Little Faith

Debut on the Faber list by the author of the international best-seller Shotgun Lovesongs

A Wisconsin family grapples with the power and limitations of faith when one of their own falls under the influence of a radical church.

From the celebrated author of Shotgun Lovesongs, 'a heart-wrenching look at family and the American mid-west' Stylist

'With its focus on spirituality and reverence for the joys of everyday life, Little Faith calls to mind Marilynne Robinson's Gilead.' The New York Times

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 five-year-old grandson, Isaac. After a troubled adolescence and subsequent estrangement from her parents, Shiloh has finally come home. But, while away, she became deeply involved with an extremist church, and the devout pastor courting her is convinced Isaac has the spiritual ability to heal the sick.

Reckoning with his own faith - or lack thereof - Lyle soon finds himself torn between his unease about the church and the growing threat it poses to keeping his daughter and grandson in his life.

Set over the course of one year and beautifully evoking the change of seasons, Little Faith is a powerful and deeply affecting novel about family and community, the ways in which belief is both formed and shaken, and the lengths we go to protect our own.