Agatha of Little Neon (2021) by Claire Luchette

 1001 Novels: A Library of America

Agatha of Little Neon (2021)

by Claire Luchette

Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Rhode Island: 1/9

   Welcome to the party Rhode Island! This is the last state in New England that I haven't actually visited. Lord knows I've tried to convince Amy at least to drive over the border once but I've been so far unsuccessful.  Meanwhile she goes there every other year to "work" at the Newport Folk Festival.  Newport looks nice, the rest of Rhode Island... it's basically the southern equivalent of the New Hampshire seacoast region- they even have their own Portsmouth in a similar location.  Unlike New Hampshire there is no "rest" of Rhode Island.  

   Nine books is in line with the rest of the smaller states of New England- looking ahead there is at least one book I'm unlikely to actually read in full (She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb), one s****** genre mystery (Murder at Crossways by Alyssa Maxwell), a coming-of-age novel by a Hollywood a-hole (Outside Providence by Peter Farrelly) and also this book, Agatha of Little Neon, a debut novel by Claire Luchette (whose pronouns are they/them- or she/them).  

   Like other readers, I found Agatha of Little Neon very enjoyable- I should say here I listened to the Audiobook version because it was available on the Libby Library app- most of the book takes place in Woonsocket, a small town in Northern Rhode Island.  Agatha is a Religious Sister- if you don't know the difference between Nuns and Religious Sisters, Nuns are cloistered- removed from the world- whereas Religious Sisters can do stuff- work- even though they both dress alike.   

  At the beginning of the book Agatha and her three co-horts are being relocated from their parish outside Buffalo New York to Little Neon- a recovery facility located in Rhode Island.   Once they get there they engage with the lives of the half-way house residents and Agatha gets a gig teaching geometry at the local Catholic high school.  If it sounds low stakes, it is, but it's also a compelling opportunity to read fiction about two groups: Religious Sisters and half-way house residents, who you don't often hear about in literary fiction.

  I've lived and worked for years in Golden Hill in San Diego and there are several halfway houses in the area- they've been there for decades at this point- and I often see the residents going about their business and thought that each of them has a story to tell, also that telling their story might help them gain insight.