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North of Hope

by Jon Hassler, Amy Welborn (Goodreads Author) (Introduction)

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 366 ratings · 39 reviews

“Hassler’s brilliance has always been his ability to achieve the depth of real literature through such sure-handed, no-gimmicks, honest language that the result appears effortless.”
—Richard Russo, New York Times Book Review

“Hassler has tapped every pulse with his pen. This is his sixth novel, and it is great.”
—Detroit Free Press

Master storyteller Jon Hassler draws us i...more

Paperback, 688 pages

Published March 1st 2006 by Loyola Classics (first published 1990)

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Mar 25, 2013 Mike Coleman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ask any fiction writers to name their favorite authors, and Jon Hassler’s name might very well be mentioned. This Minnesota writer’s first novel, Staggerford, has become so revered in writers’ circles since its 1977 publication that the journal Hassler kept while writing the book has also been released to great acclaim.

One of his later novels, North of Hope, is wonderful, too. Trouble brews when Father Frank Healy re-encounters his unrequited adolescent love, Libby Girard, in middle age. Things...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

The more I read Hassler, the more impressed I am with his work.

For whatever reason, I always enter a Hassler novel somewhat hesitantly, but I always come out feeling good about the work, writing, and people.

This was one of the longer works I've read by Hassler, and it held me entirely through the read. I was captivated by the story of Frank Healy as a boy. His passion for the attractive, popular girl and his inability to act on it, was so spot on, it was easy to believe that Jon Hassler drew o...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's difficult to write a story about a priest — particularly one that depicts him displaying a very human and lifelong attraction to a member of the opposite sex — without descending into the smarmy or, just as bad, the sanctimonious. But in "North of Hope," Jon Hassler pulls it off. Those worried that Hassler does not treat the priesthood with respect should note that one edition of this book is published by Loyola Classics, a Jesuit ministry.

That Hassler succeeds is no surprise to readers who...more It's difficult to write a story about a priest — particularly one that depicts him displaying a very human and lifelong attraction to a member of the opposite sex — without descending into the smarmy or, just as bad, the sanctimonious. But in "North of Hope," Jon Hassler pulls it off. Those worried that Hassler does not treat the priesthood with respect should note that one edition of this book is published by Loyola Classics, a Jesuit ministry.

That Hassler succeeds is no surprise to readers who know him. Through a dozen novels (OK, perhaps a couple were slim enough to be called novellas) he took a fair, funny, loving, sometimes stark but always very human look at Minnesotans, specifically, northern Minnesotans. His characters often are lovable but are imperfect.

"North of Hope" is one of those books you feel much better about when it ends than while you are negotiating its interior. It really got to me, even as, here and there, I wondered, "Is it really his best book, as many say?" I still can't make that call; his debut, "Staggerford," might be as entertaining, and I'm only six novels into my Hassler journey, after all. But the novel is a very good one; in time, your heart cozies up to it.

The book gives the initial impression that it is 500-plus pages of will-they-or-won't-they: Frank Healy, a 44-year-old Catholic priest, reconnects with "the one" from his teen years as her third marriage gets rockier. But there really are surprising layers to this story. Hassler digs so deeply into this tale and spreads the net wide enough that I sometimes wondered whether he had shortchanged the Frank/Libby relationship.

As a teen, Frank, motherless, got all tingly at the sight of Libby, and they were close friends despite Libby's decision to look elsewhere for romance (and getting unexpectedly pregnant) in the first of her unfortunate marriages. Frank is doted on by his priest, Father Lawrence, and Lawrence's housekeeper, and, hearing that his mother made deathbed wishes for him to become a priest, naturally turns his gentle, quiet nature in that direction. His decision never is one of resignation, but his feelings for Libby hover like a floater you see at the edge of your vision.

Frank finds himself springing a midlife "leak" at his first parish, unable to complete his sermons. Downsizing as an associate pastor to Father Lawrence — now Monsignor Lawrence — with responsibilities at an Ojibway reservation, a mission church in tiny Basswood, Frank starts to find himself. Enter Libby, after 20-some years, back into his life, exiled to Basswood with her disgraced doctor husband who is a drug supplier on the side. Libby's daughter, in her mid-20s, is a wild child fighting her own battle. Hassler weaves in Native Americans struggling to keep their town alive while battling drugs and alcoholism, Frank's attempts to reach his flock while supporting the monsignor in his slow fade and dealing with the monsignor's new housekeeper, figuring out his feelings for Libby and trying to rescue Libby's daughter from her bad decisions and the trouble forced upon her. As one might glean, there is less humor afoot than is typical for Hassler, but that approach suits the tale.

Hassler puts you smack-dab in a northern Minnesota winter until your toes are numb and you're rubbing warmth into your face. Puts us among all these people who are "north of hope" but fighting for a better life, some morally bankrupt, some helplessly self-destructive, some good but struggling anyway. It's a wonderful book. Hassler brings home the Frank/Libby dilemma with panache, and this alternately hopeful and sad book and its characters creak and crack sometimes like the frozen lake the people drive over, but ultimately, it holds solid.(less)

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Jan 30, 2010 Rachel Crooks rated it 3 of 5 stars

Frank Healy grows up in the shadow of his mother's death, reminded frequently of her deathbed wish, "I want Frank to be a priest." His life afterward is marked for the priesthood. When he meets Libby Girard, however, his heart tells him something different. Walking to school each day, their friendship soon grows to love, even as Libby dates other men. It is upset only when Libby marries her high-school boyfriend after discovering she is pregnant. Frank goes on to become a priest.

Twenty-three...more

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Oct 07, 2011 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

"North of Hope" was recommended to me by a state health official. I was interviewing him about why the suicide rate is higher in Northeastern Minnesota than in the rest of the state. He asked me if I had read "North of Hope." I hadn't. The answer was in there, he suggested.
So I went to my library to find it. Imagine my surprise when I learned that "North of Hope" was a work of fiction. It never occurred to me that state health officials read fiction.
It turns out that it was Jon Hassler's sixth n...more "North of Hope" was recommended to me by a state health official. I was interviewing him about why the suicide rate is higher in Northeastern Minnesota than in the rest of the state. He asked me if I had read "North of Hope." I hadn't. The answer was in there, he suggested.
So I went to my library to find it. Imagine my surprise when I learned that "North of Hope" was a work of fiction. It never occurred to me that state health officials read fiction.
It turns out that it was Jon Hassler's sixth novel, set in far northern Minnesota, beginning in about 1950 and ending in the 1970s. Curiously, Hassler's far northern Minnesota has corn and grain elevators and farmers along with the jackpines. I don't know where in far northern Minnesota this would be -- certainly not in Northeastern Minnesota, where we only grow wild rice and timber.
The central characters are juniors in high school when the book begins. We have Frank, a boy who sees his life through movies even though he is only allowed to go to carefully selected movies. And we have Libby, a girl whose dysfunctional family has just moved up from Minneapolis and whose main goal is to marry young and start a dysfunctional family of her own. (She succeeds.)
Libby chooses Frank to be her backup boyfriend. This is not the role Frank has chosen for himself in the movie reel of his mind. But he's thinking of entering the priesthood anyway, so he accepts his role with good grace, for the most part. (He enters the priesthood.)
They meet again on an Indian reservation in the '70s. The plot thickens from there, but I can't tell you anymore without getting slapped with a spoiler alert.
I'm not sure that "North of Hope" answers the question of why the suicide rate is higher in Northeastern Minnesota. It seems to me the things that happen in this book could happen anywhere, with some variations for more moderate climates. Granted, American Indians face some unique challenges. But although Hassler certainly doesn't idealize the Ojibway in this book, he also doesn't picture them as any worse off -- at least in terms of mental health and chemical dependency -- than most of his other characters.
It's certainly a lively but thoughtful tale with many layers. It's an easy read, even though the subject matter is grim. You're surprised to find yourself on Page 150 because the last you checked you were on Page 120.
Three caveats:
1. At times, particularly in the earlier chapters, some of the dialogue seems unlikely to me.
2. Even though it is an easy read, I think "North of Hope" is a bit longer than it needed to be. For example, I don't think we needed to follow Father Frank on his rounds with the shut-ins.
3. There is too much sex. I define "too much sex" as anything beyond a chaste kiss.
I will say that Hassler captures the hopeless feeling almost everyone in the North gets at a certain point in the winter. Consider Libby's thoughts on Page 222 in the edition I read. She has just driven straight through from Chicago back to the reservation after Christmas. She is thinking about her current husband, Tom, whose drunkenness is one of his nicer qualities; and her manic-depressive woman-child of a daughter, Verna:
Libby hung up, switched off her lamp, and lay in the dark with her eyes open, paralyzed. Seven hundred miles of highway. Ten years of Verna's mood swings. Twelve years of Tom's drinking. Seven months of jackpines. Eighteen below and falling.(less)

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Jun 14, 2012 Lilian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jon Hassler is the type of writer whose books I will collect obsessively because their stories are just really good. I had done it with Margaret Atwood and Anne Tyler, so it was amusing when one review said that Mr Hassler was the male Anne Tyler.

I have to admit my cheesy,romantic side was kinda hoping the major characters would be able to get back together, despite everything. But Life has her own way of dealing with things, so just have to take it at that. This has become my second favorite Ha...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Jeanette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jeanette by: Bob

Shelves: all-fiction, america, domestic-and-relationship-fiction, four-star-fiction

Lovely. Jon Hassler is sort of the Richard Russo of Northern Minnesota.
I would happily have read an entire book about these characters as teenagers. I was just so charmed by the Linden Falls of 1950, but Hassler had a different story to tell. After introducing us to Frank and Libby as youngsters, he jumps forward 25 years to examine the ways in which life choices at the age of 17 or 18 determine what our lives will look like at middle age.

I fell in love with Father Frank Healy in somewhat the...more

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Apr 09, 2011 booklady rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, classic, fiction, historical-fiction, literature, favorites

Some of the best parts of the book are found in the quiet little corners, humorous or profound asides where ordinary people are allowed their thoughts, musings or dreams. ‘Loving-Kindness’, the aging monsignor, answers and enjoys a phone call from a woman not meant for him. Readers get to peek inside a confessional—on both sides and listen to the thoughts of the penitents as well as the priest. There are several other little gems like this which shine out. They tend to be subtle and one must be...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Alyssa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Many years ago, I read this book as part of a class on "The Modern Catholic Novel". It was the only book I enjoyed or connected to of the required reading, so much so that I reread it every few years, mostly as the nights get longer and the weather turns cold. The title comes from one of the main characters, who in the grips of despair wonders "Maybe hope doesn't reach this far north?" and as you read about the turmoil that Frank are going through, you begin to wonder that yourself.

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Sep 02, 2012 Ron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Hassler is a wonderful writer. This book is somewhat different form most of his work in that his plot revolves around very difficult issues and people who are not well connected. He paints great verbal portraits of his characters; has great dialogue and evokes Northern Minnesota in a way that, even if you've never been there, you get it. I highly recommend it.

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Jul 02, 2011 Cheri marked it as to-read · review of another edition

I've been wondering what to read on our Caribbean cruise next week. I had culled books from my shelves, intending to give them to a senior center in town. These three books by Hassler have been sitting on my shelves for years. I think that this book may be the book to take on my vacation!!!! Sorry, seniors!!! I'm keeping my Hasslers.

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Apr 23, 2012 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

First Hassler book I read and it is still my favorite. The main character is so wonderfully developed. It is well written and I have been in Minnesota long enough (and am familiar enough with Catholic liturgy and practice) that it felt so wonderfully real. I highly recommend this one.

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Feb 25, 2011 Amber Koppenhofer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: college-requirements, read-at-least-twice

This was a required reading for a religion class in college. I remember being excited about being assigned a book where I actually wanted to read beyond what was required of me for the week. I read it again about a year ago and was able to appreciate even more now.

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Mar 21, 2013 Tom rated it 4 of 5 stars

A beautifully written book about a priest who arrives at his new post on an Indian reservation in northern Minnesota, only to find there the woman he loved long ago. This, as well as the drugs, alcohol abuse and family problems he encounters test his vocation.

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Jun 29, 2010 Julianne rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had difficulty deciding between 3 and 4 stars for this book. It's very compelling, absorbing, depressing, and uplifting all at once. Characters with a lot of texture, and some with depth, although not as much depth as I would have hoped. A close examination of some parts of life, presented with feeling but not sugar-coating. I felt as if I were living in northern Minnesota, shivering and shaking most of the time with cold and beholding gray as far as the eye and heart could see. A realistic en...more

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Mar 26, 2009 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read it in high school and loved it so I wanted to read it again about 10 years later. Still great, but I fear some of it is so "Minnesotan" that parts are missed on a larger audience.

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Mar 26, 2010 Teena rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a pretty grim book. It was well written but a little hard to keep reading because, well, the main characters keep making painful decisions. I read it for the faculty book club.

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Nov 15, 2009 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

I like seeing inside the priest's head. What does he believe? How does he think about that? What mistakes does he make? Nice to read something set in Minnesota north of Minneapolis.

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Jan 17, 2013 Cathy Spicer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay read. No major 'action, suspense or drama'. Interesting because it was set in Northern MN and centered around a Catholic priest. I was glad he stayed true to his vows.

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Sep 04, 2009 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this a long time ago but just remember really enjoying it. I want to read it again, and try some of his other books. I suspect this author is greatly underappreciated.

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Jul 08, 2012 Scott marked it as bookcrossing · review of another edition

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11256799

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Dec 23, 2012 Joe added it

Did not care for the ending. I enjoyed the story and the character development. At the end I felt the author was afraid to make a decision on how to end the book.

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Jul 08, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Reminded me of my hometown, Grand Rapids, MN.

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May 17, 2012 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great story. Wonderful writer.

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Oct 04, 2011 Joy H. marked it as decided-not-to-read-it

Shelves: might-go-back-to-it

RE: _North of Hope_ (1990) by Jon Hassler
Added 3/20/11.

4/12/11 - The library copy has very small print and it's the only copy the had. So I've decided not to read this book.

3/20/11 - I enjoyed Jon Hassler's writing when I read Simon's Night. So I'd like to try another book by him sometime. I've chosen this one at random for my to-read shelf.

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Oct 17, 2008 Beth Yeh rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is my first Hassler. He was recommended as a local author by the librarians at the library. I took this book with me on C and my trip up north in early October...I ended up getting an extra day since my shuttle didn't come, and I enjoyed reading this book. I love the local references and I thought that the writing and characters were good. When the library had a book sale recently I picked out a few more of his books.

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Feb 10, 2011 Anita rated it 2 of 5 stars

A so-so book.

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Jul 27, 2011 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Finished THAT sooner than I expected! I thought the book was great, but that the very last page was kind of weak. Onward to Jeanette! (I think I'll be able to send it on Monday!)

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Apr 02, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

My goodness. Really enjoyed this book, but can't quite put my finger on why. The story is good, the characters are alive with foibles, faults and major short comings. But somehow you grow to really know them all. A very well written book and again a story that was hard to put down.

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Oct 12, 2011 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Enjoyed the writing very much, the character of Father Frank Healy, and particulary the latter part of the novel that focuses on Frank's return to his hometown parish, his work on the Ojibway reservation, and Libby's re-entry into his life.

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About Jon Hassler

Jon Hassler was born in Minneapolis, but spent his formative years in the small Minnesota towns of Staples and Plainview, where he graduated from high school. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from St. John's University in 1955. While teaching English at three different Minnesota high schools, he received his Master of Arts degree in English from the University of North Dakota in...more

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