Synopses & Reviews
Brett Ellen Block's unforgettable debut novel, "The Grave of God's Daughter, is a haunting story of lost innocence, transgression, faith, and forgiveness set against the stark canvas of a struggling mill town.
At the funeral of her estranged mother, a woman is faced with the past she has tried to put behind her only to find that what transpired in her childhood has never been further away than her own shadow, and now the choice to close the thirty-year rift between mother and daughter has been laid before her.
The year is 1941. Rooted in the lonely outreaches of the Allegheny Mountains is the town of Hyde Bend. Its heart was a steel mill; its bones are the tight community of Polish immigrants who inhabit it; and its blood, their fierce Catholic faith. But buried in the town's soul is a dangerous secret surrounding the death of a revered priest.
When a young girl from the town's poorest quarter accidentally unearths a sliver of the truth surrounding the illicit secret, a woman is found dead and Hyde Bend erupts in fear and finger-pointing. Compelled to unravel the intertwining mysteries, the young girl discovers her own family at the center. To save them and herself, she must confront everything she thought she knew, including her feelings about all she holds sacred.
Vivid, evocative, and psychologically penetrating, "The Grave of God's Daughter captures the hidden inner life of a town battling to survive in a rapidly changing world, and paints an extraordinary portrait of a young girl's fierce longing for grace. The result is a novel of transcendent beauty that no reader will soon forget.
Review
“After a well-received collection of short stories entitled Destination Known... The Grave of Gods Daughter affirms the literary promise indicated by the authors shorter work.” Z-Wire
Synopsis
A woman is faced with the past she's tried to put behind her only to find that what transpired in her childhood has never been further away than her own shadow.
The year is 1941. Rooted in the lonely outreaches of the Allegheny Mountains lies the town of Hyde Bend. Its heart: a steel mill; its bones: the tight community of Polish immigrants who inhabit it; and its blood: their fierce Catholic faith. But buried in the town's soul is a dangerous secret surrounding the death of a revered priest.
Upon returning to Hyde Bend, a young woman accidentally uncovers the truth behind this crime, which leads to a second murder. The town quickly erupts in fear and finger pointing. The girl is forced to unravel the now-intertwined mysteries and discovers her own family at the center. Now she must confront all she holds sacred if she is to save her family and herself in this story of lost innocence, transgression, faith, and forgiveness.
Synopsis
< p=""> Set in a 1940s Pennsylvania mining town, Block's haunting debut novel is the coming& ndash; of& ndash; age tale of a 12& ndash; year& ndash; old girl who, in desperation for her mother's approval, sets out to replace her most prized possession & ndash; and unknowingly uncovers her family's darkest secret. <> < p=""> The year is 1942, and rooted in the lonely outreaches of the Allegheny Mountains lies the town of Hyde Bend. Its heart is a steel mill, its bones, the tight community of Polish immigrants who inhabit it, and its blood, their fierce Catholic faith. But hidden in its soul is a dangerous secret surrounding the death of a revered priest. When a young girl accidentally unearths traces of the truth, a woman is murdered and Hyde Bend erupts in fear and finger& ndash; pointing. The girl soon finds herself forced to unravel the now& ndash; intertwined mysteries and discovers her own family at the centre, then she must confront her feelings about all that she holds sacred if she wants to save her family and herself. <>
Synopsis
A woman is faced with the past she's tried to put behind her only to find that what transpired in her childhood has never been further away than her own shadow.
The year is 1941. Rooted in the lonely outreaches of the Allegheny Mountains lies the town of Hyde Bend. Its heart: a steel mill; its bones: the tight community of Polish immigrants who inhabit it; and its blood: their fierce Catholic faith. But buried in the town's soul is a dangerous secret surrounding the death of a revered priest.
Upon returning to Hyde Bend, a young woman accidentally uncovers the truth behind this crime, which leads to a second murder. The town quickly erupts in fear and finger pointing. The girl is forced to unravel the now-intertwined mysteries and discovers her own family at the center. Now she must confront all she holds sacred if she is to save her family and herself in this story of lost innocence, transgression, faith, and forgiveness.
About the Author
Brett Ellen Block received her undergraduate degree in fine arts from the University of Michigan. She went on to earn graduate degrees at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the University of East Anglia's Fiction Writing Program in England. She won the Drue Heinz Literary Prize for her debut collection of short stories, Destination Known, and is a recipient of the Michener-Copernicus Fellowship. She is also the author of The Grave of God's Daughter. She lives in Los Angeles.