In the early pages of Wayward Saints, I thought the language harsh, the character Mary edgy, and the story dark. I almost put the book aside. I am grateful that I decided to read on. Mary Saint, an angry, defiant teenager, flees from her hometown of Swallow, New York, and
…more from her family. She rises to near fame as an alternative rocker, but then descends into drink, drugs, and depression, deepened by the death of her fellow band member and boyfriend Garbargio. When author Suzzy Roche introduces the second Saint, Mary's mother Jean, the novel gains depth and complexity. Through the musings of this conservative, religious small-town mother, the reader gains insight into a family held in thrall by an abusive man, a town where little compassion or tolerance exists, and a gentle mother's heart that yearns for her daughter's love.
With such heavy themes it may be hard to believe that this is also a funny book. Roche's voice is true to her characters and the dire problems they face -- abuse, astraingment, dementia, and death --but she writes laugh-out-loud prose, as well. When Jean answers a student who asks about Mary's back tranvestite friend Thaddeus with the quip, "Oh, don't worry about him, he's a chocolate tranny." this reader did just that Throughout there are the themes of music, famly, friendship and spirituality, but above all this book is a warm and witty ode to tolerance and empathy. (less)
