Saint Sebastian’s Head is an incredibly moving novel about
one woman’s journey from a childhood of dark tragedy to the light of healing
that can come from love.
When Weeble, an engineer training for a triathlon, meets artist
Tom Paul as she runs by him one night while he’s dumpster-diving, the pretend
okay world she’s constructed for herself begins to crumble, forcing her to face
the traumatic past that still haunts her subconscious, ruling her life and
relationships despite how hard she’s tried to bury it. Revealing the inner demons that torment
Weeble through flashes to her childhood, author LeAnn Neal Reilly slowly
introduces readers to a harrowing tale of neglect, abuse and, ultimately,
horror, while the present-day relationship between Weeble and Tom Paul and the
intricate interplay of mysticism and harsh reality, faith and doubt, light and
darkness, underlies her journey to healing.
Beautiful prose, wonderful character development and a fairy
tale-like symbolism make what could have otherwise been only a painfully dark
story into a poetic and spiritual read about the human strength we don’t always
realize we possess, even when crippled by tragedy, as well as a touching,
light-filled love story. Because there
was quite a bit of emphasis on Tom Paul’s Orthodox spirituality and the mystic
nature he brought out in his art, I would have been interested in a bit more
understanding of his past relationships, as these do play a part in the story
but sometimes left me wondering about his desire for a deeper relationship with
Weeble before a physical one, while it seemed he might not have required or
found this with past romantic relationships.
However, this could be simply due to my own interest in theology and how
one’s worldview impacts every part of one’s life, and the sense that maybe I
didn’t have as much insight into his character as I might have liked, in this
particular regard, didn’t in any way take from the story. In the end, I found it extremely well-written
and a fascinating and meaningful novel with much to reflect on long after
reading. Highly recommended for
outstanding writing and its emotional and spiritual complexity, I look forward
to reading more by this talented author.
