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Saints for All Occasions: A novel
by J. Courtney Sullivan

Published: 2017-05-09
Hardcover : 352 pages
6 members reading this now
24 clubs reading this now
5 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 3 of 3 members
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A New York Times Critics’ Top Book of 2017 

"This year’s best book about family." —Ron Charles, The Washington Post

A sweeping, unforgettable novel from The New York Times best-selling author of Maine, about the hope, sacrifice, and love between two sisters ...
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Introduction

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A New York Times Critics’ Top Book of 2017 

"This year’s best book about family." —Ron Charles, The Washington Post

A sweeping, unforgettable novel from The New York Times best-selling author of Maine, about the hope, sacrifice, and love between two sisters and the secret that drives them apart.


Nora and Theresa Flynn are twenty-one and seventeen when they leave their small village in Ireland and journey to America. Nora is the responsible sister; she's shy and serious and engaged to a man she isn't sure that she loves. Theresa is gregarious; she is thrilled by their new life in Boston and besotted with the fashionable dresses and dance halls on Dudley Street. But when Theresa ends up pregnant, Nora is forced to come up with a plan—a decision with repercussions they are both far too young to understand. Fifty years later, Nora is the matriarch of a big Catholic family with four grown children: John, a successful, if opportunistic, political consultant; Bridget, quietly preparing to have a baby with her girlfriend; Brian, at loose ends after a failed baseball career; and Patrick, Nora's favorite, the beautiful boy who gives her no end of heartache. Estranged from her sister, Theresa is a cloistered nun, living in an abbey in rural Vermont. Until, after decades of silence, a sudden death forces Nora and Theresa to confront the choices they made so long ago. A graceful, supremely moving novel from one of our most beloved writers, Saints for All Occasions explores the fascinating, funny, and sometimes achingly sad ways a secret at the heart of one family both breaks them and binds them together.

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Book Club Recommendations

Easy theme for meeting
by carolkaskin (see profile) 03/16/18
I served Irish soda bread with Kerry Gold cheese, bought dollar store St. Patrick's Day necklaces for all, and had green mint M&M's with other green wrapped candy. "Alexa" played Irish music throughout the evening.

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
  " Nicely done"by liz p. (see profile) 09/23/19

Nora and Theresa are young adults leaving their farm in Ireland to come to America in the late 1950’s.Nora is the solid, serious sister and Nora wants to experience everything life has to ... (read more)

 
by Victoria M. (see profile) 05/21/18

 
  "Great St. Patrick's Day pick"by Carol A. (see profile) 03/16/18

This book met with universal appeal from my book club because the plot, characters, setting, and writing style kept our interest.

 
  "An interesting novel about the evolution of family and values, secrets and lies."by Gail R. (see profile) 09/02/17

Saints for All Occasions, J. Courtney Sullivan, author, Susan Denaker, narrator
When the story begins, a phone rings in the middle of the night and a lone sleeping woman, Nora Rafferty, is
... (read more)

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