Preview
  • The Patron Saint of Liars

  • By: Ann Patchett
  • Narrated by: Julia Gibson
  • Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,255 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Patron Saint of Liars

By: Ann Patchett
Narrated by: Julia Gibson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.29

Buy for $24.29

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

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)

What listeners say about The Patron Saint of Liars

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    561
  • 4 Stars
    409
  • 3 Stars
    210
  • 2 Stars
    52
  • 1 Stars
    23
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    602
  • 4 Stars
    294
  • 3 Stars
    104
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    12
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    466
  • 4 Stars
    314
  • 3 Stars
    177
  • 2 Stars
    49
  • 1 Stars
    34

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Evocative

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Kept waiting for something to happen…

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unfortunately, it could be true.

It’s just sooo sad - all the way thru. I think I will forever hate the name Rose. Yes, people can be that selfish and narcissistic. Not sure why I couldn’t just put the book down except that it’s so well written I had to see where the author would take me. Didn’t see any rhyme or reason for the weird music. It didn’t match the time or place of the scene. I ignored it. I do recommend the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The characters

I did not care for the musical breaks in the chapters. I also did not like the voices of narrators. Too flat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful