Life has not been easy for Lyle Hovde. Now in his senior years,  Lyle has worked hard and now has enough to be comfortable. Along with his wife Peg, he is content with his life in his small Wisconsin home town. Years ago, Lyle and Peg had lost their only child, a son, when he was still a baby and their hearts had been filled with sorrow.  Then, unexpectedly, an opportunity to adopt came into their lives.  They love their headstrong and independent daughter Shiloh with all their hearts and now enjoy the treasure of having both Shiloh and her sweet and smart five-year-old son, Isaac, living with them. However, Lyle and Peg worry that Shiloh might leave and take Isaac away from them, so they are mindful of her feelings, even if she cares little about theirs. Ever since Shiloh has come back home with Isaac, Lyle and Peg feel like they are always walking on eggshells around her...

Inspired by true events that  transpired in Weston, Wisconsin in 2008, LITTLE FAITH by Nickolas Butler is an amazing account of faith, family dynamics, and conflicting values. It begins gently with a little game of "Hide and Seek" between the grandfather and grandson in a small cemetery and then quickly evolves into a much larger challenge of  Lyle striving to figure out the Hide and Seek in his own sense of faith in God and what will bring him peace. LITTLE FAITH is a multi-layered and emotionally complex story as Shiloh manipulates her family while being manipulated by others after she falls in love with Stephen, the freewheeling preacher of a Christian evangelical church.

LITTLE FAITH is a truly captivating story of human nature that is both quaint and yet so exquisite in a portrayal that it transcends any religion, faith, or culture. I couldn't put it down and read it till the wee hours of the morning. I particularly liked how Butler gently weaves subtle humor and teasing between old friends as the heavy events they face challenge them to the core of their being and their beliefs.

If you have ever lived anywhere in the rural midwest, Butler's lyrical descriptions of the Wisconsin landscape will fill your mind and his authentic characters will ring true for you in their mannerisms and attitudes. Even if you have not lived there, Butler's descriptions bring them so vividly alive that you will feel the crisp tang of the apples in the orchard and relish the seasonal smells in the air while you catch up with Lyle and  Peg on the local happenings. Truly, LITTLE FAITH is a story of love and colliding values that is not to be missed!  Seek out LITTLE FAITH and enjoy the richness of this story!

Book Summary

In this moving new novel from celebrated author Nickolas Butler, a Wisconsin family grapples with the power and limitations of faith when one of their own falls under the influence of a radical church

Lyle Hovde is at the onset of his golden years, living a mostly content life in rural Wisconsin with his wife, Peg, daughter, Shiloh, and six-year old grandson, Isaac. After a troubled adolescence and subsequent estrangement from her parents, Shiloh has finally come home. But while Lyle is thrilled to have his whole family reunited, he’s also uneasy: in Shiloh’s absence, she has become deeply involved with an extremist church, and the devout pastor courting her is convinced Isaac has the spiritual ability to heal the sick.

While reckoning with his own faith—or lack thereof—Lyle soon finds himself torn between his unease about the church and his desire to keep his daughter and grandson in his life. But when the church’s radical belief system threatens Isaac’s safety, Lyle is forced to make a decision from which the family may not recover.

Set over the course of one year and beautifully evoking the change of seasons, Little Faith is a powerful and deeply affecting intergenerational novel about family and community, the ways in which belief is both formed and shaken, and the lengths we go to protect our own.