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Published in USA
May 2011
336 pages
Genre: Novels
Publication Information
In the spring of 2002, a perfect storm hits Boston: trusted priests are accused of the worst possible betrayal. Faith explores the fallout for one devout family.
Estranged from her family, Sheila McGann returns home when her older brother Art - a popular pastor - finds himself at the center of the maelstrom. Her strict mother is in a state of angry denial. Sheila's younger brother, Mike, has convicted his brother in his heart. But most disturbing of all is Art himself, who dodges Sheila's questions and refuses to defend himself.
As secrets begin to surface, Faith explores the corrosive consequences of one family's history of silence - and the resilience it finds through forgiveness. A 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.
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"Starred Review. At its broadest, this is a frank and timely story of familial and institutional heredity; at its most personal, the novel is a devastating portrait of a priest who discovers that he's also a man." - Publishers Weekly
"Initially, the story is told more blandly than one would expect from the fine Haigh... by the end, though, the narrative is emotionally involving and ethically concise, reminding us that things are not always as they seem and that we must consider carefully how we judge others." - Library Journal
"Starred Review. Haigh deals with complex moral issues in subtle ways, and her narrative is beautifully, sometimes achingly poignant." - Kirkus Reviews
"Starred Review. 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
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Jennifer Haigh is a novelist and short story writer. She was born in 1968 in Barnesboro, a Western Pennsylvania coal town 85 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in Cambria County. She attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 2002.
Her fiction has been published in Granta, Ploughshares, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Good Housekeeping, and many other publications. Haigh lives in Boston.
Her first book, Mrs. Kimble, won the 2004 PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction. Her second, Baker Towers, was a New York Times bestseller and won the 2006 PEN/L.L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author. Both have been published in nine languages.
Her more recent works are The Condition (2008), Faith (...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Jennifer Haigh's Website
Name Pronunciation
Jennifer Haigh: The h on the end is silent, so pronounced haig
A love story for things lost and restored, a lyrical hymn to the power of forgiveness.
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