Saints for All Occasions

by J. Courtney Sullivan

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A New York Times Critics' Top Book of 2017
Washington Post 10 Best Books of 2017
A Harper's Bazaar Best Book of 2017

This year's best book about family. --Ron Charles, The Washington Post

A sweeping, unforgettable novel from The New York Times best-selling author of Maine, about the hope, sacrifice, and love between two sisters and the secret that drives them apart.

Nora and Theresa Flynn are twenty-one and seventeen when they leave their small village in Ireland and journey to America. Nora is the responsible sister; she's shy and serious and engaged to a man she isn't sure that she loves. Theresa is gregarious; she is thrilled by their new life in Boston and besotted with the fashionable dresses and dance halls on Dudley Street. But when Theresa ends up pregnant, Nora is forced to come up with a plan--a decision with repercussions they are both far too young to understand.

Fifty years later, Nora is the matriarch of a big Catholic family with four grown children: John, a successful, if opportunistic, political consultant; Bridget, quietly preparing to have a baby with her girlfriend; Brian, at loose ends after a failed baseball career; and Patrick, Nora's favorite, the beautiful boy who gives her no end of heartache. Estranged from her sister, Theresa is a cloistered nun, living in an abbey in rural Vermont. Until, after decades of silence, a sudden death forces Nora and Theresa to confront the choices they made so long ago.

A graceful, supremely moving novel from one of our most beloved writers, Saints for All Occasions explores the fascinating, funny, and sometimes achingly sad ways a secret at the heart of one family both breaks them and binds them together.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Book Club, Ireland, Audiobook, Family, Literary Fiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2017

About the author

J. Courtney Sullivan is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Commencement, Maine, The Engagements, and Saints For All Occasions. Maine was named a Best Book of the Year by Time magazine, and a Washington Post Notable Book for 2011. The Engagements was one of People Magazine’s Top Ten Books of 2013 and an Irish Times Best Book of the Year. It is soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon and distributed by Fox 2000, and it will be translated into 17 languages. Saints For All Occasions, was named one of the ten best books of the year by the Washington Post, a New York Times Critic’s Pick for 2017, and a New England Book Award nominee. Her fifth novel, Friends and Strangers, will be published in June 2020. Courtney’s writing has also appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Chicago Tribune, New York magazine, Elle, Glamour, Allure, Real Simple, and O: The Oprah Magazine, among many others. She is a co-editor, with Courtney Martin, of the essay anthology Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists. In 2017, she wrote the forewords to new editions of two of her favorite children’s books: Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. A Massachusetts native, Courtney now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. I has been quite a while since I have read a family generational novel, a family​ drama if you will, though in this the drama is kept to a minimum, at least in the telling. Two sisters, Nora 21 and Theresa arrive from Ireland, they have traveled alone so that Nora can marry her boyfriend who had arrived previously. Let's just say that things do not work out as planned and the two sisters will take different paths, but always connected by a secret.

I loved the way this story was told, so natural and unassuming. The way the author uses the framing of a death to tell her story of lives lived. Fell in love with these characters, their past, their personalities, flawed and so very real, felt as if they could he family members we get to know them so well. Parts take place in a contemplative Abbey and I enjoyed learning of the lives of the sisters who lived within.

Secrets, the complicated roles of family members, feelings, thoughts, the families we make and the families we are born to are all themes. How an unexpected happening can affect our personalities and the roles we assume in the future. The changes that result and that we must find a life despite our choices. I loved so much about this book, a book whose situations called for drama and yet the author manages to hold back, not let the story descend into a soap opera. Was quite sad to let these characters go, but so glad to have read their story.

[Always Pouting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nora is Theresa's older sister and constantly worries about Theresa, especially since their mother died. Nora feels like it is her responsibility to take care of Theresa and so when Nora's fiance moves to the US Nora asks him to send for both her and Theresa. Charlie, Nora's fiance, eventually saves up enough for both sisters to come over from Ireland and the two journey out together. Theresa is excited for all the opportunities available to her and begins to pursue her education, meanwhile Nora struggles with her new life and promise to marry Charlie. Then when Theresa makes a mistake Nora steps up to take care of it and Theresa which means having to marry Charlie. The story interweaves the past and the present, where Nora in the present day must deal with the death of her eldest son Patrick, who had always been her favorite and the fall out between her and Theresa.

I really enjoyed this family drama, I usually tend to enjoy family dramas for whatever reason. The writing was really great and I loved both sisters. The story felt like it lost some steam towards the end but it might be because it was building up to Theresa and Nora's reconciliation and so once Theresa actually showed up at Patrick's funeral and nothing really happened it felt anticlimactic. It was realistic but I'm not sure how satisfying it was but I guess there's never any neat closure in life is there. I do think its really unfair of Theresa though to try and make the decision for Nora about telling Patrick because it doesn't feel like it's her place to do so anymore. Even though she never gave him up willingly, I just feel like she should have been much more appreciative of what Nora did for her and gave up for her. I don't think Theresa would have been able to take care of Patrick as well in the situation. It was really enjoyable to read this though, even though religion tends to turn me off in books. The plot line and ideas behind the book aren't unique ones but they're executed well.

Also before I go I want to say that John is underappreciated and I'm so sad about it, like why doesn't anyone else love John the way I do, John deserves all the love.

[Yun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had Saints for All Occasions in my physical to-read pile for a while now. I keep picking it up due to the great reviews, and then putting it down again after reading the book jacket, wondering if there is enough in this book to keep my attention. I'm so glad I finally took the plunge and read this beautiful book.

It's a multi-generation story that starts out with sisters Nora and Theresa. As their lives take unexpected turns and fill with hardships, each has to make difficult decisions and sacrifices, which in turn drives them away from each other. It's not until tragedy strikes that they come together once again.

I really enjoyed the portrayals of family relationships in this book, in all their complexities and subtleties. Each person in the family has their own views and expectations, while bringing with them lots of baggage. As a result, each relationship is fraught with all that is left unsaid and unknown. Sullivan gently probes and explores that side-by-side with the power of love and the bonds of family.

I'm so glad I picked up this eloquent and moving book. While the topic isn't one that would normally interest me, I found this to be no less riveting and compelling due to it, largely because of the author's vividly graceful writing and astute perspectives on relationships. This is the first book I've read by Sullivan, and I'm definitely going to pick up more books by her.

[Dem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every now and then a book comes along that is so good you think the author must have written it "with just ME in Mind" Well I think courtney Sullivan wrote this book just for me as I loved every moment spent with this novel and I am starting to miss the characters already.
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The Story of Irish Immigration is always close to my heart and I never tire of Non fiction accounts or Historical fiction done well and not too IRISHED up. I think Courtney Sullivan gets it right, this was Ireland of the 50s, this was Irish Immigration of the 50s and this was the Irish settling in America and raising their American Children in the 60s/70s and I have listened to numerous Aunts and Uncles stories over the years and Saints for all Occasions captures the Journey, the emotions and feel of the time for me. The plot is well paced and entertaining and the characters are real Irish Women, living in fear of the church, of their families, their communities and mostly in fear of themselves. Making do with.....and putting up with...... just to safe face. I loved the characters of Nora and Theresa and their complicated relationships with each other and their families.

I rated this Book 5 stars because its just a good old fashioned story, beautifully written, that touched me and I found myself looking forward to picking up this book every evening to learn more about the Flynn sisters.

I think this would make an interesting book club as so much to discuss in this one.


I think there is one teeny tiny error at the beginning of the novel, but its too teeny tiny to even mention

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death reunites Irish Immigrants.....and not without a complicated story!

Since I’m Jewish - I had to work harder in trying to understand the title of this book.
For one thing - I wasn’t sure what “Saints” were referring to. Seems to me - with so many disheartening unhappy characters - these Iris Catholics - might have wished personal visits from their holy-saints!

DEATH .....of *Patrick*- first born child - was considered Nora’s FAVORITE child. We are told towards the start of this novel. Red flags went up for me - “what type of mother so easily says they have a favorite child”? - Then I thought about the name: Patrick...
“Saint Patrick”? “Saint Patrick of Ireland”....& “American born”. My mind was going batty - so I needed to stop thinking - and just keep reading. I was pulled in right away - which I always appreciate.......
........It’s just that it took me a long time to stop thinking about Patrick because his birth was literally and figuratively life changing - for many. His death was tragic-but we know so little about him. We know more about the pain his birth and death created for others - those who loved him.
In the meantime —- there was a WHOLE LOT OF LIVING GOING ON WITH THE REST OF THE FAMILY!

Nora and Theresa are sisters — They are different as sisters can be ( anybody who has a sister ‘directly’ understands - or a mother of two daughters knows this first hand too).....So- it’s no different in Courtney Sullivan’s novel:

Nora is the older sister- considers herself responsible - accountable- and I might add contributed to her sister and children’s suffering - suppression- and secrets.
As far as her husband - Charlie — he was pretty much chopped liver from the get go.
He was an incidental underdeveloped character, but Nora needed a husband to make those babies. His death didn’t cause much pause in the grand scheme of this story. The heart of this story belongs to the two sisters .....so many lost years between them - resentments- withheld communications - but mostly—- their love was suppressed by the circumstances of their choices and pride.

I really felt sad thinking about these sisters. My own two daughters - different as night and day - aren’t close. I love them both .. they both have full active successful passionate careers — live hundreds of miles away from each other. Years go by without them having much of a relationship. I can’t force a close relationship on them - all I can do is love them both. - and of course I wish things were a little brighter for them ‘together’.
Me- on the other hand —I’m connected at the hip with my sister —- I love her so much at times it hurts. We know each other better than anyone in the world. We share a history from our childhood - not an easy one - but one that only she and I know - as we do.

THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT BOOKS - ABOUT *SISTERS* - that touch some of us ( YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE)>> very deeply. We look at their problems with bigger eyes.

Theresa- the younger sister was much more organically gregarious than Nora- however - once an Irish-sin was discovered ( and I didn’t see any saints coming to save the day), Theresa wasn’t her perky-bouncy-dancing butterfly any longer. She decides to runaway but promises to return. First she becomes a teacher -( something Nora really had wished to be) - and later turns to her religious faith —and finds solice as a cloistered nun. But while Theresa becomes peaceful in her own skin having let go of anger— Nora wore a scarf of bitterness. At times Nora took off her bitterness scarf- but it was never far away from her. Sad really— but I guess she represented a type of Irish women of the times. Irish novels continue to expand my awareness through their history and culture. I’ve come to love reading about families and community from Ireland.

Just because Nora and Theresa stopped talking to one another for thirty years - doesn’t mean they weren’t carrying around the heavy weight of each other....
anger- resentments- sadness-guilt-fear-memories upon memories -egos - and deep down love and forgiveness. I suppose those SAINTS ‘were’floating around in this novel.....’very quietly’.

Nora raised 4 kids: Besides Patrick, her favorite- who was drunk at the wheel of a car when he died- each of her other adult children suffered quietly with problems and or secrets.
John, the politician....but working for the opposition party —
Bridget...who was gay - hasn’t told her mother - but really? Nora was in denial- she knew.
and Brian...he was a little lost in the world - he was bartending for his brother Patrick, at the time of his death.

I got a lot of value from this book. As a pure family relationship novel - it was as excellent as any I’ve read.....but with the added element of this Irish Catholic World....
It was inspiring to know that religious conservative taboos were changing - and continued to change.

I was reminded - again - of how much I learned and enjoyed “The Heart’s Invisible Furies”, by John Boyne.....
This story is very different— yet both books gave me a deep appreciation to how far the Irish people have come in opening up their minds and hearts. I don’t know if I will ever understand- the injustices in the Irish history - but I am moved when I see growth. There HAS been growth!!!

There is not a perfect happily ever after ending in this novel- yet we see possibilities!

Cheers to the Irish! Cheers to sisters - families - forgiveness and redemption.....
Wonderful novel!!!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 for this Irish Catholic family drama. Nora and her sister Theresa are very young and are coming over to America from Ireland, Nora on the promise of marriage to a childhood friend and Theresa to hopefully become a teacher.
Things don't go smoothly and we see such sacrifice, and learn about the unbreakable bonds of family.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Love, dreams, sacrifice and family are the themes at the core of Courtney Sullivan’s latest novel, ” Saints for All Occasions,” a story of two families from the small village of Miltown Malbay in Ireland, whose children leave their village for the hopes and dreams associated with a new life in America. One family sends their son ahead to set his new life in motion, so that when his bride-to-be and her sister arrive, everything will be easier for them. Beginning in the year 1957, this travels back and forth in time between 1957 and 2009. Time enough for the young women who left to no longer be the wide-eyed innocents they once were.

”Once, a circus had come to Miltown Malbay. Everyone gasped as an elephant ambled down the Flag Road. Nora thought then that it was the most extraordinary thing she would see in her life, but she had been mistaken.”

Nora is betrothed to Charlie, who has a plan to go ahead to Boston and get them situated, and then send for Nora. Nora, who would have preferred not to leave her home in Ireland, and isn’t quite sure she likes Charlie well enough to consider marrying him anyway, knows what is expected of her, and so she agrees to go, on the condition she can bring her younger sister, Theresa, telling Charlie before he set off for America: “I could never to go Boston without my sister.”

A year later, Charlie sends for twenty-one year-old Nora and her seventeen year-old sister, Theresa, his letters filled with wonder over the advances of life in America.

”I’ll never get used to how different it is. You turn a knob on the kitchen sink and hot water flows right out. There’s no carrying water from the pump, or boiling it in the kettle to clean the clothes. That’s just one of a million little miracles that everyone here takes for granted. You won’t believe it, Nora. I can’t wait for you to see.”

Where Nora is earnest and dependable, life is still a party waiting for her arrival to Theresa. Life has a way of interrupting plans, and one party too many, one handsome man to lead her a bit astray and whoopsie-daisy, a bit like an old rope skipping chant, first came lust, then came… um… … and then came someone with a baby carriage. A slight variation leaving out the bit about marriage.

A family secret that will be carried on for years begins, and fifty years later, Nora is the reigning matriarch of this family, with her four children grown, all raised and schooled in the Catholic Church. Theresa no longer goes by her given name, but has chosen a quiet, cloistered life in an abbey in Vermont.

Family stories like this can become too convoluted when too many generations are added in, we tend to get lost as the original family multiplies beyond our ability to follow, or, quite frankly, care. This felt just right to me, with the addition of the children grown and beginning to add to the family with significant others / spouses, children by birth or adoption – in other words, a family. There is some conflict, some heartache, but mostly there is a lot of love, with characters you will draw closer to, and love.

Having visited with friends who live in Miltown Malbay on my last trip to Ireland, it was nice to read about a spot of Ireland I’ve been to, which really added to the charm of this for me.

[JanB · Rating 4 out of 5]

4+ stars!

A multi-generational family saga that follows two Irish sisters, Nora and Theresa, who immigrate to the U.S. from Ireland at a young age. One sister, the quiet, responsible one, arrives to wed through a pre-arranged marriage, while the other sister is a free spirit. Not surprisingly they take different paths in life, some quite surprising. Decisions are made and secrets are kept that have a life-long impact and threaten family bonds.

I love the way the author writes, in a quiet, unassuming way that is deeply emotional. I enjoyed the alternate points of view and fell in love with this family, flaws and all.

Highly recommended!

[Margitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somewhere between Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín and Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg, The Saints for All Occasions nestles comfortably into the family drama genre.

Nora and Theresa Flynn left Miltown Malbay in Ireland for Boston, America. Nora, the serious, responsible, shy twenty-one year old girl, promised to marry Charles Rafferty upon her arrival, but insisted on taking her seventeen-year-old sister with her since she promised her mother to take care of her siblings when the latter passed away many years earlier.

Thus began this family saga of two sisters in America, and the path their lives would take in the Fifties.

Jump to 2009, fifty years later, when Dora had four grown-up children, and Theresa was Mother Cecilia in a rural Vermont abbey. And Patrick died in a tragic accident. And suddenly, there were more questions than answers for Nora's remaining children, John, Bridget and Brian. Hidden behind their own intricate, multidimensional lives, they all cached a secret regret that was difficult to share with matriarch Dora who had the most secrets of them all. One of them was the Miraculous Medal around Patrick's neck. The medal she insisted he should take with him to his grave.

The simplicity of manner, in terms of prose style, becomes complicated when the subject of Roman Catholic symbolism are thrown into the family hardships. It's not really hardships. It is more like each character's challenges to survive the family dynamics and their own social environments. Each child took a different path, leaving the family with only one adopted grandchild from Chinese descend who were baptized as Maeve Rafferty.

Like most novels with a religious plot point, it felt too much like being drowned in a bucket of subject being tilted over the reader's head. However, it was still interesting enough to speed-read the endless religious politics behind the scenes and get on with the story. The book dragged as a result. The writing was excellent.

What I really loved about this book is the deeply humane characters and the analysis of each person's story. In the end Patrick's death was like the rope in the harbor which snapped, causing them all to lose a few toes and forever limp slightly as a result. The experience left them more grounded in their own lives, and changed the way they knew their mother Nora. She was a woman who took care of them and their secrets in her own uncompromising, stern way, because that was what loves was in her book. She did not teach them loyalty, she lived it, and saved them all from themselves. Finally, life became whole again for them all.

A wonderful, heartwarming, beautiful, uplifting story. The blurb describes the novel the best.

RECOMMENDED!

[Brandice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like J. Courtney Sullivan's other three novels, I really, really liked Saints for All Occasions.

The story is focused around two sisters, Nora and Theresa, and the decisions they make that shape the rest of their lives, including other family members as they get older and the family grows. The story alternates between the past and the present and this is executed very well. It was easy to imagine and sympathize with the conflicting feelings from both sisters and their alternative points of view - each deeply feeling the sacrifices they made, while trying to also feel for and understand the other one's point of view.

"One of life's contradictions: how human beings were entirely resilient yet impossibly fragile. One decision could stay with you forever, and yet you could live through almost anything."

I enjoy well-done family dramas and Saints for All Occasions was no exception. I liked the way the story finished, with the individual characters' story lines, and the overall outcome.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book you will either love or hate. You'll love it because it's like stepping into a real-life family where you get to see all their faults and yet still the ties that still hold them all together. Or you'll hate it because you keep waiting for a plot to go somewhere, for something dramatic to happen, for some kind of revelation. Looking at my rating, I obviously fell into the 'love it' end of the spectrum.

If there are two 'weaknesses' I have when it comes to books, it would be epistolary novels and character-study novels. This one is the latter. I don't want to say too much more about this, because the book's "plot" doesn't have much to spoil so it's best to go into this kind of blind. But I will say if you like this kind of thing, check out my character-study-plot shelf, you might find some other books you'd enjoy!

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a thing about nuns. I love them. I'm not Catholic, I don't know any nuns personally, but, unlike fictional priests, who are usually portrayed as evil men corrupted by their power, nuns are always good. They are the helpers, sweet and kind. Even as a child, it sounded great to me to leave the world behind and go live in a monastery. The only thing holding me back was that religious requirement.

I also wanted to be Irish when I was a kid. Big families, lots of laughing, vivacious, red-headed, outgoing people with great lilting accents. Again, all fictional, I never knew any actual Irish.

Saints for All Occasions gave me all those things, and a great story besides. A Family Saga of the best sort. Secrets and lies, things we don't know that change trajectories of lives, unbeknownst to the characters involved. Lovable, flawed characters that I cared about because, as a reader, I knew things that others did not. Such great dialogue:

"Live long enough, and life teaches you that God is not your lucky rabbit foot".

" It was so nice to be on the cusp of parenthood, to be able to judge other people's choices with confidence, not yet having made any mistakes of your own".

"Motherhood was a physical act as much as an emotional one. It took every part of you".

"The moment a woman was born determined so much of who she was allowed to become".

And this perfect description of marriage: "Now she saw that marriage was like being in a three-legged race with the same person for the rest of your life. Your hopes, your happiness, your luck, your moods, all yoked to his".

Thanks, Wyndy, for the recommendation. And, even though I'm not Catholic, I'd still like to have a Wake when I die. Party me out. Remember the fun.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing how the people and places that once mattered most would vanish and still you carried on.

I'm not sure it's possible to be born and raised on the South Shore and not find yourself absolutely enchanted by this novel. Just yesterday my friend was complaining that a local restaurant didn't have a Guinness tap. "There are more Irish here than there are in Ireland." she said.

This story spoke to my soul. I know these people and I am these people...a careful mix of politeness, faith, gravitas, guilt, strength, Catholicism, loyalty, alcoholism, and secrets. Everything about this one was authentically spot-on, even down to the secret that it never revealed to its readers in the end. I admit my bias as I award the full 5 stars, but the writing, character development, and story truly deserve it.




I will drop these quotes here for my fellow Bostonians:

When someone in the family died, they learned more about that person than they ever had before.

She said real Catholics didn't get cremated.

She had long known that in this family the truth got revealed belatedly, accidentally, drunkenly, or not at all.

Her voice dripped with the sad enthusiasm of a tragedy junkie. Eileen could go on for hours talking gleefully about someone else's divorce or heart attack or house fire. She lived for days like this one.

When they were kids, a ridiculous doll sat on the toilet lid with an enormous crocheted skirt like Scarlett O'Hara's. Under the skirt was a single roll of toilet paper.

The perfect drinker was the one who could go on all night, never getting sloppy but never being dull either. Switching over to seltzer was considered a character flaw, but so was falling backward off the barstool.

Who among us didn't have parents with a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a crucifix above the bed? An Infant of Prague statue with the velvet robe? A claddagh ring and a St. Christopher medal?
Also, it bears mentioning, as others have, that the narrator struggled with the Boston accent and often produced something that sounded much more New York, mainly with the female characters. We won't hold that against her though as it is an art form;)

[Britany · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Technically, I finished this book in 3 days. BUT, I had already started it and didn't want to bring a halfway finished book on my 2 week vacation (booknerd problems?).

I do not remember this author's writing holding this much clout, but man was I wrong. I was hesitant to add this one to my list, as when I read Maine I wasn't overly impressed. This book brings us to the shores of Ireland when sisters- Theresa & Nora Flynn grow up, make mistakes, and decide to immigrate over to Massachusetts. One tough decision sends the relationship into dis-repair and heartbreak. Theresa becomes sister Cecelia- living amongst the minimal standings of the Abbey in Vermont, while Nora is forced to take the more traditional route of getting married and having a family-- but is she happy?

The characters are so well drawn, I could feel the tensions, frustrations, and inner demons. My heart grew and broke over and over again watching these families self destruct in ways only families can. I'm so impressed with Sullivan's writing and the slow way she built this novel. It literally broke my heart over and over again. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough because as much as this was a character study, there was also a solid plot that kept you turning the pages, as you discovered little links that tied together the entire picture as you kept reading. I did shed a few tears as I closed this book, but I'm not sure if it's simply because I wasn't ready for this story to end.

[switterbug (Betsey) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first seventy or so pages of this Irish family saga is concise, droll, tough, and tender, and introduces us to immigrants Nora Flynn and younger sister Theresa, who moved from Ireland to Boston (Dorchester) in the mid-1950s. Nora, 21 and four years older than Theresa, has been very protective of her younger sister since their mother died. They leave their widowed father and brother behind, promising to return to the country they love once they find jobs and raise enough money. But over fifty years later, Nora remains near Boston, while Theresa is a cloistered nun in Vermont.

As the novel opens, it is 2009, and Nora is the mother of four adult children. It is the oldest, Patrick, who she adores the most, despite his reckless and lazy lifestyle and boozy habits. She gets a phone call that he has died in a car accident, which unglues her, and subsequently she makes an impulsive call to the convent where Theresa has lived for the past half century, and leaves a message informing her of Patrick’s death and inviting her to the funeral. It is obvious that they are estranged. The rest of the novel covers the past and the present and gradually tells us the story of their falling out.

I was sucked into the interior--and exterior-- life of Nora, an initially complex character with her mixture of family devotion and repression. She is in denial that her forty-year-old daughter is gay, despite the indisputable clues. Her son, John, a Democrat, has made a bundle working for a Republican that he knew from childhood, a slick politician who makes Nora apoplectic. Brian is a has-been baseball player struck down by various injuries while en route to stardom. He works at Patrick's bar and lives back at home with Nora. Nora’s husband is several years dead now, and all the secrets of Nora’s past are busting at the seams to get out. "There was always time to get rid of your ghosts." And now time is closing in on Nora.

The nascent pages held me in its grip. Lean, and with a terse tempo and gallows humor. I was glued to the events and the dropped little reveals. But then it turned into melodrama. It became static and clingy, including the characters. Theresa goes from one extreme to another, which is about as interesting these days as stripper to saved.

Other than Nora, who eventually became a parody of herself, this 50+ year span became repetitive, depleted by all the filler. It was just more of the same. The children, except maybe for Bridget, were wafer-thin portrayals. What happened off stage and referred to later (or thrown in) felt labored and inconsequential after Sullivan ran over it several times. Mundane events stood on ceremony and then withered to monotony, and the dry humor gave way to treacle sentiment and info dumps.

I kept hoping it would capture the vitality and crisp flow of the beginning seventy or so pages, only to be disappointed by a baggy follow-through. I chose this book because I’m a fan of her witty and authentic last novel, THE ENGAGEMENTS. Sullivan is capable of an artful, exciting narrative, but this one doesn’t live up to her previous talents. The best analogy I can give is that, if this were television, it would be network TV, not cable.
2.75 stars

[Jessica J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

On paper, this book is about a group of people whose lives are phenomenally different from my own. And maybe it was just because of some conversations I’ve had recently, but their experiences and psychological development so weirdly mirrored by own that I often thought I was reading about my own family. J. Courtney Sullivan burrowed into a very tiny place in my heart with this book. Reading it had a profound effect on me and reminded me why I love reading so effing much.

There are many elements of this story that readers have seen a zillion times before: Irish immigrants settling into life in America, once-close sisters divided by secrets, a family gathering to mourn as each member ruminates on his or her own baggage. Even the characters are variations on familiar themes: the unfeeling Irish mother, a washed-up baseball player running a Boston bar, and a golden boy son working on a political campaign for a Republic Mormon looking to be governor of Massachusetts.

It’s like Instructions for a Heatwave, Brooklyn, and Let the Great World Spin got together and made a baby that likes to make references that my husband called Massachusetts fan fiction (Cheers, Mitt Romney, etc).

And, yet, this book works so well as its own little beast. Sullivan has drawn characters whose types we’ve seen before but who still manage to feel fresh and real and multidimensional.

It starts out as the story of two Irish-born sisters arriving in Boston from in the 1950s. Nora is coming to meet her fiance Charlie and is bringing her younger sister Theresa in the hopes of providing her with new opportunities. When Theresa finds herself pregnant, Nora and Charlie send her to a home for unwed mothers but eventually decide to raise the baby as their own. Fifty years later, Nora is a widowed mother of four, Theresa is a nun living in an abbey in Vermont, and they haven’t spoken in years.

The book bounces back and forth between the children growing up and an unexpected death in 2009, as Nora’s grown children come together and we learn, piece by piece, exactly how the falling out happened and the long-term effects on each member of the family.

The title of the book and the fact that one of the main characters becomes a nun suggests that religion is one of the major themes of this book--and it is, to an extent. But the idea that really resonated with me is, “Someone could save your life without you ever knowing it. It happened more than most people realized.”

Nora was a very stereotypical Irish Mother, strict and short on outward displays of emotion or affection. Her children do not even know that she has a sister, much less an estranged one living in a nunnery. She and Charlie made many big decisions and played them close to the chest, resulting in some long-simmering resentments between the children who don’t have all of the information.

The purpose of this book isn’t necessarily to uncover all the secrets in a big, twisty reveal. Nor is it to give these haunted characters closure. If that’s what you’re looking for here, you’re going to walk away disappointed. It’s a much quieter novel than that, but that’s what I loved about it. I could relate so much to the experiences of these adult children, their attempts to piece together an understanding of their parents’ behavior and to piece together an identity of their own. Seeing these characters reach their own levels of understanding broke my heart, but it also filled me with a small burst of hope. I thought it was phenomenal.

[Lori Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed! I loved both Nora and Theresa. Their rocky relationship was heartbreaking, but understandable given the circumstances. I do sympathize greatly with both women’s positions. This novel is most importantly about family and the sacrifices made that are sometimes never realized. It is funny how no matter how old you are, when you’re back with the people & places from your youth you are immediately transported back to the person you felt you were then. I’m not sure that I’m completely satisfied with how it ended... I wanted more closure. However, maybe Sullivan ended it this way so that we as readers could decide our own vision of how the story ends. 4.5 stars.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A family saga novel about two Irish sisters who travel to America to make a new life. Nora's fiancé is already there and pays for them to come and join him. Her sister, Theresa, joyfully starts a new life but Nora is homesick and hesitant. Nora and Charlie go on to have four children and Theresa surprisingly becomes a cloistered nun. They go their separate ways.

At 50, Nora's oldest son, Patrick is killed and the family reunites for his wake and funeral. It is this gathering that the book centers. People look back on their lives and how they got to where they are.

It's a little drawn out and unfortunately I feel like I've read it before. There's nothing new, nothing really insightful, and nothing that really holds your attention. I just kept wishing the funeral would end. Still if you life family sagas, you might enjoy this

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank Edelweiss, Knopf Publishing, and J. Courtney Sullivan for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. 1950's Ireland where teenagers Nora and her sister Theresa, embark on a journey to Boston, seeking a better life. Nora reluctantly accepts her boyfriends marriage proposal only after she discovers her younger sister pregnant, with the intention of adopting Theresa's baby. This tale spans multiple decades, covering the life choices that each of these women make. Although I was not impressed with the story itself, the writing was stellar.

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Family drama, secrets, relationships.....how they all form us, especially the secrets we don't even know.
I like an immigration story. Within the family story, is the story of making a new life in a strange & new land. The difficulties and joys of this are blended with the difficulties and joys of raising a family, finding a source of contentment, finding a purpose in Life.
This family is full of interesting, delighful people who we want to get to know

[Holly R W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed reading "Saints for all Occasions". It was a pleasure to become all wrapped up with the large Irish Catholic family that the book was about. Their sorrows, joys and challenges were easy to relate to. At the heart of this sprawling drama are Nora and her sister Theresa. They leave their family behind in Ireland to emigrate to Boston in the U.S., at the tender ages of 21 and 17 years old. Originally, they are very close, but their paths lead them in opposite directions from each other. Nora marries and is consumed with raising her four children. Theresa finds contentment living as a cloistered nun. Neither sister can fully understand the other's life decisions and indeed, they become estranged for long periods of time.

The author, who herself is Irish Catholic, lovingly portrays her characters and makes them quite believable. Along the way, we not only get to know Nora and Theresa, but Nora's husband, children and their significant others. Good books involve the reader. I found myself musing upon their individual situations and struggles. "Saints" spans the 1950's through 2009. It was interesting to watch the characters grow and change through the years.

This is a book that leaves me sorry to see it end.

[Jackie Ullerich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sullivan brings to life the Irish Catholic world. She starts out in 2009 and takes us back to the late 1950s and what Irish immigrants experienced coming to the United States. An amazing portrayal of women. Such a fascinating look into the past. The story is complex, interesting, filled with culture and religion, including the journey of becoming a nun. Family relationships are an integral part of this novel—their dynamics and complexity intertwined in Catholicism. I learned a lot.

Highly recommend!

[Ferdy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really a review, just a bitch session about the main character:

Oh wow, how I loathed Nora, she was seriously unlikable, which would have been okay if she had been even slightly interesting. She was a boring, cold hearted, hard faced, self pitying, obnoxious cow. The way she treated her family pissed me off so much, the blatant favouritism she showed her children was irritating, and she had a constantly bitchy attitude with almost everyone she came in contact with. Worst of all was how everyone pandered to her and fought for her approval and love when she wasn't worthy of any of it.

Why did Nora marry Charlie when she could barely stand him? She criticised him non stop. No-one was forcing her to marry him, she could have backed off at any time but she was too much of a selfish coward to do that. She seriously acted like she was some kind of victim of forced marriage. The only one who had a right to act like a victim was Charlie, he was the one who thought he was marrying someone who loved and wanted him, instead he was stuck with a dull, ungrateful shrew who more or less hated him. If she had been a half decent person she would never have inflicted herself on Charlie and tricked him into a loveless marriage, she deprived him of a real marriage and loving relationship.

Why did Nora only ever consider her own feelings? Other people were suffering and grieving and going through things but not once did she try to empathise or sympathise with anyone else. Everything was always about her, she wanted it all to be her way and for everyone to bow down to her wants and needs. Even Patrick's death was all about her and her feelings, other people loved and missed him but somehow she made it just about her.

I don't know why Nora acted so hard done by when she adopted Patrick. It was her choice to take her sister's baby, her sister never wanted that, she was ready to give Patrick away to a family she didn't know, but Nora being the controlling bitch she was wanted to act the martyr and decided to take Patrick on herself. All it did was create a huge mess and made Theresa's life hellish with her having to watch her son being raised by her awful sister. Yet Nora wanted Theresa to be grateful for the clusterfuck she created and kicked up a fuss every chance she got. I was so hoping someone would deliver Nora some home truths about her despicable behaviour instead of everyone acting like she was a victim.

Nora was a total hypocrite when it came to John/Patrick's feud, she hadn't been on good terms with her sister for decades yet she banged on and on at John to work things out with his brother. She had no right to expect John to just get along with his brother when she couldn't do the same with her sister. Also, John/Patrick's fraught relationship ultimately stemmed from her playing favourites and showing Patrick more love than any of her other kids. Patrick wasn't even Nora's biological child but she still put him before anyone else, she didn't even try to pretend she liked all her kids equally. Ugh, she had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The only saving grace was the other characters, who in comparison were somewhat interesting and likeable.

[Ron Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Saints for All Occasions,” the new novel by J. Courtney Sullivan, is so unassuming that its artistry looks practically invisible. In fact, from the outside, nothing about this story seems noteworthy: Irish Catholics settle in Boston; they drink too much; they struggle with the church; they gather for a loved one’s wake.

That sounds as fresh as a pint of last week’s Guinness.

Which makes this quiet masterpiece all the more impressive. In a simple style that never commits a flutter of extravagance, Sullivan draws us into the lives of the Raffertys, and in the rare miracle of fiction makes us care about them like they were our own family.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this novel is its. . . . .

To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nora and Theresa Flynn are only twenty-one and seventeen when they leave their native Ireland and immigrate to the U.S. For her entire life, Nora has been the quintessential older sister, raising Theresa and their younger brother after the death of their mother. Now she's headed to Boston to be married to their former Irish neighbor, Charlie, whom Nora doesn't really even love. Theresa, meanwhile, is outgoing, beautiful, and intelligent. She loves the dances and social atmosphere in Boston, but that all changes when she winds up pregnant. Both Nora and Theresa are forced to make some drastic life decisions that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Fifty years later, in 2009, Nora and Charlie have four children: John, Bridget, Brian, and Patrick. But Theresa and Nora are no longer speaking, and Theresa lives as a cloistered nun in an abbey in Vermont. What happened between the two sisters? And how will a sudden tragedy affect their current, separate lives?

This was an amazing book - just beautiful, heartbreaking, and lovely. Sullivan captured the essence of each of her characters so perfectly. I could picture every one, and each was so realistic, with their own background, mannerisms, and details.

The novel switches between the past, starting with Nora and Theresa's journey to Boston, and 2009, with a shocking event that rocks the entire family. We hear from each character--Nora, Theresa, John, Bridget, Brian, and Patrick. As I said, they are each an individual and embellished with Sullivan's wonderful writing and details. For instance, I loved the tidbit that Nora and her daughter-in-law communicated for years mainly through Nora's daughter's dog at family gatherings. It said so much with just one story. (And I've so been there.)

I became attached to each character in their own way thanks to the strong writing and characterization. I don't always enjoy books with shifts between time periods, but all flowed seamlessly here. There's an underlying thread that ties everything together, just adding to the brilliance of the novel. While it's really a story of a family, there's still a bit of suspense, as you try to fit some pieces together. Everything works so well.

Overall, I just loved this beautiful story of parenthood, immigration, siblings, religion, and so much more. It's achingly well-written, and while it ended just right, I was still sad to see the characters go. I'll certainly be recommending it to everyone I know. 4.5 stars.

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[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 *'s. This one started out great but then got really slow for me. I was left at the end thinking, "That's it?" It's a story about a family secret, hidden for many years. This is definitely my type of book and I enjoyed Sullivan's writing style as usual. It was just a little too quiet for me and I did not develop an attachment to the characters like I usually do.

[Claudia Silk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book J Courtney Sullivan has written and I really liked her previous books. It's the story of 2 sisters who come over from Ireland and settle in Boston. Such a great story and I didn't want it to end. Not coming out until the end of June but well worth the wait!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having enjoyed Sullivan’s The Engagements, I was keen to try her new novel. It opens in 2009 with Nora Rafferty, a mother of four, rushing to the hospital after being informed of a death in the family. She reluctantly accepts that her next task will be to contact the abbey where her estranged sister Theresa, now known as Mother Cecilia, lives. From County Clare, the girls moved to Boston together in the late 1950s: Nora to join Charlie, the fiancé she didn’t really love, and Theresa to have a chance at a new and exciting life. Moving back and forth between 2009 and earlier points in the sisters’ history, the novel considers the way their decisions have played out over the course of half a century, musing over what was fated and what they might have changed. We meet and spend much time with Nora’s children, especially John, who worked on the campaigns of a suspiciously Mitt Romney-esque figure and adopted a daughter from China with his wife; and Bridget, who’s planning to have a baby with her partner Natalie but hasn’t come out to her mother yet.

I’m not sure I ever gave this book a fair shake; from the earliest pages it reminded me so strongly of other Irish-American family stories I’ve read: Mary Costello’s Academy Street, Anne Enright’s The Green Road, Nick Laird’s Modern Gods, Maggie O’Farrell’s This Must Be the Place, and Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn. With these forebears in my mind, it was hard to judge the book on its own merits. I also thought the ‘secret’ was as plain as day from the beginning. If it’s a less familiar story line for you, you may well enjoy it more than I did.

Favorite lines:

Charlie gave her a sad smile. ‘Isn’t there anything you like about Boston?’ Nora thought it over. ‘Brigham’s vanilla ice cream,’ she said. ‘That’s it.’

It was amazing that you did not become your grief entirely, and walk around leaking it everywhere. It could lie dormant inside of you for days, weeks, years. You could seem a perfectly whole person to everyone you met. Without warning, grief might poke you in the ribs, punch you in the gut, knock the wind out of you. But even then, you seemed just fine. The world went on and on.

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Great family drama! I liked how the author referenced the title throughout the book, which gave me a greater understanding of the meaning behind the title. The Catholic girl in me enjoyed the depiction of life within a convent and how that life has changed and evolved with the church. I'm not sure if I loved or disliked the ending. I think the only reason I may have disliked it is that I didn't want the book to end. Great read!

[Marialyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 tragic stars

"We all have secrets we keep locked away from the rest of the world. Friendship we pretend. Relationships we hide. But worst of all is the love we never let show; the most dangerous secret a person can bury are those we keep for ourselves." (Kevin McCarthy)

This was a tragic story of two sisters who travel from Ireland in the 1950's, as young girls and come to America. Nora, the oldest sister is one who is totally responsible, serious, and often quite severe. She is engaged to a man, Charlie, who she really does not even know if she loves, and he is the person who is instrumental for the girls emigrating to America. The other girl, Theresa, is just the opposite. She is full of life, full of fun, and ever so happy to be coming to this country. Theresa sees life as a gift, while Nora seems to see it as a burden.

Theresa, enjoying the good life of fun, parties, and dancing at dance halls becomes pregnant and Nora steps in with a plan for this unplanned pregnancy which has repercussions that travel over the years. The story travels over fifty years when tragedy hits this large Irish family of Nora's. Her sister, Theresa, now a nun in a cloistered convent, travels home as they sisters face the tragedy together and thus try to reestablish what has been the cause of their fifty year estrangement.

The choices these two girls made all those years ago, come back to haunt them as the years of silence pile up and the distance between the sisters grow further and further apart. This was a sad novel, one of lost chances, of lost time, and lost ability to see that a lie oftentimes sets one on a path that they would never have chosen. Families break each other's hearts and this is ever so true in the novel. To this reader it hammered home the futility of keeping secrets that will eventually only tear people apart and result in a life of sadness and grief, for what do family secrets really accomplish other than to feed the need to lie again in order to cover over the first lie.