When Rose discovers she’s pregnant, she knows that she needs to get out of her marriage. She doesn’t love her husband or want to be married anymore and she doesn’t want to be a mother either. She sets off from California to Kentucky for a home for unwed mothers. She doesn’t tell her husband or her mother she’s pregnant or where she’s going – lies. She tells the nuns at the home that her husband died – a lie. Soon the lies are piling up.

I dug deep into my TBR shelves for this book. I loved Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House and have been meaning to read more of her books. The Patron Saint of Liars, which is her first book, did not disappoint. Patchett is a master of character development. I liked how each of the main characters had their own section in the book and their own unique voice. I felt like I knew them inside and out. ( )

Well written but just ok
How we are all untrue to ourselves and others ( )

It's a good read, if you aren't expecting the story to have perfect characters, and perfect plot lines. The characters have flaws, and secrets, and in the end, some mysteries remain. When Patchett writes about people's experiences, and their feelings, she is just awesome. She could have written an ending that more folks would like, but I doubt it would be true to the world of characters the book brings to life. Looking forward to reading more of her work. ( )

3.5 stars.

[b:The Patron Saint of Liars|15957|The Patron Saint of Liars|Ann Patchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347356188l/15957._SY75_.jpg|1043652] is my third book by [a:Ann Patchett|7136914|Ann Patchett|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1371838720p2/7136914.jpg], and I find her novels tend to hold me fast while I am reading them but sometimes leave me wondering what it was all about when it is over. I enjoyed reading this story about a young pregnant woman who flees her home in California for an unwed mother’s home in Kentucky. What makes her unusual is that she is not unwed, she has a husband who is good to her and loves her. To the very end of the novel, I could not ever grasp exactly what caused Rose to want to run away or come to grips with her willingness to cut ties with her mother who was good to her and loved her. This flaw made her unrelatable to me, and in this particular novel, not being able to understand or relate to the main character seems to me to be a weakness.

That weakness aside, what ensues is a rather interesting tale, with a unique and interesting setting--a luxury hotel that has been turned over to a group of nuns to be used as a home. The background stories of the other characters are interesting, the nuns are believable and one is very endearing, the unusual circumstances that arise after Rose comes to the home also create some tension and curiosity.

There are certain novelists from which I do not expect anything profound. I am looking for a good story that will hold my attention, and I get that from Ann Patchett. I will read her again.


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Our group loves this author and the writing was expectedly superb though some didn't care for the main character. The story and the other characters carried the tale to its appropriate conclusion. Other characters could have had more developed backgrounds. ( )