A decade after being cast off to live with strangers, Tabby Saint returns to Solace River, Nova Scotia, to find her childhood home deserted. She quickly latches on to the lonely tavern-keeper, West, who informs her that her family was run out of town. Tabby heads out to nearby Jubilant to find the fragments of her family: her addict sister, Poppy, and her two young kids; her brothers, Bird and Jackie, one crippled by a vicious attack and the other holding a dangerous grudge against the men responsible; a threadbare version of the bulletproof mother she remembers; and an ailing father, a man so vile he is unworthy of forgiveness even on his deathbed. Irreverent and mouthy as they ever were, the Saints are still a lightning rod for trouble. When a new storm arises, Tabby must choose whether to stay or run back the way she came.
Original, gut-wrenching and incessantly hilarious, "When the Saints" is the story of a family of outsiders whose redemption might be found in what they longed to escape: each other.
When Tabby was a teen, she was sent off to live with another family who ended up putting her in a home for juvenile delinquents. She has always done what she has to do to survive. Ten years later, Tabby returns home to find that her family has moved on and she finds them in a rundown trailer in another town. She hooks up with West, who owns a tavern, who takes her in.
Tabby discovers that sister, Poppy, is a drug-addicted mother of two and has been missing for five weeks. Her brother, Bird, had been beaten up so severely that he's in a wheelchair and doesn't really know what's going on. Her brother, Jackie, is living with Jewell, who is pregnant and ready to give birth soon. Jackie has three other children with three different women. Their father is dying in the hospital and it's because of him that the family is hated. Their mother is addicted to her GameBoy.
This is the debut book by Sarah Mian and I enjoyed it as it was a quirky story. I liked the writing style ... it was funny and sarcastic. I'm originally from Nova Scotia, where this story takes place, and I could relate to the people and the language. As a head's up, there is swearing.
I liked the characters ... they were all unique in their own unique ways. Tabby is too smart for her own good but found a way to use it to her advantage. Jackie is rough and tough but likeable. West is supportive and accepting of Tabby but has a decision to make when his ex-wife comes back to town.
I'd recommend this book as it was an entertaining story.
No comments:
Post a Comment