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camillatd 's review for:
Ordinary Saints
by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ordinary Saints has a striking premise: Jay, an Irish lesbian living in London, finds out that her family is pursuing a case for her deceased brother, Ferdia, to be made a saint. Long separated from her Catholic upbringing and her family’s piety, Jay has to grapple with her grief, her family ties, and her brother’s life in new lights.
It would be easy for this narrative to assume the obvious positions: Church bad, queers good, or even brother secretly-not-as-good as we thought. But this book’s strength is in its emotional nuance. Each character is granted the full spectrum of their emotional complexities, their grief and their hurt and their unwieldy love.
There are big, momentous heartbreaks in the novel, from Ferdia’s untimely and tragic death to the secrets kept (and revealed) amongst the family. Some of the moments that moved me the most, though, were the quiet heartbreaks: a hand squeezed, candles lit, an apple pie.
Ordinary Saints is a big-hearted, generous book about deep wounds and how they heal, about family and silences, about holiness and queerness and doctrine. I loved it in such a personal way, but I feel sure that readers who have their own complicated relationships to religion, family, and home will feel similarly moved.
It would be easy for this narrative to assume the obvious positions: Church bad, queers good, or even brother secretly-not-as-good as we thought. But this book’s strength is in its emotional nuance. Each character is granted the full spectrum of their emotional complexities, their grief and their hurt and their unwieldy love.
There are big, momentous heartbreaks in the novel, from Ferdia’s untimely and tragic death to the secrets kept (and revealed) amongst the family. Some of the moments that moved me the most, though, were the quiet heartbreaks: a hand squeezed, candles lit, an apple pie.
Ordinary Saints is a big-hearted, generous book about deep wounds and how they heal, about family and silences, about holiness and queerness and doctrine. I loved it in such a personal way, but I feel sure that readers who have their own complicated relationships to religion, family, and home will feel similarly moved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Death of parent