Faithful

I'm on a mission to read all of Alice Hoffman's adult fiction book and have had some highs and lows but this one did not disappoint. Following the main character from her lowest point in her life that hit hard up to her gradual realization and transformation really made me realize how Hoffman became someone who I wanted to read more from.

“In February,when the snow comes down hard, little globes of light are left along Route 110, on the side of the road that slopes off when a driver least expects it. The lights are candles set inside paper bags, surrounded by sand, and they burn past midnight. They shouldn't last for that amount of time, but that's part of the miracle.”

There's a heat wave all over Greece at the moment I'm writing this review. I don't like summer and heat, I want to live in a place of eternal winter. Also, bright sun changes my mood and character completely and in this review, you'll probably see me obsessively describing my incoherent thoughts on how easily and readily I gave my heart to this book. It is one of the rarest of cases when I couldn't stop myself from reading the last chapter when I reached about 80% mark. I just wanted to know. This is how deeply I feel in love with Hoffman's novel.

After a horrific car accident, Shelby's life changes dramatically. She gives up on her dreams, she punishes herself in all ways imaginable and chooses to escape to New York. Not to start anew. She cannot do that yet, because she doesn't believe she is able or even worthy of a good life. She believes she's a nobody, a nothing, a monster. She practically begs for other people to see her this way. But they don't. Because some of us have faith.

The title is extremely poignant and well-chosen. “Faithful” to whom? To what? My answer is to everything. This is the reply I got from the book. To people, to a higher power, but most of all, to ourselves. It is the amount of faith in our abilities and value we gain through the children's love, through the animals' trust. Here, Shelby starts finding her way out of the darkness the moment people start trusting her. They have faith in her and she begins to look at herself under a different light. After trust comes faith and then love follows closely.

Love lies at the centre of the novel, along with faith. Love between a mother and a daughter. Love between a couple (beautifully depicted in Shelby and James). Love between friends, between animals and humans. Love that is firmly rooted in the past or the kind of love that comes out of nowhere, sweeps you off your feet and helps you find yourself a little sooner than you'd think possible.

“As evening falls, the wet street glows as if sprinkled with diamonds...There are bats in the tower of a church overlooking a small park. There's a sprinkling of gold -trigged stars in the sky.

What is it with stories and New York? What is it about this city that makes everything so poetic and special? Why does it turn me into a romantic? I don't know...I fell in love with Hoffman's descriptions of the city. They're marvellous, especially the ones about the evening streets. You'll also find a few but extremely poetic images of the Hudson.

There are certain well-placed hints of magical realism, with the postcards of an angel and Helena's supposed healing abilities. I think they're there to remind us that sometimes magic sometimes and beauty lies within our daily routine, within difficult choices, within the past. The narration is written in the present tense which is probably my favourite technique and it fits the story perfectly. And if by now you haven't been convinced that the writing is impeccable, I don't think I can trust you...

I read that it took Hoffman ten years to write Faithful and this definitely shows in the way the story is tightly put together, in the characters that are fully developed, in the interactions that are realistic and vivid. Dogs have a very prominent role in the action and Hoffman even manages to include references to Poe's Nevermore and to Gaiman's Neverwhere. I mean, come on...This is perfection.

Shelby is one of the most beautiful, most memorable characters out of all the books I've ever read in my life. You'll support her, get frustrated by her, cheer for her to succeed, cry and laugh. You will embark on an exciting journey. Call me superficial but James was...if he doesn't make your heart melt, if you don't fall in love with him as soon as you meet him on the page, then I believe you're heartless beyond repair. (Also, if the book is ever made into a film, I want Jonathan Tucker for the role. I don't know why but I pictured him as I was reading.) Ben, on the other hand, is irritating, a crying self-absorbed infant, competing with Shelby's father for the award of the most annoying character in the novel. To be fair, he has a few redeeming qualities, but I don't want to be fair today, I want to be emotional. See what this book did to me?

None of us wants to make even the tiniest mistakes, but this is impossible. We're human beings. Even gods make mistakes and quite big ones. We're made to make mistakes and to learn in the process. Life isn't the silky cocoon our parents struggled to provide for us. Whatever few ugly experiences I've had taught me to think differently, taught me that there are people you need to discard without a second thought and people you need at all costs. In those moments, everyone need to have faith and trust in someone. In my opinion, this “someone” must be our self. And the rest will follow...

“Together they fight demons in New York City, of which there is an endless supply. Each time another one is defeated, the Misfit comes closer to forgiveness, a state of grace he never can quite reach.”

I'm a sucker for Alice Hoffman's style of writing, and this plot was my catnip. Traumatized and tormented teen/young adult who moves to New York City and gradually heals herself with the help of several stray dogs and an unlikely best friend...yeah, I'm there. Throw in not one, not two, but three love interests and a mysterious guardian angel, along with a very hopeful ending and I'm a happy girl. Faithful may not have the historical sweep of Hoffman's most recent efforts including [b:The Museum of Extraordinary Things 18144053 The Museum of Extraordinary Things Alice Hoffman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392575125s/18144053.jpg 25491380] or [b:The Marriage of Opposites 23492741 The Marriage of Opposites Alice Hoffman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1438581390s/23492741.jpg 43082583] but it was more intimate and, to me, more enjoyable.