Faith Fox
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A novel that's "brilliant on sex, brilliant on bereavement and death, brilliant on god, brilliant on dottiness" from the acclaimed author of Old Filth (A. N. Wilson, Evening Standard).
The story of a motherless girl named Faith and her family and close friends, all of whom are determined to see her live a happy life.
Faith's mother died in childbirth; her overworked father cannot raise his child alone; and her unconventional grandmother refuses to acknowledge the child whose birth took away the daughter she loved. And so a motley crew of family and friends converges to see that Faith is brought up correctly. The concerned parties include Faith's uncle, who runs a commune in northern England; the Tibetan refugees who have moved in with him; and the splendidly bickering paternal grandparents. What ensues is a brilliant comedy of manners set equally amidst high society and low.
Faith Fox is a story that explores the wonder of the human heart in all its thunderous eccentricity. Gardam has mastered the essence of age and youth and above all nonconformity. Her memorable characters are sure to delight.
"Wonderful, sharply observed, deeply funny." —The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"[A] cleverly wrought British import . . . That Gardam is a virtuoso of structure creeps up on you until you begin to glimpse the outlines of the multiple subplots converging with the satisfying click that reminds you that you're in the hands of a master." —St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Hugely funny and deeply moving." —The Atlantic
"Pure pleasure." —Anita Brookner, author of The Debut
"An endearing story. Gardam's feisty characters deliver a tale that crackles with charm and energy." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A motherless baby named Faith is the linchpin of this delightfully eccentric comedy of manners and miracles by Gardam, a two-time winner of the Whitbread Prize (The Hollow Land; The Queen of the Tambourine). First published in Great Britain in 1996 and set in the early 1990s in the moody Yorkshire moors and the gentrified climes of Surrey and London, the novel features a highly entertaining cast of dotty characters whose class, ethnic and religious differences are wonderfully deconstructed by Gardam's sharp, dark wit. Jolly Holly Fox ("an extraordinarily nice girl") is the last person her devoted mother, the widowed and wealthy Thomasina, expects to die in childbirth. Unable to even look at the surviving baby, she runs away with a retired general. Andrew Braithwaite, Holly's physician husband, is equally unable to cope ("he disliked children altogether, really") and gives Faith to his brother, Jack, a devout but nontraditional Christian minister and Jack's Indian, ex-hippie wife, Jocasta, who live at a Yorkshire commune headed by Jack. Assorted relatives and friends wring their hands over Faith's fate, including her anxious paternal grandparents, the affable Toots and Dolly; ancient Pema, one of the mysterious Tibetan exiles staying at Jack's commune; Nick and Ernie, two ex-burglars working for Jack; and Jocasta's 11-year-old Indian son, Philip, whose loyalty to little Faith never wavers. Gardam's voice is dead-on as she crafts a tale with a lovely surprise ending that reaffirms the importance of faith, making this a royal treat for the holidays.
Customer Reviews
Best book of the year for me.
The language. The descriptions of England, both north and south. I wallowed in the elegance of her style. I stand in awe of that writing. And the characters! Their inner thoughts: hilarious. This book is a joy. And it’s a Christmas story at the end. Who could ask for more?
I am just so sad that I finished it !