Ten Thousand Saints

I thought Ten Thousand Saints started well. The writing was solid, the characters were interesting, and the story pulled me in. The initial setup with Jude, Teddy, and Eliza was compelling.

Unfortunately, it didn't last. The story gets wrapped up with so many different themes, each pulling in a different direction, and only a quarter of the way into the novel, it all began to feel rather busy. By the end, the different threads were so tangled that the story felt entirely too messy, and I'd lost interest long before the conclusion.

*Side note: I was annoyed by the characters frequent use of “Jeezum Crow.” No real person says that. A young person would definitely never use that phrase. And all these characters are saying that. Completely unbelievable! But I looked up the phrase and found out it's a common regional thing in Vermont. So maybe not so unbelievable. But it's still just as annoying.