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We Sinners by Hanna Pylväinen (2012, Hardcover)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherHolt & Company, Henry
ISBN-100805095330
ISBN-139780805095333
eBay Product ID (ePID)113237947
Product Key Features
Book TitleWe Sinners
Number of Pages208 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicFamily Life, Religious
Publication Year2012
GenreFiction
AuthorHanna Pylväinen
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height0.8 in
Item Weight10.9 Oz
Item Length8.6 in
Item Width5.7 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2011-045670
Dewey Edition23
Reviews"A subtly rendered and powerfully empathetic portrait of a contemporary fundamentalist Christian family by a deeply gifted young writer, Hanna Pylväinen's We Sinners is not only beautiful and heartbreaking, it is important-for what it says about faith, family, and for the humane light it sheds on the cultural fissures that affect every American. This is a book that reminds the reader, on every page, of the uniquely illuminating power of fiction."-Meghan O'Rourke, author of The Long Goodbye "Swift, absorbing, plainspoken, sincere. This book is an account of an excruciating dilemma: what to do with the family faith if you don't believe it anymore? We Sinners spares no one, least of all the skeptics who have broken from the church and its austerities only to find themselves "freed from nothing," confessing in a parking lot, "I don't know how to live," and watching the people still inside the fold with undisguised admiration and love. An elegant and penetrating book."-Salvatore Scibona, author of The End "In a début collection of dazzling economy, precision, and reach, Hanna Pylväinen explores a familiar yet unfamiliar world-a distinct culture of amazing power-from the points of view of ten different family members with immense sensitivity to her characters, and a surprisingly light, deft touch."-Jaimy Gordon, author of National Book Award Winner Lord of Misrule "Pylväinen draws us close to the characters in her little-known denomination, and then, just as their lives become poignantly familiar, her austerely beautiful prose tilts the everyday towards a quiet profundity. These are stories of a faith, to be sure, but also of faith more broadly-faith in family, in community, in ourselves-and of the challenges that beset it. The book itself is a testament to yet another faith: in the abiding power of fiction to illuminate our lives. We Sinners is one of the most distinctive debuts in years, and marks the arrival of a talent to cherish."-Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl "In her brilliant, kaleidoscopic family portrait, Hanna Pylvainen explores with unusual insight the territory of love and faith. She has a great gift for delving into the inner life of each character, but the real wonder is the resonant whole shaped from the finely textured pieces."-Andrea Barrett, author of the National Book Award winning Ship Fever and The Air We Breathe "Lovely, lyrical debut novel of a family in slowly unfolding crisis...beautifully written...A glimpse at a hidden American subculture that few readers will suspect even exists."-- Kirkus, In some ways, the Rovaniemi family is like ordinary American families, with sibling rivalries, birth order issues and parental expectations. But the questions about faith--how it binds the family together but also mutates and divides it--elevate it beyond the confines of the traditional domestic novel and into a resonant and magical work of imagination., " We Sinners is remarkably funny for a book about a deeply religious family grappling with loss of faith. . . It's impossible not to like these characters, so beautifully drawn, and so very loving to one another." -- Los Angeles Times "[A] nuanced portrait of an unnuanced world." -- The New York Times "Captivating . . . The beauty of We Sinners lies in its extraordinary ordinariness." -- Washington Independent Review of Books "[A] spare, quietly devastating novel." -- The Boston Globe "In some ways, the Rovaniemi family is like ordinary American families, with sibling rivalries, birth order issues and parental expectations. But the questions about faith--how it binds the family together but also mutates and divides it--elevate it beyond the confines of the traditional domestic novel and into a resonant and magical work of imagination." -- The Chicago Tribune "A beautiful, understated novel. [Pylväinen] tells a sophisticated, precise story about the nature and need for rebellion, set off against our need to belong. We Sinners hums with rare respect for religious outsiders." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer "In We Sinners , Pylvainen deftly explores this dance between oppression and liberation, between belief and unbelief, and shows the gray areas. These are not polarities but gradations of human experience. We all move in and out of various communities and belief systems, searching for love and acceptance. Often we search for forgiveness. This novel shows that sometimes it's found in strange places." -- The Wichita Eagle "Characters who could be painted in grand strokes as villains or angels are small, fragile, and very human. We Sinners brilliantly, unforgettably reconfigures Tolstoy's adage about happy and unhappy families: 'happy and unhappy, every family is.'" -- Publishers Weekly, Galley Talk, "[A] spare, quietly devastating novel." - The Boston Globe "In some ways, the Rovaniemi family is like ordinary American families, with sibling rivalries, birth order issues and parental expectations. But the questions about faith-how it binds the family together but also mutates and divides it-elevate it beyond the confines of the traditional domestic novel and into a resonant and magical work of imagination."- The Chicago Tribune "A beautiful, understated novel. [Pylväinen] tells a sophisticated, precise story about the nature and need for rebellion, set off against our need to belong. We Sinners hums with rare respect for religious outsiders." - Cleveland Plain Dealer "In We Sinners , Pylvainen deftly explores this dance between oppression and liberation, between belief and unbelief, and shows the gray areas. These are not polarities but gradations of human experience. We all move in and out of various communities and belief systems, searching for love and acceptance. Often we search for forgiveness. This novel shows that sometimes it's found in strange places." - The Wichita Eagle "Characters who could be painted in grand strokes as villains or angels are small, fragile, and very human. We Sinners brilliantly, unforgettably reconfigures Tolstoy's adage about happy and unhappy families: 'happy and unhappy, every family is.'" - Publishers Weekly, Galley Talk "A subtly rendered and powerfully empathetic portrait of a contemporary fundamentalist Christian family by a deeply gifted young writer, Hanna Pylväinen''s We Sinners is not only beautiful and heartbreaking, it is important-for what it says about faith, family, and for the humane light it sheds on the cultural fissures that affect every American. This is a book that reminds the reader, on every page, of the uniquely illuminating power of fiction."-Meghan O''Rourke, author of The Long Goodbye "Swift, absorbing, plainspoken, sincere. This book is an account of an excruciating dilemma: what to do with the family faith if you don't believe it anymore? We Sinners spares no one, least of all the skeptics who have broken from the church and its austerities only to find themselves "freed from nothing," confessing in a parking lot, "I don't know how to live," and watching the people still inside the fold with undisguised admiration and love. An elegant and penetrating book."-Salvatore Scibona, author of The End "In a début collection of dazzling economy, precision, and reach, Hanna Pylväinen explores a familiar yet unfamiliar world-a distinct culture of amazing power-from the points of view of ten different family members with immense sensitivity to her characters, and a surprisingly light, deft touch."-Jaimy Gordon, author of National Book Award Winner Lord of Misrule "Pylväinen draws us close to the characters in her little-known denomination, and then, just as their lives become poignantly familiar, her austerely beautiful prose tilts the everyday towards a quiet profundity. These are stories of a faith, to be sure, but also of faith more broadly-faith in family, in community, in ourselves-and of the challenges that beset it. The book itself is a testament to yet another faith: in the abiding power of fiction to illuminate our lives. We Sinners is one of the most distinctive debuts in years, and marks the arrival of a talent to cherish."-Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl "In her brilliant, kaleidoscopic family portrait, Hanna Pylvainen explores with unusual insight the territory of love and faith. She has a great gift for delving into the inner life of each character, but the real wonder is the resonant whole shaped from the finely textured pieces."-Andrea Barrett, author of the National Book Award winning Ship Fever and The Air We Breathe "Lovely, lyrical debut novel of a family in slowly unfolding crisis...beautifully written...A glimpse at a hidden American subculture that few readers will suspect even exists."-- Kirkus, " We Sinners is remarkably funny for a book about a deeply religious family grappling with loss of faith. . . It's impossible not to like these characters, so beautifully drawn, and so very loving to one another." --Los Angeles Times "[A] nuanced portrait of an unnuanced world." - The New York Times "Captivating . . . The beauty of We Sinners lies in its extraordinary ordinariness." - Washington Independent Review of Books "[A] spare, quietly devastating novel." - The Boston Globe "In some ways, the Rovaniemi family is like ordinary American families, with sibling rivalries,birthorder issues and parental expectations. But the questions about faith-how it binds the family together but also mutates and divides it-elevate it beyond the confines of the traditional domestic novel and into a resonant and magical work of imagination."- The Chicago Tribune "A beautiful, understated novel. [Pylväinen] tells a sophisticated, precise story about the nature and need for rebellion, set off against our need to belong. We Sinners hums with rare respect for religious outsiders." - Cleveland Plain Dealer "In We Sinners , Pylvainen deftly explores this dance between oppression and liberation, between belief and unbelief, and shows the gray areas. These are not polarities but gradations of human experience. We all move in and out of various communities and belief systems, searching for love and acceptance. Often we search for forgiveness. This novel shows that sometimes it's found in strange places." - The Wichita Eagle "Characters who could be painted in grand strokes as villains or angels are small, fragile, and very human. We Sinners brilliantly, unforgettably reconfigures Tolstoy's adage about happy and unhappy families: 'happy and unhappy, every family is.'" - Publishers Weekly, Galley Talk, A beautiful, understated novel. [Pylväinen] tells a sophisticated, precise story about the nature and need for rebellion, set off against our need to belong. We Sinners hums with rare respect for religious outsiders., "A subtly rendered and powerfully empathetic portrait of a contemporary fundamentalist Christian family by a deeply gifted young writer, Hanna Pylväinen's We Sinners is not only beautiful and heartbreaking, it is important-for what it says about faith, family, and for the humane light it sheds on the cultural fissures that affect every American. This is a book that reminds the reader, on every page, of the uniquely illuminating power of fiction."-Meghan O'Rourke, author of The Long Goodbye "Swift, absorbing, plainspoken, sincere. This book is an account of an excruciating dilemma: what to do with the family faith if you don't believe it anymore? We Sinners spares no one, least of all the skeptics who have broken from the church and its austerities only to find themselves "freed from nothing," confessing in a parking lot, "I don't know how to live," and watching the people still inside the fold with undisguised admiration and love. An elegant and penetrating book."-Salvatore Scibona, author of The End "In a début collection of dazzling economy, precision, and reach, Hanna Pylväinen explores a familiar yet unfamiliar world-a distinct culture of amazing power-from the points of view of ten different family members with immense sensitivity to her characters, and a surprisingly light, deft touch."-Jaimy Gordon, author of National Book Award Winner Lord of Misrule "Pylväinen draws us close to the characters in her little-known denomination, and then, just as their lives become poignantly familiar, her austerely beautiful prose tilts the everyday towards a quiet profundity. These are stories of a faith, to be sure, but also of faith more broadly-faith in family, in community, in ourselves-and of the challenges that beset it. The book itself is a testament to yet another faith: in the abiding power of fiction to illuminate our lives. We Sinners is one of the most distinctive debuts in years, and marks the arrival of a talent to cherish."-Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl "In her brilliant, kaleidoscopic family portrait, Hanna Pylvainen explores with unusual insight the territory of love and faith. She has a great gift for delving into the inner life of each character, but the real wonder is the resonant whole shaped from the finely textured pieces."-Andrea Barrett, author of the National Book Award winning Ship Fever and The Air We Breathe "Lovely, lyrical debut novel of a family in slowly unfolding crisis...beautifully written...A glimpse at a hidden American subculture that few readers will suspect even exists."-- Kirkus, "In a début collection of dazzling economy, precision, and reach, Hanna Pylväinen explores a familiar yet unfamiliar world-a distinct culture of amazing power-from the points of view of eleven different family members with immense sensitivity to her characters, and a surprisingly light, deft touch."-Jaimy Gordon, author of National Book Award Winner Lord of Misrule "Swift, absorbing, plainspoken, sincere. This book is an account of an excruciating dilemma: what to do with the family faith if you don't believe it anymore? We Sinners spares no one, least of all the skeptics who have broken from the church and its austerities only to find themselves "freed from nothing," confessing in a parking lot, "I don't know how to live," and watching the people still inside the fold with undisguised admiration and love. An elegant and penetrating book."-Salvatore Scibona, author of The End "Pylväinen draws us close to the characters in her little-known denomination, and then, just as their lives become poignantly familiar, her austerely beautiful prose tilts the everyday towards a quiet profundity. These are stories of a faith, to be sure, but also of faith more broadly-faith in family, in community, in ourselves-and of the challenges that beset it. The book itself is a testament to yet another faith: in the abiding power of fiction to illuminate our lives. We Sinners is one of the most distinctive debuts in years, and marks the arrival of a talent to cherish."-Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl, Characters who could be painted in grand strokes as villains or angels are small, fragile, and very human. We Sinners brilliantly, unforgettably reconfigures Tolstoy's adage about happy and unhappy families: 'happy and unhappy, every family is.', "A subtly rendered and powerfully empathetic portrait of a contemporary fundamentalist Christian family by a deeply gifted young writer, Hanna Pylväinen's We Sinners is not only beautiful and heartbreaking, it is important-for what it says about faith, family, and for the humane light it sheds on the cultural fissures that affect every American. This is a book that reminds the reader, on every page, of the uniquely illuminating power of fiction."-Meghan O'Rourke, author of The Long Goodbye "Swift, absorbing, plainspoken, sincere. This book is an account of an excruciating dilemma: what to do with the family faith if you don't believe it anymore? We Sinners spares no one, least of all the skeptics who have broken from the church and its austerities only to find themselves "freed from nothing," confessing in a parking lot, "I don't know how to live," and watching the people still inside the fold with undisguised admiration and love. An elegant and penetrating book."-Salvatore Scibona, author of The End "In a début collection of dazzling economy, precision, and reach, Hanna Pylväinen explores a familiar yet unfamiliar world-a distinct culture of amazing power-from the points of view of ten different family members with immense sensitivity to her characters, and a surprisingly light, deft touch."-Jaimy Gordon, author of National Book Award Winner Lord of Misrule "Pylväinen draws us close to the characters in her little-known denomination, and then, just as their lives become poignantly familiar, her austerely beautiful prose tilts the everyday towards a quiet profundity. These are stories of a faith, to be sure, but also of faith more broadly-faith in family, in community, in ourselves-and of the challenges that beset it. The book itself is a testament to yet another faith: in the abiding power of fiction to illuminate our lives. We Sinners is one of the most distinctive debuts in years, and marks the arrival of a talent to cherish."-Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl "In her brilliant, kaleidoscopic family portrait, Hanna Pylvainen explores with unusual insight the territory of love and faith. She has a great gift for delving into the inner life of each character, but the real wonder is the resonant whole shaped from the finely textured pieces."-Andrea Barrett, author of the National Book Award winning Ship Fever and The Air We Breathe, " We Sinners is remarkably funny for a book about a deeply religious family grappling with loss of faith. . . It's impossible not to like these characters, so beautifully drawn, and so very loving to one another." --Los Angeles Times "[A] nuanced portrait of an unnuanced world." - The New York Times "Captivating . . . The beauty of We Sinners lies in its extraordinary ordinariness." - Washington Independent Review of Books "[A] spare, quietly devastating novel." - The Boston Globe "In some ways, the Rovaniemi family is like ordinary American families, with sibling rivalries, birth order issues and parental expectations. But the questions about faith-how it binds the family together but also mutates and divides it-elevate it beyond the confines of the traditional domestic novel and into a resonant and magical work of imagination."- The Chicago Tribune "A beautiful, understated novel. [Pylväinen] tells a sophisticated, precise story about the nature and need for rebellion, set off against our need to belong. We Sinners hums with rare respect for religious outsiders." - Cleveland Plain Dealer "In We Sinners , Pylvainen deftly explores this dance between oppression and liberation, between belief and unbelief, and shows the gray areas. These are not polarities but gradations of human experience. We all move in and out of various communities and belief systems, searching for love and acceptance. Often we search for forgiveness. This novel shows that sometimes it's found in strange places." - The Wichita Eagle "Characters who could be painted in grand strokes as villains or angels are small, fragile, and very human. We Sinners brilliantly, unforgettably reconfigures Tolstoy's adage about happy and unhappy families: 'happy and unhappy, every family is.'" - Publishers Weekly, Galley Talk, In We Sinners , Pylvainen deftly explores this dance between oppression and liberation, between belief and unbelief, and shows the gray areas. These are not polarities but gradations of human experience. We all move in and out of various communities and belief systems, searching for love and acceptance. Often we search for forgiveness. This novel shows that sometimes it's found in strange places., We Sinners is remarkably funny for a book about a deeply religious family grappling with loss of faith. . . It's impossible not to like these characters, so beautifully drawn, and so very loving to one another.
Dewey Decimal813/.6
SynopsisThis stunning debut novel--drawn from the author's own life experience--tells the moving story of a family of eleven in the American Midwest, bound together and torn apart by their faith The Rovaniemis and their nine children belong to a deeply traditional church (no drinking, no dancing, no TV) in modern-day Michigan. A normal family in many ways, the Rovaniemis struggle with sibling rivalry, parental expectations, and forming their own unique identities in such a large family. But when two of the children venture from the faith, the family fragments and a haunting question emerges: Do we believe for ourselves, or for each other? Each chapter is told from the distinctive point of view of a different Rovaniemi, drawing a nuanced, kaleidoscopic portrait of this unconventional family. The children who reject the church learn that freedom comes at the almost unbearable price of their close family ties, and those who stay struggle daily with the challenges of resisting the temptations of modern culture. With precision and potent detail, We Sinners follows each character on their journey of doubt, self-knowledge, acceptance, and, ultimately, survival.
LC Classification NumberPS3616.Y55W4 2012
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