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Book Review of The Patron Saint of Liars

The Patron Saint of Liars
reviewed on + 151 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


I am giving this book four stars out of respect and not so much because (as the definition goes) I "really liked it".

In fact, I only read through the first section, written from Rose's point of view. Rose is a woman in her early twenties who has left her husband and found out she's pregnant, all in one period of time. She's living in a Catholic home for expectant mothers, in the late 1960s.

The writing, sentence by sentence, is inherently (maybe deliberately?) super-quotable. Still, as a reader, I was quickly drawn into the story and really found it to be an easy read. Easy doesn't mean pleasant, though. The draw was not excitement, or suspense, but kind of a sick sense of foreboding as you watch someone make a mess of their life.

By the time I got to the POV switch roughly 1/2 of the way through the book, I had to stop. I read primarily for pleasure - I don't want it to hurt.

However, again, I do think this was a well written, good quality book and if you are into more serious fiction, it is worth a look.