Patron Saint of Liars

This is my first Ann Patchett, recommended by my voracious but well-informed neighbor. I was swept away by Patchett's prose, her constant, pitch-perfect ability to highlight the telling detail. The characters were infuriating, dear, and captivating by turns.

Enjoyed seeing a true artist shining in her writing craft, and very glad I read it, although the NYT blurb on the cover calling it "A fairy tale. A delight," was very misleading.

I did not find it to be that at all.

Review soon

This book was not very good. It started well and the writing was good but as the story progressed it just got dumb and then dumber. The characters were flat. The main character, Rose, didn't make any sense. You never got to know her and the things she did were inexplicable. There were no explanations and zero character development. She had no personality whatsoever. The plot itself was also pretty dumb and dumber. Plot holes all over the place.

Don't bother.

I've yet to be disappointed by Ann Patchett, but I can see where this book might leave people reeling. After plunging you deeply into the lives of very real characters, it ends somewhat abruptly, without answers. That's part of the beauty of the story though, underlining the idea that we are all fundamentally unknowable, and some secrets will outlive us all.