Saints for All Occasions: A novel

The writing style is simple. A lot of telling and not much showing, in short sentences with simple words. Details of the times and places created a believable Irish Catholic world. I appreciated those details, but felt I was learning about this family more than I was caring about them.

The book was well structured and I liked the author's writing (the first book I read from her) but I didn't care much for the story. The book was a bit too slow for my taste and the ending was very disappointing.

I picked this book because of my Irish heritage and was not disappointed! I could see so many likenesses to my own family--Nora could have been my grandmother. It was a storyline that drew me in from the start with the sisters crossing on the ship to Nora being the sister in charge while Theresa was anxious to take advantage of all America had to offer. I liked the structure of the book, too, with the chapters going forward & backwards to weave the story. It was a grand Irish tale!

The story of Nora and her family is touching. The characters, especially Nora, are well developed. The story weaves through time (from the forties to present day) and touches on several themes, including, immigration, the Catholic Church, motherhood and family. It is definitely worth a read.

Enjoyed this complicated in depth look at an Irish Catholic family principally of the two sisters - one who chose a loveliness marriage to protect the other who became a nun. Very absorbing except for the last section which I found to be a little over written.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. From the Irish beginnings to the contemporary issues, this story kept me engrossed. The author had a wonderful way of developing the plot and drawing you into each characters back story. Those with Irish-Catholic roots will find it extremely relatable. My only disappointment was the somewhat unbalanced view of Catholicism. All priests were portrayed as perverse and all nuns portrayed as disadent. These portrayals are accurate in some cases but not all inclusive, as one without personal experience may believe. These portrayals did crystallized the accuracy of the dichotomy in the Church today, however. Saints for... caused me to consider the Irish Catholic life from the perspective of a cultural catholic living the world's values and why so many fall away from the Faith.