This novel by J. Courtney Sullivan is a sprawling tale of an Irish family in Boston, from the mid 20th century to the present. And guess what? It has sibling rivalry! Catholic guilt! Death and depression and drinking! A girl named Bridget and a boy named Patrick! Nuns! Masses and Confirmation and more drinking! Recriminations and regrets!
What else would you want in a story about a Catholic family in Boston? Some underworld crime? A whispered family secret, more guilt and more penance? Yep, it's all here.
That doesn't mean it's a bad book, quite the contrary. It's a very fine read. This is a book to take on vacation when you want something well written but nothing too taxing, nothing about Snowden or tax codes or Russian interference in elections. There is nothing in "Saints for All Occasions" that will connect you to today's political mess and that is a blessing, to continue the Catholic theme. Sullivan writes very nicely about sadness, loss, emptiness and deception and we readers enjoy the story. And we identify with much of the emotions: "Maybe she shouldn't need the approval of someone who refused to see her or to let her in. It was easier to forge ahead with your mother's blessing but insane to delay your life waiting for it, if the chances were good that it was never going to come. Loving and knowing weren't the same."
I liked this novel but get it out of the library. It's a nice story but it won't change your life and once done, you won't be thinking about these characters for very long.
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