The acclaimed author of The Cloud Atlas returns with a wondrous second novel. Set in a small beachfront Catholic high school, narrated by a...
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reviews
Feb 12, 2008
Diane
rated it: 
I really wanted to like this book because Liam Callanan is such an entertaining speaker and a Wisconsin (local) author. But. I had trouble making myself finish it and found myself wanting to grab the main character by the shoulders and shriek "Snap out of it!" So, if Callanan was trying to evoke strong emotion, he succeeded.
Pace was slow, excrutiatingly so for me. The story thread about the three students had promise and though that promise remained unfulfilled, Paul's More...
Pace was slow, excrutiatingly so for me. The story thread about the three students had promise and though that promise remained unfulfilled, Paul's More...
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May 16, 2007
Tanya
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This was our latest book club pick, chosen by a woman who's good friends with the author's cousin. This was a intricate story, woven with tales of saints. I found Callanan's short, fractured sentences endearing, emphasizing the conversational nature of this story. Our group was intrigued at the prospect of reading this book written by a male author but told from the perspective of a woman. I'll admit, I had pictured a more masculine heroine until some of her physical details were revealed later
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Feb 15, 2011
Katie
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The story of how a neurotic woman teaching at a Catholic high school assumes everything is always about her.
Okay, I'm exaggerating. This is the story of Emily Hamilton, a woman who is constantly restating her name, as well as the pronoun "I," throughout this story of her romantic entanglements with students and a dying priest. I initially thought the approach would be satirical - Emily's propensity for saying clearly ridiculous things like "when I am - finally - elected More...
Okay, I'm exaggerating. This is the story of Emily Hamilton, a woman who is constantly restating her name, as well as the pronoun "I," throughout this story of her romantic entanglements with students and a dying priest. I initially thought the approach would be satirical - Emily's propensity for saying clearly ridiculous things like "when I am - finally - elected More...
Mar 12, 2009
Marian
rated it:
Set in a small beachfront Catholic high school, narrated by a beautifully complex heroine–theology teacher Emily Hamilton–All Saints is at once a mystery, a love story, and a powerful rumination on secrets, temptation, and faith.
By life’s midpoint Emily has seen three husbands, dozens of friends, and hundreds of students come and go. And now her classroom, long her refuge, is proving to be
anything but.
Though her popular, occasionally irreverent church history cou More...
By life’s midpoint Emily has seen three husbands, dozens of friends, and hundreds of students come and go. And now her classroom, long her refuge, is proving to be
anything but.
Though her popular, occasionally irreverent church history cou More...
Mar 22, 2007
Rebecca
rated it:
A very strange book, but a very good book. One of those you can't put down, so you fall asleep reading. Then when you wake up, you just keep reading.
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Dec 17, 2009
Lisa
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I loved this book -- entirely different from his first (which I also loved). Great characters with complexity, engaging story.
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Dec 16, 2009
This was written by my English teacher from last semester, and he was awesome. I'm willing to bet his book will be the same.
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Apr 24, 2007
Haley
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It's The Graduate meets Franny and Zooey. And some catholic catechism thrown in for good measure.
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Mar 06, 2011
Allison
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I hated the ending, but not because it was wrong or out of tone with the rest of the book. Otherwise, it was a rapturous reading experience and I was utterly charmed by the foul-mouthed, profane, irreverent, sarcastic Catholic school teacher with poor impulse control. If there were more people like this in it, I'd still be Catholic. I plucked this one at random off the library shelf for my Mom and then cracked it cautiously when she was done and my Tuesday night was totally hijacked.
Sep 21, 2008
Meghan
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The syntax of this novel is obtuse. It is very difficult to differentiate between the narrator's internal dialogues and actual conversations in the book. It is also extremely hard to identify what happens in plot and what is imagined by the narrator.
While reading it you don't develop any connections to the characters so you don't care what happens to them, even when you can figure it out.
The info provided on some of the saints is mildly interesting but the same informat More...
While reading it you don't develop any connections to the characters so you don't care what happens to them, even when you can figure it out.
The info provided on some of the saints is mildly interesting but the same informat More...
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Feb 07, 2012
Deema
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The tale is very engaging. The male author does an amazing job of developing the main character, a female. Complex syntax works to define the throught process of the characters. This story is not for everyone: the charaters are deeply flawed and sad, yet you continue to hope the best for them as they struggle and make repeated mistakes. Tragic, yet poignant.
Dec 20, 2009
Anita
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I liked this book. I thought the teacher (main character) was awesome. I love how she mumble fumbled her way through a few life situations. I liked how the book was set up and how the author would take us through a few segues as the main character was working through an issue or explaining some idea to her class. loved loved the humor. and I liked the ending.
Sep 11, 2007
Linda
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I REALLY liked this book; not everyone would, however. It has few joyful parts to it. Rather, there is one crisis (or weird incident), after another. In the same fashion as Wally Lamb in SHE'S COME UNDONE, we have a male author taking a female point of view. Calanan writes beautifully and captures Emily's slightly injured, slightly vulnerable, quite cynical characterization perfectly. ALL SAINTS refers to the name of the Catholic high school. I enjoyed the saints' stories intermixed with
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Sep 26, 2009
Jake
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Both frustrating and beautiful this is one of the more powerful books that I've read in a long time. It's not often that I would want to both hurl a book against the wall for not telling me something, and then moments later make me pause and think for 10 minutes. Better to read with less distractions, where you can really take some time with it.
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Oct 14, 2010
Becca
rated it:
A strange little story, honestly but not unlikeable. I enjoyed parts of the beautifully flawed heroine's personality, but the story lines were just a bit dramatic and too far-reaching for me. Cancer, Pre-mature babies dying, miscarriage, under-age sexual relationships, homosexuality...*whew* alot to tackle in one storyline...
Sep 15, 2010
Devon
rated it:
The opening chapters nearly had me falling out of bed laughing, and the second half had my heart in knots. It's an odd arc for a novel, but it works, and I am a sucker for a novel about the relationship between faith and truth and teaching and love and grief.
Jul 13, 2008
Lee
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I enjoyed this book. It was a truly different character study of a fascinating complex woman -- I laughed out loud a few times, was captivated by the insightful observations at others, yet could not help noticing that some of the details just did not hold together. Perhaps my problem with this book is that it represents the postmodern constructivist view of identity and I favor the idea that, at least mentally, people are driven to create coherent narratives that explain themselves. I so wanted,
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Feb 06, 2011
Pat
rated it:
Good book. Hard to get started, as the beginning does not pull you in. Since a friend had read it I persevered and was rewarded in the middle. Excellent middle. Some great lines I wish I had written. Ending peters off - scattered.
Apr 19, 2010
Lauren
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I felt torn about this one. I loved the character Emily Hamilton, at least her sense of humor. Some of her decisions just didn't make sense to me especially considering her sense of irony and astuteness. I also liked her priest-friend Martin.
Jun 11, 2008
Mai Ling
rated it:
I want to give this five stars, but the end was so sad that I think I have to leave it at four. The characters in this book are so rich -- so rich that I almost wish I was Catholic. Just kidding!
Talk about a bizarre love traingle (it may have had five sides), of all places, at a Catholic high school (called All Saints) on the beach in L.A. I don't want to get into details, but the main character was quite a mess, and I love the way she told her story, picking pieces from the present More...
Talk about a bizarre love traingle (it may have had five sides), of all places, at a Catholic high school (called All Saints) on the beach in L.A. I don't want to get into details, but the main character was quite a mess, and I love the way she told her story, picking pieces from the present More...
Oct 22, 2009
Karen
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About a teacher in a Catholic School. Very interesting character development. Told from the main characters perspective. It rambled a little and bounced from present to past which I found confusing, but overall I enjoyed it.
Jul 18, 2011
Paula
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If you are Catholic, pick up this book and read it! It is not your typical story of perfect people. However, it ties in so many saint stories and other Catholic-isms. You will enjoy this story!
Jul 30, 2011
entertaining. One of the few instances I've seen of a male author able to get into a female head & heart. Well done. Good characters, laugh out loud funny in a couple of spots.
Mar 13, 2009
Emilyrs
rated it:
Great writing and compelling story, but I had problems with the structure and keeping track of what happened when. Kind of a hot mess.
