Named for an imperfectly worded fortune cookie, Hoover's ( It Ends with Us, 2016, etc.) latest compares a woman’s relationship with her husband before and after she finds out she’s infertile.

Haigh deals with complex moral issues in subtle ways, and her narrative is beautifully, sometimes achingly poignant. Haigh moves seamlessly from Sheila’s reminiscence of growing up Catholic in Boston (though she’s since lost the faith) to a more neutral and objective third-person account of events that relentlessly unfold and seem to implicate Art. Mike’s situation is complicated by his marriage to Abby, a Lutheran who believes almost everything is wrong in the Catholic Church. (One logical suspicion is that Kevin, her egregiously addled boyfriend, might be putting her up to this accusation to secure easy money in light of recent scandals in the Church.) While Sheila has faith in Art’s innocence, her other brother, Mike, is not so sure. Aidan’s mother is Kath, a drug- and man-addicted young woman whose credibility is problematic at best. Just before Easter, however, the diocese abruptly removes him from his duties and establishes him in an apartment until it completes an investigation into an allegation that he’s abused Aidan, a boy he is obviously fond of and has become emotionally attached to. Haigh hands over most of the narrative burden to Sheila McGann, half-sister of Art Breen, who for over 25 years has been a good man and a respected parish priest in the Boston area. A non-sensationalized novel about an inherently sensational event-the abuse of an 8-year-old boy by a priest.

Faith jennifer haigh review