the late 60s/early 70s in rural Kentucky at Catholic-run St. Elizabeth's Home for Unwed Mothers, the novel opens several decades earlier with the story behind the hotel out of which the home operates, built near a spring famous for its healing properties. The next three sections are narrated by three different characters: Rose Clinton, a pregnant woman who moves from California to Kentucky to have her baby at St. Elizabeth's, Wilson "Son" Abbott, the groundskeeper at St. Elizabeth's, and finally, Rose's daughter, Cecilia.
Not long after Rose's section opens, she gets married only to quickly realize that she has made a mistake. A devout Catholic, Rose does not consider divorce and instead copes by going on increasingly long drives along the California coast in an attempt to capture the freedom she longs for. When she becomes pregnant, Rose abandons her husband and her mother (a widow after Rose's father died in a car accident when Rose was very young) and drives cross-country to St. Elizabeth's, where she intends to stay until giving up the baby for adoption. However, once there, things change, and Rose ends up keeping the baby, whom she names Cecilia, and marrying Son . In the next two sections, narrated by Son and Cecilia respectively, the characters' motivations and histories are further fleshed out and we see the effects of Rose's actions on those she loves.
Patchett's characterization in Patron Saint is phenomenal: she doesn't hit us over the head with the novel's themes or characters' motivations, but in that subtlety lies depth and nuance. For example, I often didn't agree with or understand Rose's decisions but that didn't mean that I wasn't sympathetic. Rose is someone trapped by layers of circumstances-- her Catholic guilt and her internalized expectations on what women "should" do (marriage, children, etc) that conflict with her clear desire for solitude and freedom. And those circumstances have a ripple effect, hurting those who love her. At one point, Cecilia confronts her about her aloofness as a mother, and Rose replies, "I guess I always thought that just being here was enough. It's been so hard for me to stay sometimes. . . . All these years I thought I'd done a good job because I'd found a way to stay, but I guess if you didn't know those things to begin with, it wouldn't have looked like I was doing anything especially heroic." I was also happy to have Son and Cecilia take turns as narrators because seeing each of the characters through the others' eyes enriched the way I viewed all of them. For me, the end felt like a little bit of a letdown, but I still really enjoyed my reading experience overall because of how good a writer Ann Patchett is.
Before reading The Patron Saint of Liars (Patchett's debut novel), I had only read her two most recent novels (Tom Lake and The Dutch House), both of which I immensely enjoyed. It was an interesting experience to move so far back in the timeline of work, but the biggest takeaway for me was that it cemented my interest in reading a lot more of her work.
I think the layered characters whose actions are sometimes difficult to understand would make The Patron Saint of Liars a really good book club read-- there would be plenty to discuss!
Not long after Rose's section opens, she gets married only to quickly realize that she has made a mistake. A devout Catholic, Rose does not consider divorce and instead copes by going on increasingly long drives along the California coast in an attempt to capture the freedom she longs for. When she becomes pregnant, Rose abandons her husband and her mother (a widow after Rose's father died in a car accident when Rose was very young) and drives cross-country to St. Elizabeth's, where she intends to stay until giving up the baby for adoption. However, once there, things change, and Rose ends up keeping the baby, whom she names Cecilia, and
Patchett's characterization in Patron Saint is phenomenal: she doesn't hit us over the head with the novel's themes or characters' motivations, but in that subtlety lies depth and nuance. For example, I often didn't agree with or understand Rose's decisions but that didn't mean that I wasn't sympathetic. Rose is someone trapped by layers of circumstances-- her Catholic guilt and her internalized expectations on what women "should" do (marriage, children, etc) that conflict with her clear desire for solitude and freedom. And those circumstances have a ripple effect, hurting those who love her. At one point, Cecilia confronts her about her aloofness as a mother, and Rose replies, "I guess I always thought that just being here was enough. It's been so hard for me to stay sometimes. . . . All these years I thought I'd done a good job because I'd found a way to stay, but I guess if you didn't know those things to begin with, it wouldn't have looked like I was doing anything especially heroic." I was also happy to have Son and Cecilia take turns as narrators because seeing each of the characters through the others' eyes enriched the way I viewed all of them. For me, the end felt like a little bit of a letdown, but I still really enjoyed my reading experience overall because of how good a writer Ann Patchett is.
Before reading The Patron Saint of Liars (Patchett's debut novel), I had only read her two most recent novels (Tom Lake and The Dutch House), both of which I immensely enjoyed. It was an interesting experience to move so far back in the timeline of work, but the biggest takeaway for me was that it cemented my interest in reading a lot more of her work.
I think the layered characters whose actions are sometimes difficult to understand would make The Patron Saint of Liars a really good book club read-- there would be plenty to discuss!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Pregnancy
Moderate: Abandonment and Miscarriage
Minor: Death of parent and Car accident
eliterbees's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was an engaging read at first, though towards the end I only continued reading in a desperate attempt to reach a satisfying end. Instead, I was dissatisfied with the ending, as many people are – however, I do think I understand why certain choices were made throughout the book.
First, there is Rose. The first real main character we meet, Rose is a chronic liar who is to love or even like. I found Rose interesting throughout the chapters from her perspective, I was fully engaged in her sections of the book and found myself wanting to figure out more about her and follow her journey to see if she ever improved. Although she was self-aware enough in the beginning to admit some of her greatest faults from the get-go, which I found interesting, this is mainly attributed to her section of the book being retold from the future. She doesn't seem to show that same self-awareness in Son's section or in Cecilia's section, which I found hard to get through as a result. I found it really compelling to follow the themes of motherhood and maternity through the eyes of someone who was reluctant to be a mother, but that left a sour taste in my mouth in later chapters. Rose is a fascinating character that I didn't find myself liking as a person, but it was interesting at times to analyze what made her so unlikable (which seems to be a goal of the author, judging by Rose's connection to the book's title).
This seems to be a personal opinion, but I found it very hard to like Son throughout the novel. His introduction as a side character was endearing and fun, but when he became a main character by proposing to Rose, I found myself actually losing interest in him. This might be because of their age gap, and the repetitive descriptions of Son being a fatherly figure to most of the girls living at Saint Elizabeth's, including Rose, but I digress. I wish the novel followed June and Sister Evangeline more than Son, I was so intrigued by their dynamic.
Cecilia's section of the book made me sympathize with Son, however. Cecilia was an interesting character to bring in as the third and final perspective in the book, seeing as she united the three previous sections of the book and explored their dynamics through new eyes. I only wish that Cecilia was given more time to grow, primarily through the truth of her parentage and her mother's life, but in a book titled "The Patron Saint of Liars" it is easy to understand why that cannot be so.
All in all, I did enjoy the majority of this book, even if the ending left me dissatisfied but understanding.
First, there is Rose. The first real main character we meet, Rose is a chronic liar who is to love or even like. I found Rose interesting throughout the chapters from her perspective, I was fully engaged in her sections of the book and found myself wanting to figure out more about her and follow her journey to see if she ever improved. Although she was self-aware enough in the beginning to admit some of her greatest faults from the get-go, which I found interesting, this is mainly attributed to her section of the book being retold from the future. She doesn't seem to show that same self-awareness in Son's section or in Cecilia's section, which I found hard to get through as a result. I found it really compelling to follow the themes of motherhood and maternity through the eyes of someone who was reluctant to be a mother, but that left a sour taste in my mouth in later chapters. Rose is a fascinating character that I didn't find myself liking as a person, but it was interesting at times to analyze what made her so unlikable (which seems to be a goal of the author, judging by Rose's connection to the book's title).
This seems to be a personal opinion, but I found it very hard to like Son throughout the novel. His introduction as a side character was endearing and fun, but when he became a main character by proposing to Rose, I found myself actually losing interest in him. This might be because of their age gap, and the repetitive descriptions of Son being a fatherly figure to most of the girls living at Saint Elizabeth's, including Rose, but I digress. I wish the novel followed June and Sister Evangeline more than Son, I was so intrigued by their dynamic.
Cecilia's section of the book made me sympathize with Son, however. Cecilia was an interesting character to bring in as the third and final perspective in the book, seeing as she united the three previous sections of the book and explored their dynamics through new eyes. I only wish that Cecilia was given more time to grow, primarily through the truth of her parentage and her mother's life, but in a book titled "The Patron Saint of Liars" it is easy to understand why that cannot be so.
All in all, I did enjoy the majority of this book, even if the ending left me dissatisfied but understanding.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Child death
The main character marries a man twice her age.barbn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy and Miscarriage
More...