Faith, the spring novel by author Jennifer Haigh, (The Condition,) just hit shelves in paperback.
The Plot
Faith is primarily set in 2002, during the heart of Boston’s Catholic priest scandal. The narrator, Sheila, is the sister of Father Art, a priest accused of molesting a boy in his parish. The topic, ripped from the headlines, could make many readers queasy. Luckily, child molestation or the church for that matter, are not the central pieces of this novel.
Here, Haigh is really writing about faith not necessarily in God but faith in each other, in families. The Breen/McGann family in the novel is a large Irish Catholic group that, for the large part, has fallen away from each other and the church in recent years. Sheila's mother remains faithful to the church and to her family, despite the disappointments she sees in her children. Sheila never married, the one thing she wished for her daughter. Her son, Mike, built a well to do suburbanite family for himself but she questions his true happiness. Her husband, the children's stepfather, Ted, drank so much that he lost his memory. Her son, the priest, Father Art is the only stable member of the family, but with the allegations against him, can anyone in the family keep the faith that he is innocent?
The Narration
Sheila tells Art’s story through various memories - her own, her brother’s, even Art’s. Throughout the novel, she keeps the reader guessing. Did he do this? Did he hurt the child? Simultaneously, she tells the story of her mother, her brother, her stepfather, the mother of the little boy. She paints a portrait of family - what it’s supposed to look like and what it actually is.
Novel Analysis
Haigh is not a perfect writer, and this is far from a perfect book. But this is an engaging book, one that makes for quick, enjoyable reading. Haigh has researched her subject matter well enough to be able to tell the story realistically. This is a read with depth, perfect for the reader looking for something that is not too overwhelming but that also offers substance.
An Excerpt from Faith
“The human heart: its expansions and contractions its electrics and hydraulics the warm tides that move and fill it. For years Art had studied it from a safe distance from many perspectives...he listened in fascination and revulsion, in envy and pity. He dispensed canned wisdom, a little scripture. He sent them on their way with a prayer.”
Sources:
Faith, Jennifer Haigh, 9780060755812, Harper Perennial, 2011
Ashley Wilbourn Pinciaro - Ashley Pinciaro received a M.A. in journalism from Emerson College in 2009 and has since worked for media platforms throughout New ...
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