The Patron Saint of Liars

By: Ann Patchett

Narrated by: Julia Gibson

Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

St. Elizabeth's is a lovely old place in a small town in Kentucky that used to be the beautiful Hotel Louisa. In the 1960s, it is a home for unwed mothers run by nuns. Life at St. Elizabeth's is not unpleasant, but it is temporary. All the pregnant women who come there will go home within the year. Except for Rose, a beautiful, mysterious woman, who is neither unwed nor alone.

She is simply pregnant and doesn't want her husband or her mother to know. She plans to give her baby up because she knows she cannot be the mother the baby needs.

But St. Elizabeth's is near a healing spring, and when Rose's time draws near, she cannot go through with her plans, not all of them. She cannot remain forever untouched by what she left behind and who she has become since the leaving.

A beautiful debut novel about life and love and faith.

©1992 Ann Patchett (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Thoughtful....a complex character study." (Library Journal)

"In an assured, warm, and graceful style, a moving novel that touches on the healing powers of chance sanctuaries of love and fancy in the acrid realities of living." (Kirkus Reviews)

If you like a sad story with sad characters then this is a book for you

I have read and enjoyed some of her other books But this particular book is a sad book with sad characters. One thing that was very strange was occasionally throughout the narration it would stop and then some strange music would come on and then when you got back to the book after the music and it was the exact same spot. it wasn’t like they were transitioning to a new place in the book. It was unbelievably annoying . This was not a book for me

Evocative

Narration was excellent, but I found the musical transitions jarring and disruptive to the flow.

Didn’t love the ending Too many loose ends.Feld like Cicelia had a right to know & so did Thomas

I didn’t love the ending. Too many loose ends . Ceceila had a right to know and so did Thomas

Good story

I enjoyed the story. Did not like the main character.
The music interludes where unnecessary and annoying.
The narrator was good with the voices.

Great until the end

I really enjoyed this book… Until the end. The end was very abrupt, and tied up zero loose strings. The narrator did a wonderful job, bringing characters to life, and making me very invested in the characters, which made it that much harder to have no closure for any character at the end. The musical transitions were very annoying and did not seem to be appropriate for this particular book.

Great Ann Patchett characters

I absolutely hated the music interspersed what seemed randomly. I recognize the music from some of the Audio originals; Better placed in those pieces.

Kept waiting for something to happen…

Pretty one-dimensional characters , and unlikeable main character . Nothing much happened and the ending was unsatisfying.

Secrets and Lies

Since I'm just discovering Ann Patchett and her earlier novels (and have recently gotten hooked on Dani Shapiro's "Inheritance" memoir and subsequent "Family Secrets" podcast), this kind of story is ripe for 'Cecilla' to discover her family secret and have some peace in the unraveling of her story. A convenient plot twist to have another character dye her hair to give her a new look – hoping to cheer her up after her mother disappears and before her - [*SPOILER ALERT COMING" } - her "bio" dad unexpectedly shows up and they can't recognize that they might possibly be related - leaves me unsatisfied.

However, those were the secrets kept back in the 60s/70s and 80s and this is a fictional story - not a real one. All of Ann Patchett's novels are wildly different - although this story could have been created from someone she knew or had heard about. Nonetheless, (no pun intended), the story tries to examine that a child can grow up with love from strangers and establish a healthy sense of self – even if they don't get it from their biological parents. But, a lack of parental love can really screw someone up and the damage it does when it could be preventable leaves me feeling the lead character was selfish and hard to relate to.

Best Patchett novel

My only complaint is the music in this recording that serves as a break between sections. I found the choice of notes unsettling. Other than that, read perfectly. And, of course, the story was mesmerizing. I feel heartbroken in a way.

I found myself stopping and rewinding so I could hear words, sentences, passages again and again. Ann Patchett is a wizard with the English language, putting words together in a way that won’t leave a reader.

I’ve never read a story if a character so flawed who is not a villain. As a mother, and a daughter, I wanted to hate her, and there were moments when I did, but somehow those moments faded.

Rose is the most flawed character ever who wasn’t also just terrible. The way patchett balanced that concept is nothing short of miraculous.

The best!

This reader is outstanding! This story absolutely comes to life With her reading it. It is my all-time favorite audio book! I’ve listen to it four times and could definitely listen four more.