We Sinners

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.

“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 dont 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 dont 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

“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 dont 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 dont 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, 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 its 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 Tolstoys adage about happy and unhappy families: ‘happy and unhappy, every family is." —Publishers Weekly, Galley Talk

“We Sinners is remarkably funny for a book about a deeply religious family grappling with loss of faith....Its 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

“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.”—Chicago Tribune

“A spare, quietly devastating novel.”—The Boston Globe “Captivating...The beauty of We Sinners lies in its extraordinary ordinariness.”—Washington Independent Review of Books

“Hanna Pylväinens 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 ORourke, author of The Long Goodbye

“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 its 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 Tolstoys adage about happy and unhappy families: ‘happy and unhappy, every family is.”—Publishers Weekly, Galley Talk

"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 its 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 Tolstoys adage about happy and unhappy families: ‘happy and unhappy, every family is." —Publishers Weekly, Galley Talk