Jennifer Haigh's Faith is another prime example of why I thoroughly enjoy being a part of a book club because this is yet again a piece I would've never tackled. This is one of those tales that keeps you up into the late hours because you are thrust onto a roller coaster ride of emotions--one moment you utterly despise and loathe Father Breen for what the evidence presents to you as him being a predator of children. Then, in another instance, you find your heart bleeding for him... taking pity on this poor, wrongfully accused man of the cloth. The family dynamics throughout the work are also extremely interesting with the sibling to sibling relationship versus the parent to child one. I found myself having empathy for the father, who drank himself into oblivion... The mother and Mike's wife were definitely people I would not socialize with, and even Mike came across a bit too self-righteous for me just because he was a "man's" man or a "lady's" man. Did that justify his extramarital affairs that were all in the name of "helping" his older brother? The narrator, Sheila, is an excellent detective, and would definitely make Jessica Fletcher proud! (Yes, I just dropped an Angela Lansbury reference!)
One of my dear friends, and former co-workers used to live in Boston; thus, hearing her debunk and clarify certain instances, such as the storm to all the counts of child abuse that went unaccounted is interesting. Again, the story within the story.
The writer also made Massachusetts feel like a character in and of itself throughout--I truly felt transported to that amazing state, as well as taking a "long pull" on a beer.
6/100
No comments:
Post a Comment