Search - Faith

I abandoned this book about half way through. This review is about the reason why.

The book deals with the scandal of abuse that recently surrounded the Catholic church. The narrator is not a priest affected, not a victim but the sister of a priest accused of molesting a child. That voice unfortunately made the book seem very detached and removed. I felt that telling the story using that voice made the story seem far away. The narrator became the main character which for me shifted the focus away from what the story was about.

Unfortunately, I had to walk away from the book.

Surely there is no criminal more universally hated than a pedophile unless it's a pedophile who is also a priest. In this novel, Jennifer Haigh explores the ramifications of faith in the contexts of both religion and family. The title is stunningly appropriate as the story unfolds in heart-wrenching detail when an already dysfunctional family reveals closely-held secrets. I have been a fan of Jennifer Haigh's writing since I read her debut novel. She has continued to hone her talent in thought-provoking prose that is both topical and universal.

Set in Boston, most of Haigh's riveting novel takes place during the clergy sex abuse crisis that exploded in 2002. A priest is accused of molesting a boy and the questions are not only did he do what he was accused of, but do his siblings, mother and parishioners still have faith in him? The story weaves back in forth through time, illuminating the priest's family history and circumstances that have let up to the charge. The language, traditions and practices of Boston's Irish Catholics are described nearly perfectly. The novel also interestingly examines different types of fathers: priests, absent fathers (Aidan's and Art's), stepfathers (Ted) and married, "traditional" fathers (Mike). Recommended.

Well written and thought provoking like all of Jennifer Haigh's books.

Faith by Jennifer Haigh is narrated in first person by the sister of a Catholic priest who is suspected of molesting a little boy. The family that the priest comes from is dysfunction to begin with, but when this crisis hits, some family members stand by him and support him, while others are alienated from him.

I thought this was a very well-written book and the story told with sensitivity. This was a book that I couldn't label as a page-turner, because it took more thought to read and absorb what was going on rather than flying through it to see what happened. I gave it 5 stars. Excellent book.

Faith by Jennifer Haigh tells the story of a priest accused of molesting a child. The story is told in first person by the sister of the accused. Although the reader is left guessing until the end about whether or not the priest is guilty, the book focuses more on the ramifications on the lives of the priest's family members. Religious faith is tested, but so also are the family members' faith in each other. This book is splendid.