Publicity: MARIE COOLMAN
WAYWARD SAINTS
“Spoiler Alert: this book is wonderful from beginning to end. I loved it on every page (even when I was jealous that I hadn’t written it).” - Patty Marx
“All those times that I listened to Suzzy Roche and her sisters singing like genius angels, I had no idea that one day I would be reading a novel by her that is as pure, funny, and original as her music. WAYWARD SAINTS is packed with honesty about the harshness of growing up, the sadness of growing older, the pain of art, and the pleasures of being authentic. The characters are stirring and real, and lines from the novel are permanently in my head, like the lines from a great song. I am telling everyone to read this book.”
- Meg Wolitzer
“What do you get when you combine a town called Swallow, a family named Saint, Sliced Ham - a rock band that sings songs like ‘The Back of My Ass’ and ‘Tom’s Dick and Harry’, the Blessed Mother, a chocolate tranny, and characters like Garbagio and Flick Zee? A rollicking, audacious, heartwarming, funny, poignant, and unforgettable debut novel by Suzzy Roche!”
- Ann Hood
“I’m jealous! How can it be that someone who sings like Suzzy Roche can also write this well, tell us so much not only about the music business but about the large hearts of her characters, the locales of their deepest pain, and the sources of their strength? Her language is dazzling - unpredictable, supremely funny, irreverent, and full of authority. WAYWARD SAINTS is the best and most surprising debut novel I’ve read since I can’t remember when.”
- Rosellen Brown
“I swallowed WAYWARD SAINTS whole, in a single day’s gulp, until I was left gasping at the end. Suzzy Roche has always had perfect pitch, the voice of an angel, and the wit of a jester, but here she takes her prodigious gifts and runs with them, weaving a golden-threaded tale of mother/daughter redemption, of the transformative power of art, and of the mysteries, pains, and sacrifices of love. How is this her first novel? She’s already a master.”
- Deb Copaken Kogan
Author’s note:
I have always loved to read novels, but whatever drove me to sit down and write one is a mystery. Through the years I’ve had a tendency to create poems and stories but they remained, for the most part, private.
I like to think of Wayward Saints as a fable. I wanted to write about faith and art, and how it manifests differently in everyone. I also wanted to write about the absurdity and dangers of the music business, the consequences of violence, the power of forgiveness, and the possibility of the miraculous.
I guess I know that my book is a little unconventional, but I hope it will find its place in the world, and be meaningful to someone out there. I’m grateful to other writers who encouraged me, especially Meg Wolitzer, who has been uncommonly generous with her time and also has shared her process with me. Also, I am incredibly lucky to have met my agent Gail Hochman and my editor at Hyperion, Elisabeth Dyssegaard.
published by Hyperion Books
copyright © Suzzy Roche 2011
"Wayward Saints is full of wonderful observations about family, fame, guilt, aging,
the stupid music business, and the power & glory of performing and creating.
Most importantly, Suzzy Roche has written a book about love and redemption.
And it's funny! I loved the little details and the big surprises."
- Loudon Wainwright
A selection of the Spring 2012 B&N Discover Great New Writers program