Book Blog #212: The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott

Title: The Ninth Hour
Author: Alice McDermott
# of Pages: 247 (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Religious
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: On a dim winter afternoon, a young Irish immigrant opens the gas taps in his Brooklyn tenement. He is determined to prove—to the subway bosses who have recently fired him, to his badgering, pregnant wife—“that the hours of his life belong to himself alone.” In the aftermath of the fire that follows, Sister St. Savior, an aging nun, appears, unbidden, to direct the way forward for his widow and his unborn child. We begin deep inside Catholic Brooklyn, in the early part of the twentieth century. Decorum, superstition, and shame collude to erase the man’s brief existence. Yet his suicide, although never spoken of, reverberates through many lives and over the decades—testing the limits and the demands of love and sacrifice, of forgiveness and forgetfulness, even through multiple generations.
Review: The fact that I didn't realize this was a religious book by reading the title says a lot about how religious I am.

I was uncertain whether I should continue reading this book when I discovered how big of a role Catholicism played in the plot. I have no interest in reading about nuns nor do I necessarily have the same views and values of them. Thankfully, I realized as I progressed through the book, the story was a tale of a girl and mother who's lives inevitably were intertwined with Catholicism because of their residence in Brooklyn. It wasn't a super uptight, wholesome story like the religious stereotype led me to believe; in fact it was the exact opposite. Sally struggles with what she is told is right for her life and what she feels is right for her.

Although the writing itself is well done, Dermott's abilities as a storyteller were lacking. The story jumps across many generations and since it was not always chronological, it made it difficult to follow and stay interested.

I noticed a lot of people fell in love with this book. I just don't think the topic is for me. I wouldn't read it again, but if the synopsis (and perhaps Catholicism) interest you, I would recommend it. Otherwise, I would look elsewhere for a book to pass the time.