Lyle Hovde is very close to his six-year-old grandson Isaac and has a fragile relationship with Isaac's mother, his daughter Shiloh, a single parent. Lyle is enjoying his golden years - visiting with friends, doing odd jobs here and there, and making obligatory visits to church on Sundays with the people he has known for years. But Lyle slowly stars to realize that his daughter Shiloh is becoming involved in a new church led by a passionate pastor who claimes to have healing powers.
Lyle's world becomes even more shaken when his beloved grandson becomes sick and his daughter refuses to take him to hospital, strongly believing in faith healing. It is up to him to make a decision that will either result in the loss of his grandson or losing the family he has built over the years.
LITTLE FAITH by Nickolas Butler is a beautiful tale, examining faith in different generations as well as the strong bonds of family that tie individuals together. It's a subject that's worth examining in the future, especially when faith can lead to extremism or rejection of values held by previous generations.
I loved every single word and page within this novel and I delighted to continue to read and come back to it, especially with a continuing aspect of seasons and how they changed relationships. Rarely do I encounter a book like this; LITTLE FAITH held no weaknesses within its pages.
What I most loved about LITTLE FAITH was the character of Lyle Hovde and his numerous relationships he has with his friends and family, in particular, it is so refreshing to see a grandfather-grandson relationship displayed in a novel. The scenic imagery that Nickolas Butler brings up are only a cherry on a pie, and I actually felt as if I was more of a guest rather than a bystander.
For a reader that is seeking a luminescent and beautiful tale examining faith, relationships and the role they play with the changing seasons, LITTLE FAITH by Nickolas Butler should be on top of the reading list.
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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