Little Faith by Nickolas Butler
Little Faith by Nickolas Butler
"Faith and family: These two stalwarts of Midwestern life intersect in this terrific novel, as Butler explores what happens when you lose first one and then the other. Populated with a cast of quintessentially Midwestern characters, who are rendered perfectly and tenderly, this novel adds to Butlers reputation as the Hemingway of the Midwest. While this tackles some thorny issues, it's always a pleasure to read. " - Recommended by Greg
Lyle Hovde is at the onset of his golden years, living a mostly content life in rural Wisconsin with his wife, Peg, daughter, Shiloh, and six-year old grandson, Isaac. After a troubled adolescence and subsequent estrangement from her parents, Shiloh has finally come home. But while Lyle is thrilled to have his whole family reunited, he’s also uneasy: in Shiloh’s absence, she has become deeply involved with an extremist church, and the devout pastor courting her is convinced Isaac has the spiritual ability to heal the sick.
While reckoning with his own faith—or lack thereof—Lyle soon finds himself torn between his unease about the church and his desire to keep his daughter and grandson in his life. But when the church’s radical belief system threatens Isaac’s safety, Lyle is forced to make a decision from which the family may not recover.
Set over the course of one year and beautifully evoking the change of seasons, Little Faith is a powerful and deeply affecting intergenerational novel about family and community, the ways in which belief is both formed and shaken, and the lengths we go to protect our own.