I stopped about a quarter of the way through the book. I struggled with a lot of the themes in the book rape, abortion, childhood pregnancy. I also was confused with the jumping around from character to character. I think this has potential to be a great book but it is not the book for me right now. Hopefully I can go back at a later date and finish it.

This is my first work by Hegi and I can definitely tell why she is an auto-buy author. Her prose reads like the voice of your mother telling a bedtime story. While it took me a while to get into this initially, I was completely wrapped up in this story by the end.
I'm going to borrow the Goodreads synopsis because it would be too difficult to write a new one myself.
" In the summer of 1878, the Ludwig Zirkus has come to the island Nordstrand in Germany. Big-bellied girls rush from St. Margaret's Home for Pregnant Girls, thrilled to see the parade and the show, followed by the Sisters who care for them. The Old Women and Men, competing to be crowned as the island’s Oldest Person, watch, thinking they have seen it all. But after the show, a Hundred-Year Wave roars from the Nordsee and claims three young children. Three mothers are on the beach when it happens: Lotte, whose children are lost; Sabine, a Zirkus seamstress with her grown daughter; and Tilli, still just a child herself, who will give birth later that day at St. Margaret’s. And all three will end up helping each other more than they ever could have anticipated."

This book dealt with so much, in such a delicate way. The effects of grief, heartache and loss are heavy themes throughout. TW of incest, child death.

This was a giveaway win from @whatwendyread but because of covid, I received an e-copy from NetGalley ... I actually had to fiiiinally get on NetGalley because I really wanted to read this!
I fully intend to put a physical copy on my shelves when it publishes on August 18, if for nothing else this gorgeous cover!

I was intrigued by the premise of this book. It takes place in 1878 -79 and was billed as a story of three very different mothers whose lives intertwine after tragedy.

While I liked the time period, unfortunately this book did not work for me. I found the book very jumpy both in perspective and time. There were way too many different voices in this book. You had the mothers, the Sisters, the pregnant girls, the old women, the beekeeper, and the Zirkus along with some very strange storylines. The book felt very fragmented and I found myself rereading parts to figure out who was speaking.

I had a very hard time getting through this book. However I did appreciate the author's take on different ways people deal with grief. For me the book tried to do too many things and would have been much better focusing on the mothers. Thank you to Flatiron Books and Netgalley for my giveaway win.

This is an interesting study of relationships: between women; between husbands and wives; between mothers and children; between the old and young. It also looks at loss: of a lover, of a child(ren), of one's youth, even one's dreams. The characters were many and the POVs were a bit confusing at times but the writing was flawless and her characters memorable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC to read and review.

I love Ursula Hegi's writing, and when I saw in NetGalley's offerings that she has written a new book I was positively elated and jumped at the chance to review it!!

The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls tells of life in small-town Nordstrand by the Noorsee. The story begins on a beautiful day when Lotte Jansen is returning home with her four children following a trip to the Zirkus which comes each summer. A hundred-year-wave crashes over them, ripping three of the children from her grasp. Though the townspeople, zircus people, fishermen and others search and search after the wave recedes, the children are never found. Lotte and her husband Kalle, a toymaker, are left with only Wilhelm, their infant son.

Sabine, a seamstress for the Zirkus, and her daughter Heike, a young woman with the mind of a child, are among those who help search, and whose stories we will come to know well. Sabine has known Lotte since Lotte was five and holds much affection for her. We will also come to know Tilli, eleven, pregnant with her twin brother's child, thrown away by her parents and sent to give birth in St. Margaret's Home for Girls run by Catholic nuns; the Sisters at the home, a diverse group of characters themselves; the Old Women, gossipers of the town; and several members of the Zirkus.

Hegi spins her characters and stories with a deft hand. The characters are rich and complex, the stories complex as well. Love and loss, strength and weakness, hope unfailing and unfulfilled, courage and cowardice, grief and joyfulness, all parts of the human experience are brought to light in wonderfully engaging and compelling ways. Come stay for awhile in Norstrand and see for yourself. Reading this book is a wonderful expexience!

My thanks to NetGalley, Ursal Hegi, and Flatiron Books for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

I really enjoyed The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls by Ursula Hegi! At first I was a bit put off because it is a bit hard to get into, but once in I was hooked. There is a lot of grief here, but as in life, it is the grief that creates meaning and growth. And boy do the three main characters grow! Hegi's writing style in this novel is somewhat different than Stones from the River as she writes in simple thoughts or blurbs, leaving it to the reader to think and connect the dots, so if you like everything explained to you, you will not care for this book. On the other hand, if you are a careful reader into a beautiful story of intergenerational women and their bonds, you too will enjoy this story.

DNF'd at 40%. I could not get into the story and it was taking far too long for me to read the relatively short book.

The characters in this book are complex and their backgrounds are slowly revealed. As I discovered more about each character, I developed a further understanding of the loss the character experienced, their reaction to this loss, and the strength they found. At times, I found the number and complexity of the characters to be confusing. Like me, other readers may initially struggle with the writing style. However, if you can adapt to this style you will discover an intriguing and interesting story.

It's such fun to read a book by Ursula Hegi again. This novel has many characters, but the central story is of a family that loses three of their four children to drowning and how they come to grips with that and continue as a family. My favorite part of this book, though, is the little stories on the side. I especially love the "old women" who operate quietly on the side of the main action.

Ursula Hegi has a very beautiful writing style. However, in this book, she takes on too much and it ends up feeling incomplete. It's as if each character and plot point is a thread, and she's working really hard to weave them together by the end, but gets confused and instead of a sweater, we end up with half a sweater and a lot of loose yarn.

The premise of this book sounded like something I would really love, but unfortunately this one didn't wind up being what I expected. I was so excited to read it, but the writing style made it very heard for me to get into the story. It just felt confusing and fragmented I because of that I had a hard time following the story. Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC.

When I read the synopsis I thought the description sounded promising. After reading a few chapters, I couldn't get into the story. I couldn't identify with the characters and my attention wondered. This book wasn't for me.

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

Mid 1800s, Germany. Four different women are loosely connected by the setting and the terrible accident that happens right at the beginning of the book: the tragic drowning of three children when a freak wave rips them out of their mother’s arms.

I would recommend this to those who enjoy character driven stories but it felt more jumbled together than Hegi's other books. It seemed to take extra long for the storylines/characters to meld and understand how everything and everybody related to each other. I found myself reading sections twice (or more) to refresh myself on who was who and what was what.

2.75☆

3.5-My first introduction to the writing of this author, and I have to admit I wasn't immediately drawn into this novel. The writing was gorgeous, the descriptions like a poem, but it has a very different structure and tone.

It's the mid 1800's in the village of Nordstrand, off Germany's coast. There is a school for pregnant girls, run by the nuns, but these nuns are kind, loving and wise. There is a competitive yearly contest for the oldest man or woman and it is after this contest that a huge wave, takes away Lotte and Kallis three young children. There is also a a zircus which comes every year and will play a big part in the story. There are also a group of old women who gossip, hold secrets and I loved their inclusion.

A novel of loss, survival, love and redemption, showing both the frailty and inner strength of women. Three women will come together to help each other move forward. It is a melancholy story, elegant and ethereal, almost like a fever dream. Maybe a myth or tale of folklore. This is life in all its glory and struggles, of the pulling together and pushing apart. I ended up embracing this novel for its very different storytelling and beautiful writing.

This was my first Hegi, but it won't be the last. I have two novels by this author sitting on my home shelves.

ARC from Edelweiss.

A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This book is wonderful. It is an unforgettable story about shattered lives, picking up the pieces, and using sorrow to forge a new path.

Set in 1878, it is the story of an unforeseen tragedy that takes the lives of innocent children, The bereaved mother finds strength and solidarity and support from two other women. The women are at different stages of motherhood, but they find common ground and come to rely on each other. They share their stories of joy and loss, motherhood and marriage, journeys begun and promises broken.

Lotte has lost her children to the unforgiving treachery of Nature. Sabine is the mother of a grown daughter, trying to make a place for herself in the new reality of a childless home. Tilli is facing the greatest challenge of her life - giving birth alone, as an unwed mother.

The intricately woven plot bears all of the signatures of Hegi's evocative writing - lush description, deep explorations of family and faith, and scenes of tender remonstrance and bonding.

A very beautiful, almost fairy tale like story. Overall it's a story about girls, women and old women and how they intersect.

It took me a little bit to get into the groove with Hegi's style of writing. It's made up of quick and fragmented thoughts, but once I got into the rhythm it was a beautiful story to read.

The ending left some to be desired, it felt like you were just about to fall off the cliff, but your boat is left suspended in the air before it falls over. That is the best way to explain it - using that imagery. :-)

My full thoughts can be found on the Literary Hoarders site, included in the link below.

I really enjoyed this book. I definitely recommend it, especially to those of you who enjoy historical fiction, and most especially to those of you who have gotten a little bored with the World War II novels. It is the story of loss and searching, both of self and others.

The story begins when a woman loses three of her children in a freak accident. Girls and nuns from the nearby home for pregnant girls join the search for the children, as do people from the town and performers from the circus that happens to be in town. The book tells the story of all of these people who happened to be there and how that came to be.

I read Stones from the River when it came out and totally loved it. It has been a long time since then and I am undoubtedly a very different person than I was at 14 or 15 when I read it. Having said that, I thought that this book was on a similar level of awesomeness.

So much of the writing in this novel is beautiful and poetic that I wanted to love it, but the characters and their motivations often fell flat in very distracting ways. There are so many characters, which in itself isn’t a problem, but none of them are ever fully developed, and so the depth of their grief always felt shallow. The ending does come together in a crescendo that ultimately saves the piece, and I still found the story to be mostly enjoyable, but it’s not one that I would heartily recommend.

The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls by Ursula Hegi | ★★★ Review

A small, seaside town in Germany copes with the aftermath of a Hundred-Year Wave. The Zirkus approaches offering escapes, emotional for some and physical for others. St. Margaret’s Home for Pregnant Girls offers a haven for girls and purpose for women. Myths told to entertain children become a place of truth and hope for despairing adults.

This book reminded me of how I often feel when reading poetry. The words are beautifully strung together but I struggle to grasp the meeting. There were too many characters and plot lines going on for me, but the prose was lovely. I’m guessing that others will be swept away (no pun intended) by this book but overall it wasn’t for me.

This book will be published August 18th.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonanschuster for sending me an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful writing. Hard at times to figure out who is talking. Loved the school for pregnant girls and the living, nurturing way they were cared for.
But I could not get past the extreme sadness and how this sadness affected those involved. It is a perfect book for book club discussion. I always like to know if other readers feel the same as I do.