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More About the Author
Product Description
New York Times
'Patchett is unique; a generous, fearless and startlingly wise young writer.'
Product Description
Winner of the 2002 Orange Prize for her novel ‘Bel Canto’, Ann Patchett’s stunning first novel is about ‘pilgrimage and healing…A fairytale. A delight’.
It is 1968. Rose Clinton arrives at St Elizabeth’s, a Roman Catholic home for unwed mothers in Habit, Kentucky. Rose has fled her dull but loving husband without telling him she is pregnant and has decided to be ‘a liar for the rest of my life’. As penance, she has also abandoned her widowed and much loved mother, with no mention of her condition.
Rose plans to give her baby up because she knows she cannot be the mother it needs. But St. Elizabeth’s is home to a healing spring, and when Rose's time draws near, she realises that she cannot go through with her plans. Nor can she remain untouched by those she has left behind; by the ever-watchful Sister Evangeline; by the love of Son, the handyman at St. Elizabeth; or later by the birth of her daughter Cecilia.
Enchantingly graceful, Ann Patchett’s first novel is about sanctuary and pilgrimage, pain and healing and the helping hand of chance.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just when you think you're getting to know Rose, the main protagonist, she slips away from you, as she does the rest of the characters in the book. Narrated by three separate narrators, first Rose, then her second husband 'Son', and finally her daughter Cecilia, this novel takes you into the lives of the inhabitants of a Catholic home for unwed mothers.
As usual with Patchett, the novel is beautifully written. So evocative. Her touch is graceful and light. She creates characters that you really care about, wonderfully quirky 3-D people that fill your thoughts and imagination long after you've put the book down. You'll want to read it in one go, and go back to it again and again.
As usual with Patchett, the novel is beautifully written. So evocative. Her touch is graceful and light. She creates characters that you really care about, wonderfully quirky 3-D people that fill your thoughts and imagination long after you've put the book down. You'll want to read it in one go, and go back to it again and again.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Patron Saint of Liars tries mightily to engage the reader with questions of faith, fidelity and human longing. Unfortunately, the insights into these things are at best standard, and at worst, facile or dull. Patchett writes well, (her prose rarely thuds), but she writes too much, thinking that a sea of sensory detail is enough to provide enlightenment, when what the reader craves is some honest insight. For a book that is supposed to be about our deepest humanity, it leaves one feeling oddly cold. It is apparent that Patchett's mind and eyes are sharp; it is her heart that needs work.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had an ache in the pit of my stomach for the
entire story. I haven't read such a sweet sad fragile
story in a long long time. Its rare that an author
(and a first-time one at that!) can write about human
failures and human hopes so eloquently at the same time.
Not once during the story did I stop hoping for a reversal
of character. A truly wonderful story . . .
entire story. I haven't read such a sweet sad fragile
story in a long long time. Its rare that an author
(and a first-time one at that!) can write about human
failures and human hopes so eloquently at the same time.
Not once during the story did I stop hoping for a reversal
of character. A truly wonderful story . . .
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
I was sad it ended ...
Really enjoyed the book - it was picked for our book club. I felt totally engaged with the characters and didn't want the story to end
Published on 16 Mar 2009 by Mrs. K. McGroarty
Interesting but not quite right
Ann Patchett is a very interesting writer, avoiding the formulaic, straining at the leash of conventional fiction to produce quietly unconventional novels. Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2003 by Booksthatmatter
Intimate portrait about the three people of one family.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and if you are interested in stories about family relations, I highly recommend this book to you. Read more
Published on 17 May 2003 by Annemarie Tissen
A Rose by any other name would stay put.
Themes throughout the book - Those Who Stay and Those Who Leave, resonate, particularly through Son's narrative. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 1998
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