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by Michelle Webster-Hein
When a woman questioning her marriage encounters the kind and steadfast pastor of her small town, they are both forced to reconsider their pasts, their faith, and their future.
Robert Glory has never quite felt as though he fit in the small town of Esau, Michigan, but he finds solace in his role as the pastor of Esau Baptist and in his spare, orderly routine. When Susan Shearer arrives at his church seeking the strength to stay true to her increasingly volatile husband, neither expect that their immediate connection will upend both of their lives. As their relationship deepens and Susan's life at home becomes more unstable, Robert and Susan are forced to confront the wounds that have shaped them and discover if they still have the power to change.
Told from five different perspectives—including Susan's husband, Randy, her brilliant but high-strung young daughter, Willa, and Robert's long-estranged mother, Leotie—Out of Esau is a visceral look at the dynamics of an abusive marriage, a nuanced portrait of faith and its loss, and a sweeping story of redemption.
"The narrators' distinct voices complement this beautifully descriptive, character-driven work contemplating themes of change and doing the right thing." —Booklist
"Eloquent ... A worthy first outing." —Publishers Weekly
"A graceful fiction debut ... Soulful ... With characters yearning for intimacy and acceptance, Hein delicately probes the meanings of family, freedom, and desire. A gentle tale of love and loneliness." —Kirkus Reviews
"Beautifully captures the rewards and burdens of the intimate connections between mothers, fathers and their children ... Fully submerges readers in both its setting and the innermost thoughts of the characters ... The novel celebrates profound human connections ... Heartbreakingly genuine characters distinguish Webster-Hein's nuanced portrayal of love and loyalty to one's family." —Shelf Awareness
"Out of Esau is a tremendous achievement. A literary page-turner with prose that dips and soars, and characters that leap off the page. I was deeply moved by this tale of love, faith, and family, and I know you will be, too. This wonderful novel is one of the best books of the year." —David Heska Wanbli Weiden, author of Winter Counts
"With gorgeous, glittering prose, Michelle Webster Hein explores a community in rural Michigan, looking at family, marriage, and faith with a precise, compassionate eye. A novel of rare honesty and beauty." —Karen E. Bender, author of Refund and The New Order
This information about Out of Esau was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Michelle Webster-Hein and her family work a small homestead in the southern Michigan countryside where she was born and raised. Out of Esau is her first novel.
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