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The Patron Saint of Ugly
The Patron Saint of Ugly
The Patron Saint of Ugly
Ebook423 pages5 hours

The Patron Saint of Ugly

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Catholic lore, American tales, and Sicilian superstition blend in this “clever, funny, heartbreaking, and heartwarming” novel (Publishers Weekly).
 
Born with unruly red hair, a sharp tongue, and wine-colored marks all over her body—marks that oddly mimick a map of the world and make her subject to endless ridicule—Garnet Ferrari would hardly consider herself blessed. So when an emissary from the Vatican shows up at her door, convinced that her seeming ability to cure the skin ailments of others qualifies her for sainthood, she’s not quite convinced—or pleased.
 
Garnet sets off on a quest to better understand who she is and where she and her unusual gifts came from. Tracing a twisted path that leads from Sicily to West Virginia, poverty to riches, romance to loss, reality to mythology, Garnet uncovers a truth far more powerful than any dermatological miracle: that the things of which we are most ashamed often become our greatest strengths.
 
“A cleareyed, touching fable of a girl learning the hard truths about herself and others.” —Kirkus Reviews
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 17, 2014
ISBN9780544133488
The Patron Saint of Ugly
Author

Marie Manilla

MARIE MANILLA is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and her fiction has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Prairie Schooner, and Mississippi Review, among other journals. 

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this tale of sainthood, family, love and longing set in the south in the 60s and 70s. Garnet Ferrari is an Italian-American girl born covered in port wine stains who struggles for the love of her family, especially that of her mother. Her grandmother Nonna is her staunchest ally and promotes Garnet's "healing power" which make her a local celebrity. At its core this is a story about a young girl whose physical appearance makes her an outcast and the tragedy that colors her life. It reads quickly and will generate a lot of emotions-I'd call it a two-hanky read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Garnet Ferrari is the object of either extreme prejudice or adoration in her hometown of Sweetwater, West Virginia. To most of the children in town and some of the parents, she is feared and hated because she is different. To the nonnas (Italian grandmothers) and a few others, she is adored for her mystical healing powers. Although Garnet's childhood isn't ideal it is filled with family and love, but all of that quickly changes with one traumatic incident quickly followed by a horrific accident that devastates the entire Ferrari family.The Patron Saint of Ugly is a fast-paced read about love, survival, and hope. All Garnet, indeed any of the women married into the Ferrari family, want is to be loved. Garnet spends the beginning of her childhood being tortured by the ugly taunts of others. She spends her adolescence and early adulthood striving to be overlooked. It isn't until she returns to Sweetwater as an adult that she seems to overcome the struggle of being perceived as "normal." The Patron Saint of Ugly evoked a lot of responses from me while I was reading: sadness, empathy, sympathy, and laughter. Garnet's nonna was the source of much of that laughter with her machinations during Garnet's childhood and adulthood. Much of the story takes place in either Italy in the early 1920s, West Virginia in the 1950s, early 1960s, and mid 1970s. Ms. Manilla's characters are either extremely lovable or despised. I don't think any reader will like Garnet's grandfather, maternal grandmother, or La Strega (no, I'm not going to tell you who La Strega is . . . read the book). Garnet's story is gradually revealed in a series of taped reminiscences for the Vatican, as she attempts to debunk her so-called healing gifts. It is in these narrations that we learn the back-stories for her nonna and mother, as well as learning about Garnet’s inner longings and desires. If you enjoy reading well-crafted fiction that combines humor, a quest for survival, a longing for normality, mythic origins, and a touch of magic, then The Patron Saint of Ugly is one story you have to read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Written much like a folk tale, this was a very interesting read which makes for great discussion. The author spun a tale that almost every reader could find some part that would resonate within their life story while keeping it extreme enough to stay outside of everyday reality. The format of the story is a chronicle or retelling by the protagonist with injects from supporting characters to round out the story. At first this seemed a little disjointed, complicated further by the accents of the characters but worth persevering.Manilla is able to capture the sights and customs of the setting bringing a touch of realism to this fictional account of a reluctant saint. This tale was a challenging and entertaining experience.

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The Patron Saint of Ugly - Marie Manilla

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