Little Faith by Nickolas Butler: 4/5.
Little Faith a lyrical, heartfelt, sometimes pedantic, and very philosophical read. Nickolas Butler, in all his works, excels at illustrating life's big conundrums through everyday people and familiar scenarios.
Lyle Hovde is a man in his mid-sixties, living in his small town in western Wisconsin. His life has all the familiar rhythms pertaining to a particular generation in a particular place; he is at the precipice of life where losses begin coming and just don't stop coming. In the beginning of the novel, the reader is introduced to Hoot, one of Lyle's old friends who is dying of lung cancer after a lifetime of booze and cigarettes; Lyle's part-time employers Otis and Mabel who run a small orchard and who are both keenly aware of their advancing age; and Lyle and Peg's beloved son Peter, who died at nine months old, and whose death accounts for Lyle's lack of religious faith. The Hovde's live a lifestyle that is deeply ingrained in their culture and expectations; they eat salami and cheese sandwiches for lunch, drive a beat up pickup truck, and spend much of their time trying to dote on their adult adopted daughter Shiloh and her five-year-old son Isaac.
Little Faith is a story about faith, with all of its facets and cracks, but it is also a story about loss. It looks at the relationship between the two, how faith informs the way we view loss and vice versa. The conflict begins when Shiloh begins attending a fringe mega-church that should seem familiar to most viewers. Services are held in an abandoned movie theater, the pastor is a young and charismatic man who riffs his sermons and can convince parishioners to devote themselves to the mission of the church. This pastor believes that Isaac, Shiloh's son, has healing powers, and when Shiloh begins a relationship with him, Lyle feels himself begin to lose his daughter and his grandson.
This story is not for everyone. If you prefer tightly-plotted, action-driven novels, this will not be the one for you. Yes, there is a story line and some twists throughout the narrative, but the main focus of this story is Lyle's introspection and his development from beginning to end. Many pages pass that read as a sort of dreamlike sequence to illustrate some inner musing. It's engaging, but can be pedantic if this sort of character driven writing is not your preference.
If you love novels that closely examine the human experience, that seek to ask big questions and delve into the cracks of characters' beliefs, then this is a book for you. The writing is beautiful; the revelations occasionally astounding, and the ending hauntingly poignant.
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