Book Reviews of The Patron Saint of Liars

This is one of those books I read years ago, but the characters are still lingering about in my head. It's the 1960s and Rose finds herself unhappily married and unhappily pregnant. She flees her husband, mother, and life and arrives at St. Elizabeth's home for unwed mothers, where she plans to give birth and leave, but probably not to return to her husband, who doesn't even know she's pregnant.

The nuns and other expectant mothers at St. Elizabeth's turn out to provide healing that Rose didn't even realize she was seeking. She finds herself questioning her decisions and as she gets closer and closer to her due date, she's not sure what she'll do.

The baby is born and the book takes a not entirely unexpected turn, but it's one that works and doesn't feel like a convenient plot device. As the story continued, I found myself really puzzling over the characters and the decisions they had made and wondering where Patchett was going to eventually lead us all.

The ending was amazingly satisfying in that it left many things hanging dangerously and I found myself writing the next few chapters in my mind, each time with different results. Patchett carefully crafts a story that needs to end with a giant question mark and force the reader to decide what will happen after the final sentence. It's brilliant, although readers who like all lose ends tied up might feel cheated.

I love when an author creates a character that I believe is living and has walked in reality. Patchett does it with not only the main character, but the others in the book. I believed in them and understood their decisions, confusion, and fear. Some books you read; this one I devoured.

This story revolves around the girls and the help at a home for unwed mothers. I really liked the characters and the way the author presented them with care and dignity.

Very compelling read--I love the way her characters are so well-rounded and two people can read the same book and have a very different reactions to the characters.

From Library Journal
Unanticipated pregnancy makes liars out of young women, this thoughtful first novel shows, as they try to rationalize, explain, and accept what is happening to them. When she arrives at St. Elizabeth's, a home for pregnant girls in Habit, Kentucky, Rose Clinton seems as evasive and deceptive as the other unwed mothers. But Rose is different: she has a husband whom she has deserted. Unlike most St. Elizabeth's visitors, she neither gives up her baby nor leaves the home, staying on as cook while her daughter grows up among expectant mothers fantasizing that they, too, might keep their infants. The reader learns from Rose how she came to St. Elizabeth's, but it is her doting husband and rebellious daughter who reveal her motives and helpless need for freedom. Together, the three create a complex character study of a woman driven by forces she can neither understand nor control.

I fully enjoyed this book. The characters are very well-developed. Patchett authors from three points of view, magically. I definitely recommend this book.

Patchett's writing grabs you write away. I races through this book and loved it from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this book. An interesting story -- an unusual situation. Great character development -- heartbreaking, at times.

This book made me even happier that I discovered Ann Patchett as an author. Loved it!

I will be reading the rest of her books. This one is lovely.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book...about a woman who ends up in a home for unwed mothers...while trying to run from herself and her past.
I had a hard time putting the book down.

I loved the title of this book and that is what made me choose it. If I had not been on PBS, I would never have known of this book. The book draws the reader in right at the beginning and does not let go, even after you finish it. The story is told from three different angles and the story unravels just enough to snag you for a long time. Consider reading this book, you will not be disappointed.

Absolutely wonderful book. Once you start reading, it is so hard to put down. I loved this book. Rose, although she is married goes to a home to have her child and stays on after to raise her there. Starting out telling one lie to cover for another until the biggest lie she is not able to cover in the end. Time well spent with this book.

The novel is divided into 3 parts each with a different point of view. The first is from Rose "the one who is always leaving and is never left". She marries a man she doesn't love, gets pregnant and then gets in her car and drives away. From this point on you are trying to determine what in the world motivates this character to do the things she does. She finds herself in Habit, Kentucky where there is a home for unwed mothers that is run by the Catholic church. Here she decides to keep her baby and marries the caretaker. The voices of the daughter (Cecilia) and her second husband (Son) are far more compelling than the voice of Rose because they are befuddled by the coldness of Rose and bewildered by her attention to the girls in the home whereas they get none. There is a depth to them which is lacking in Rose. Maybe that is a point the author is trying to make. The second and third parts are also filled with characters who are young women who have gotten themselves into "trouble" and go to the home to have their babies to then give them away. The author does a wonderful job of helping you feel the turmoil and trauma these girls go thru.

I read this after enjoying another of Ann Patchett's books. The setting for this book, a home for unwed pregnant girls, was unusual, and Rose, the main character, had a complex personality. She craved freedom, yet stayed for years as the cook at the home, and because of her need for freedom, lied her way through her years there. Although I think she came to love some of the people around her, she remained an enigma to those who loved her. I recommend this book!

The story of a mysterious young woman who appears in a home for unwed mothers in the 60's. My favorite Patchett book (along with Bel Canto), and a very moving story.

One of the best books I've read in a while! I will look for more from this author. I read it quickly, wanting to find out what was next for these characters, and was never disappointed. I liked the ending especially.

This book takes you all the way from running away from a challenging situation to running to a rewarding one. The characters have integrity and wisdom and even if you go away from it for awhile as I did, it's not difficult to get back into the story quickly.

Loved this book. Patchett is such a great writer!

Well-written. Hard to put down.

Good book, a fine read. The author knows her characters well and it translates into a believable novel.

From back cover: "Beautifully written. . .Ann Patchett has produced a first novel that second- and third-time novelists would envy for its grace, insight, and compassion."

Ann Patchett's first book was Bel Canto, which was very successful. This was every bit as good a read. Patchett has a gift for portraying troubled characters whose lives overlap and how in that overlapping, the gift of healing occurs.

Excellent book, it took a few chapters to hook me, but once it did I could not put it down.

The story was great. It kept me up late. I didn't expect the ending to be what it was. I am still thinking about the story, the characters, and I have been done with it for a few days. In my opinion that is what makes the book great. When your still thinking about it, wondering why this, or that . . . the author did his/her job well.

This story is told by three different narrators, Rose, Son, and Cecilia. Patchett divided it into three sections so that each period of the characters' lives was told by a different narrator, giving the reader only one viewpoint of the issues going on at the time. Therefore, I found it a little disconcerting that the first narrator's thoughts were no longer available to me when someone else was narrating. However, this device may have been employed to mirror the unavailability of Rose to her family members.

This was an enjoyable book which is beautifully written, and a wonderful character study. My biggest complaint is the ending; I felt cheated. Again, perhaps a device employed to mirror the feelings of some of the characters.

A summer beach read.

Great story.

Great read.

Really good book.

<< Back to Book Details of " The Patron Saint of Liars"