Sufficient Grace (Amy Espeseth, Scribe)

Raised in a fundamentalist family of Pentecostals, where sin is an ever-prevalent danger, 13-year-old Ruth must reconcile her faith with reality as dark family secrets unravel over the course of a Wisconsin winter. This is not an easily definable story. At first, it reads like a nice piece of writing that captures the twang and feel of the American mid-West. But the tone of the book becomes increasingly introspective when the unthinkable happens and a traumatic event shatters Ruth’s uncomplicated existence. As she struggles to resolve her feelings of anger, despair and guilt by turning to nature and scripture, the situation escalates and the language simmers as a series of shocking revelations lead to a cathartic but brutal resolution. This is a well-executed book that manages to avoid the pitfall of melodrama by adopting a measured and authentic voice. A careful reading helps to decipher all the couched connotations that are peppered throughout like road signs. The novel captures Ruth’s transformation from innocence to responsibility well and should appeal to those who like their fiction well-crafted but explosive.

Rita Yazdani is a Melbourne writer and bookseller

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews