FAITH: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
FAITH

BY JENNIFER HAIGH

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When Sheila McGann sets out to redeem her disgraced brother, a once-beloved Catholic priest in suburban Boston, her quest will force her to confront cataclysmic truths about her fractured Irish-American family, her beliefs, and, ultimately, herself. Award-winning author Jennifer Haigh follows her critically acclaimed novels Mrs. Kimble and The Condition with a captivating, vividly rendered portrait of fraying family ties, and the trials of belief and devotion, in Faith.

It is the spring of 2002 and a perfect storm has hit Boston. Across the city's archdiocese, trusted priests have been accused of the worst possible betrayal of the souls in their care. In Faith, Jennifer Haigh explores the fallout for one devout family, the McGanns.

Estranged for years from her difficult and demanding relatives, Sheila McGann has remained close to her older brother Art, the popular, dynamic pastor of a large suburban parish. When Art finds himself at the center of the maelstrom, Sheila returns to Boston, ready to fight for him and his reputation. What she discovers is more complicated than she imagined. Her strict, lace-curtain-Irish mother is living in a state of angry denial. Sheila's younger brother Mike, to her horror, has already convicted his brother in his heart. But most disturbing of all is Art himself, who persistently dodges Sheila's questions and refuses to defend himself.

As the scandal forces long-buried secrets to surface, Faith explores the corrosive consequences of one family's history of silence—and the resilience its members ultimately find in forgiveness. Throughout, Haigh demonstrates how the truth can shatter our deepest beliefs—and restore them. A gripping, suspenseful tale of one woman's quest for the truth, Faith is a haunting meditation on loyalty and family, doubt and belief. Elegantly crafted, sharply observed, this is Jennifer Haigh's most ambitious novel to date.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer Haigh is the author of the New York Times bestseller Baker Towers, winner of the 2006 PEN/L. L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author; Mrs. Kimble, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction and was a finalist for the Book Sense Book of the Year; and The Condition.

Her fiction has appeared in Granta, Ploughshares, Good Housekeeping, and elsewhere. She lives in the Boston area.

For more about Jennifer, be sure and visit her website HERE.Photo by Asia Kepka

PRAISE FOR FAITH:

“A masterpiece of tension and tenderness.”

— More magazine  “Luminous. . . . The novel has the magnetic, page-turning quality of a detective thriller, but the clues here lead not to objective proof but to insight into a family both vividly specific and astonishingly universal. . . . . Wise.”— O magazine  “Haigh deals with complex moral issues in subtle ways, and her narrative is beautifully, sometimes achingly poignant.”— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)  “With an exquisite sense of drama and mystery, Haigh delivers a taut, well-crafted tale. . . . Indelibly rendered characters, suspenseful pacing, and fearless but sensitive handling of a controversial subject will make this a must-read for book discussion groups.”— Booklist (starred review)  “Haigh’s fourth novel draws you in. . . . You’ll be hypnotized until you know where it stops.”— Self  "[Haigh is] an expert natural storyteller with an acute sense of her characters' humanity." 

—New York Times 
 "We have the intriguing possibility that the next great American author is already in print." 

—Fort Worth Star-Telegram 
GUEST REVIEW:

Guest Review today by Carol Wong. 
 

Words cannot express how powerful this book is. I am amazed at Jennifer's Haigh's skill at building complex characters and evoking emotions in her writing.

I have read that everyone who is Catholic should read this book but I am not Catholic. Rather, my grandmother had Irish origins and was Catholic. I can remember my mother's reluctance for us to go to grandmother's house because of her inclination to break loose in a rousing untamed Irish song.

This book makes a person think about several issues that the Catholic Church still faces today. It also brings up the religious concept of faith and also the question of faith in family members. If told that your brother or sister did something horrible beyond belief would you still have faith in him or her? Or would you let doubts creep in? Would you believe what others say of your sibling?

'Faith' also brings into light the incredible depth of complexity in family life and history. Too often families are portrayed too simply in literature. Jennifer Haigh shows that people are the sum of so many experiences and interactions with others, internal thoughts and even more.

In 2002, the Archdiocese of Boston was embroiled in a shocking sexual scandal and later found to be involved in a cover-up. Jennifer Haigh thought about the family when she wrote this book. What would happen to the family of the accused when the news got out?

Sheila McGann is the narrator, the questioner, and the investigator in this story. As a loving and admiring sister, she had to know - did her half-brother, Father Arthur Breen, really do what he was accused of? While trying to find out, she laid bare her family's deepest secrets.

I felt myself squirming through the first third of this book because the family secrets that she knew and those she uncovered were so personal, painful and heartbreaking that I felt like an intruder. I had to remind myself that this is fiction because all the characters were so real to me.

Jennifer Haigh begins the story with the background of Sheila's broken family. Arthur was the only child of Harry and Mary Breen. Harry Breen used to come home right after work but then he started to stay out late after playing cards. One night, when Arthur was still a baby, he just didn't come home. That marriage was annulled and the second one lasted but only because Mary and the kids learned how to survive on and off temper displays and excessive drinking. From that second marriage, Sheila and her younger brother Mike were born.

Jennifer Haigh explores the dynamics of this family and how the older brother Arthur's experiences growing up were so different than Sheila and Mike. The story of her family becomes more emotionally charged and riveting as you read on. Each family member had a different opinion as to whether Arthur was guilty. The suspense was very riveting. As more and more secrets are revealed you may have feeling for the truth but you will also be surprised. I had trouble laying the book down. In fact, I went to sleep and got up at four in the morning to finish the book. The family details are so vivid intimate and realistic that you can do nothing but feel the pain and grief of the family.

You must read this book!

MORE ABOUT MY GUEST REVIEWER AND MY THOUGHTS ABOUT FAITH:
Carol is retired, an avid reader, and lives in the Dallas area with her husband and two cockatiels. She has a son currently working in Chengdu, China. To see a complete "bio" on Carol, visit (and enter) her first review, PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOM, HERE.
When Jennifer Haigh won the PEN/Hemingway Award in 2004 for debut fiction, for her first book, Mrs. Kimble, it didn't surprise me.  I thought it was one of the best books I had read that year. Now Jennifer has come out with another winner in my mind, and I see also in Guest Reviewer Carol Wong's, as well. FAITH questions people’s true beliefs and dedication in a fascinating and brilliantly portrayed novel of what holds families together and what can tear them apart. I hope all of you get a chance to read this latest from Jennifer Haigh. 

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO MARK AND THE GOOD FOLKS
AT HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHING, I HAVE
3 HARDBACK COPIES OF THIS AMAZING
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY TO MY READERS

--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE, AND THE VIDEO YOU LISTENED TO, THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK THAT I CAN FOLLOW

+1 MORE ENTRIES: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ON JENNIFER HAIGH'S WEBSITE HERE 

+1 (or +?) MORE ENTRIES: COMMENT ON ONE WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU ARE A GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT FOLLOWER GIVE YOURSELF +2 ENTRIES. YOU MAY ALSO GIVE YOURSELF +1 ENTRY FOR ANY OTHER WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW...BE SURE TO COMMENT SEPARATELY

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, JUNE 2

GOOD LUCK!