Come Sunday
By Isla Morley
Sarah Crichton Books, $25.00, 319 pages
In Isla Morley’s debut novel, Come Sunday, she takes us into the ho-hum life of Abbe Deighton, the wife of a minister who spends her time running after her three-year-old daughter and trying to steer clear of the gossiping church-goers. Abbe, a native of South Africa, lives in Hawaii, though it is not all sunshine and laidback surfers. When Abbe’s world is utterly shattered after an unexpected tragedy, she struggles to find the pieces to pull her life back together.
We discover Abbe’s troubled childhood, filled with alcoholic parents and an abusive father who struck fear into the heart of Abbe and her mother. After spending her whole life viewing her mother as a meek woman, when Abbe returns to her hometown she finds there are long-kept secrets creeping up on her. These flashbacks are as captivating as the rest of the novel.
Come Sunday is a beautifully written work of tragedy, perseverance and ultimately, hope. In short, it is an often sad, yet terrific read.
Reviewed by Jackie Correa
