Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - The Patron Saint of Liars

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!

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laurasullivan's review

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funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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hunkydory's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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nothingforpomegranted's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

3.75

In 1906, a resident of Habit, Kentucky discovers an acrid spring in his backyard with mystical healing properties that are quickly revealed, bringing fame and a fancy hotel to the rural town. After the spring dries up, the hotel dwindles, and eventually the property is sold to the Catholic Church, which transforms the property into a home for unwed pregnant women, Saint Elizabeth's.
Told in three perspectives, the book follows the life of Rose Clinton. Born and raised in California, Rose steals her husband's car and drives east, attempting to escape the unrequited love of her marriage and to determine the true purpose of her life, seeking a sign from God. She arrives at Saint Elizabeth's somewhat in denial, slowly building relationships with the other women, the groundskeeper, and especially with the nun Sister Evangeline. In part two, we see Rose establish herself as the Saint Elizabeth's primary cook, told through the perspective of her new husband. This section introduces the tension that characterizes the final third of the book, narrated by Rose's daughter.

Patchett's writing is enchanting, evident from the very first page of this, her debut novel. I was absolutely enthralled by the concept of this healing spring, and excited to see how the history of the land and the family that owned it would develop throughout the story, but ultimately, the book went in an entirely different direction. Rose is troubling and intriguing, a curiously selfish character, whose drive to discover a purpose impacted every relationship in her life. Far more sympathetic were her husband and daughter, whose devotion and emotional expression distinguished them significantly from Rose, but both of whose narration started to fall flat towards the end of their respective sections.

Indeed, I was underwhelmed by the ending of the book.

The arrival of Thomas was, perhaps inevitable, but as he did nothing but show up, the emotional impact of his reappearance was stunted, and the complexity of Cecilia's narration was diminished accordingly.

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