Life has not been easy for Lyle Hovde. Now in his senior years, Lyle has
worked hard and now has enough to be comfortable. Along with his
wife Peg, he is content with his life in his small Wisconsin home town.
Years ago, Lyle and Peg had lost their only child, a son, when he was
still a baby and their hearts had been filled with sorrow. Then,
unexpectedly, an opportunity to adopt came into their lives. They love
their headstrong and independent daughter Shiloh with all their hearts
and now enjoy the treasure of having both Shiloh and her sweet and
smart five-year-old son, Isaac, living with them. However, Lyle and Peg
worry that Shiloh might leave and take Isaac away from them, so they
are mindful of her feelings, even if she cares little about theirs. Ever
since Shiloh has come back home with Isaac, Lyle and Peg feel like they
are always walking on eggshells around her...
Inspired by true events that transpired in Weston, Wisconsin in 2008,
LITTLE FAITH by Nickolas Butler is
an amazing account of faith, family dynamics, and conflicting values. It
begins gently with a little game of "Hide and Seek" between the
grandfather and grandson in a small cemetery and then quickly evolves
into a much larger challenge of Lyle striving to figure out the Hide and
Seek in his own sense of faith in God and what will bring him peace. LITTLE FAITH is a multi-layered and
emotionally complex story as Shiloh manipulates her family while being
manipulated by others after she falls in love with Stephen, the
freewheeling preacher of a Christian evangelical church.
LITTLE FAITH is a truly captivating
story of human nature that is both quaint and yet so exquisite in a
portrayal that it transcends any religion, faith, or culture. I couldn't put
it down and read it till the wee hours of the morning. I particularly liked
how Butler gently weaves subtle humor and teasing between old
friends as the heavy events they face challenge them to the core of
their being and their beliefs.
If you have ever lived anywhere in the rural midwest, Butler's lyrical
descriptions of the Wisconsin landscape will fill your mind and his
authentic characters will ring true for you in their mannerisms and
attitudes. Even if you have not lived there, Butler's descriptions bring
them so vividly alive that you will feel the crisp tang of the apples in the
orchard and relish the seasonal smells in the air while you catch up with
Lyle and Peg on the local happenings. Truly, LITTLE FAITH is a story of love and colliding values
that is not to be missed! Seek out LITTLE FAITH and enjoy the richness of this story!
In this moving new novel from celebrated author
Nickolas Butler, a Wisconsin family grapples with the power
and limitations of faith when one of their own falls under
the influence of a radical church
Lyle Hovde is at the onset of his golden years, living a
mostly content life in rural Wisconsin with his wife, Peg,
daughter, Shiloh, and six-year old grandson, Isaac. After a
troubled adolescence and subsequent estrangement from her
parents, Shiloh has finally come home. But while Lyle is
thrilled to have his whole family reunited, he’s also
uneasy: in Shiloh’s absence, she has become deeply involved
with an extremist church, and the devout pastor courting her
is convinced Isaac has the spiritual ability to heal the sick.
While reckoning with his own faith—or lack thereof—Lyle soon
finds himself torn between his unease about the church and
his desire to keep his daughter and grandson in his life.
But when the church’s radical belief system threatens
Isaac’s safety, Lyle is forced to make a decision from which
the family may not recover.
Set over the course of one year and beautifully evoking the
change of seasons, Little Faith is a powerful and
deeply affecting intergenerational novel about family and
community, the ways in which belief is both formed and
shaken, and the lengths we go to protect our own.
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