The Patron Saint of Ugly

By: Marie Manilla

Narrated by: Laura Hicks

Born in Sweetwater, West Virginia, with a mop of flaming red hair and a map of the world rendered in port-wine stains on every surface of her body, Garnet Ferrari is used to being an outcast. With her sharp tongue, she has always known how to defend herself against bullies and aggressors but finds she is less adept at fending off the pilgrims who have set up a veritable tent city outside her hilltop home, convinced she is Saint Garnet, healer of skin ailments and maker of miracles.

Her grandmother, the indelible Nonna Diamante, believes Garnet’smystical gift can be traced back to the family’s origins in the Nebrodi Mountains of Sicily, and now the Vatican has sent an emissary to Sweetwater to investigate. Garnet, wanting nothing more than to debunk this "gift" and send these desperate souls packing, reaches back into her family’s tangled past and unspools for the church a tale of love triangles on the shores of the Messina Strait; a sad, beautiful maiden’s gilded-cage childhood in blueblood Virginia; and the angelic, doomed boy Garnet could not protect.

Saint or not, Garnet learns that the line between reality and myth is always blurred and that the aspects of ourselves we are most ashamed of can prove to be the source of our greatest strength, and even our salvation.

©2014 Marie Manilla (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

Good book

Loved it. It made me laugh and cry. Thank you for this wonderful story.
Highly recommend. Narrator was very engaging.

The hook takes time to set.

Any additional comments?

This novel, nor the reader, hooked me right away. In fact, I first thought, "What a waste!" But I kept coming back because I hate wasting money, and when the story set in at last, it set in pretty solid and the voice and tone of the reader made sense. It's not apparent in the first few chapters how much heart is in the story. There's a ton of it. Just be patient. Something about the entire package grows on you in some weird way, and by the end, I was sad to say goodbye.

Italian-American Magic Realism

Today I am really tired. WHY? Because I stayed up way too late finishing this terrific book! It had everything I love in a novel: fully-fleshed out characters, a relatable setting (I am of Italian heritage, raised Roman Catholic, and it's set in about the same time as my own life), and a hint of magic realism. It's told in first-person narrative, a style I enjoy when the narrator has a strong voice as this one does.

Hicks is a masterful reader who does an excellent job in the accents. it fondly brought to mind my own Nonna.

I highly recommend it.

Andie Ptak using hubby's account

Meh.

This book had my attention for a short period in the beginning but was lost for most of the middle portion before grabbing it again towards the end. While this book may appeal to some, It did have its moments of humor and intrigue, it did not do much for me.

Sweet

It's a cute/sweet story. Offbeat, snarky and interesting. The narrator does a great job with the Italian and accents.