Free Reading

Guess what? I did not work this weekend—not even one minute! I played lots of games with Julie and took her to the library, I cooked actual meals, and I read a few months' worth of New York Times Book Reviews. Ahhh!

And, believe it or not, I read a book that was not required reading for my book group! (Remember when that was a weekly occurrence, and not something that called for any fanfare? Sigh.) I was delighted to discover that there was an Ann Patchett novel that I hadn't read—her first, in fact, The Patron Saint of Liars. The reason it took me so long to realize this was that I had mixed up the title with one by Maile Meloy called Liars and Saints, which I did read. So whenever someone asked if I'd read Patron Saint of Liars, I thought I had. Wrong! Yay!

No surprise, I loved this book. I just adore the way Patchett creates characters and stories and uses language. Although this was her first novel, it didn't feel debut-ish at all—indeed, if I'd read it when it first came out, I'd have been dying for her to write another (as I always am now).

This is the story of a home for unwed mothers in Kentucky back in the '60s. It's housed in an old hotel and run by a bunch of nuns, some nice and some not so much. Rose drives all the way from California in her husband's Dodge, not having told him that she was pregnant or that she was leaving. She's that way. And that is all I'll tell you, except that the story is told from three different characters' points of view, so you get a different perspective on things with each section. It's a wonderful read.

The ending was not tidy enough for me, but endings rarely are. I was left wondering a lot, but that allows me to imagine what I hope will happen and then assume that it will.

Anyone else out there read this? What did you think?

Comments

[Sharon]

I loved Patron Saint of Liars. It was my first Ann Patchett novel and it was fantastic.

[Algotruneman]

Sounds like you aren't going to be interested in this suggestion. However, maybe a "voracious reader" wants another reading group to join. This one is online.

We have just finished Drood by Dan Simmons. We only do a book every two months, so a VR might not see participation as a burden.

We are on the Internet Book Database of Fiction site.
http://ibdof.com/viewforum.php?f=1833