Saints for All Occasions (Sullivan) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
[R]ichly told.… Sullivan writes assuredly and engagingly, layering her story with complexity, if not always depth. Perspective shifts among characters, making us care for them, sometimes in spite of themselves, and even laugh at them a little. For all of its sorrow, the book refuses to be weighed down by sadness. In fact, there is a buoyancy that draws its lightness from family conversation, the closeness of siblings, and the care and devotion of nuns in Theresa’s abbey. Much to talk about for book clubs. A super read. READ MORE …
Molly Lundquist - LitLovers


Sullivan succeeds in creating a believably complicated, clannish Irish-American family, and the novel’s most engrossing scenes occur when the Raffertys gather in Nora’s kitchen to drink beer, laugh at inside jokes, finger old wounds and puzzle over their dour, conscientious mother. Because it’s Nora, rather than Theresa, who emerges as the novel’s most mysterious character. Its real drama involves her gradual transformation from a shy, unhappy young immigrant to an established matriarch, with a matriarch’s long skein of pride and sorrow — and secrets.
Suzanne Berne - New York Times Book Review


Here to fill the Brooklyn-sized hole in your heart is the story of sisters Nora and Theresa Flynn, Irish Catholics who journey to America full of hope (Best Books to Read in 2017).
Elizabeth Logan - Glamour 

Sullivan has a gift for capturing complicated sibling dynamics, especially in a family ruled by Catholic repression.… [Her] quiet ending is a satisfying conclusion to this rich, well-crafted story.
Publishers Weekly


Sullivan brings her characters to life, capturing the complexities and nuances of family, tradition, and kept secrets. For all fiction readers. —Joanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Libs., Providence
Library Journal


Sullivan once again expertly delivers a messy and complicated family story with sharp yet sympathetic writing. —Magan Szwarek
Booklist


Of Catholic guilt, silences, and secrets: an expertly spun family drama, a genre Sullivan has staked out as her own.… Sullivan often approaches melodrama, but she steers clear of the sentimentality that might easily have crept into this tale of regret and nostalgia.
Kirkus Reviews