Book Reviews
A story of conversion, shattered love and the loss of faith, recalling 20th century masters like Graham Greene and Walker Percy…Frances is refreshingly down-to-earth in her spiritual convictions…Bauer gets right… the shifting balance of literary ambition and emotional need, Yeats’s old choice between perfection of the life or of the work. Bauer is herself a distinctive stylist who can write about Simone Weil or Kierkegaard with wit and charm. A fresh voice thinking seriously about what a religiously committed life might have felt like and perhaps, in our own far-from tranquil period, might feel like again
Christopher Benfey - New York Times Book Review
As Frances and Bernard explore the big questions about faith and a life dedicated to others versus one’s art, their correspondence grows enervatingly self-involved.... The writing has moments of quietly bracing insight, as these two fiercely particular individuals attempt to navigate the other.... It seems a pity that having taken on such potentially rich literary personalities, Ms. Bauer so stringently limits her own scope. The book’s pleasures do not, in the end, compensate for its timidity. Frances and Bernard remains, unlike its protagonists, entirely well behaved.
Claudia La Rocco - New York Times
Bauer…writes with authority and gusto about issues of faith. The prose here is exquisite, winding between narrative momentum and lofty introspection. And she employs the epistolary form nimbly, providing an intimate, uncluttered space for her characters to develop. The most unexpected pleasure of this period love story is spending time in the company of people who are engaged in the edifying pursuit of living as Christians—a good reminder that, regardless of the current upheaval in the church, the big questions are still worth asking.
Teresa Link - Washington Post
Graceful and gem-like …. Through Bauer’s sharp, witty, and elegant prose , [Frances and Bernard] become vibrant and original characters …. These are not your typical lovebirds, but writers with fierce and fine intellects.… We are reminded of the power of correspondence — the flirtation of it, the nervousness, the delicious uncertainty of writing bold things and then waiting days, weeks, or even months for a reply. After finishing this sweet and somber novel, we might sigh and think, "It's a shame we don’t write love letters anymore"— before stopping for a moment to marvel at the subtlety of what Bauer has wrought out of history and a generous imagination, and being thankful that someone still is.
Boston Globe
(3 stars.) Bauer's first novel is a moving tale about kindred spirits… It showcases an era in which literature and intellect were celebrated; its epistolary form lends itself to a delightful exchange of ideas as the protagonists dance with the possibility of love—and face its disappointments.
People
(Starred review.) Frances and Bernard are writers. She’s a novelist who studied at Iowa, Catholic, a bit prim, but tart-tongued. He’s a poet, descended from Puritans but a convert to Catholicism, prone to fits of mania. They meet in the late 1950s in a writer’s colony and become friends. If this sounds like Flannery O’Connor and Robert Lowell, it should: Frances and Bernard are their fictionalized avatars.... Bauer’s debut novel (after her memoir, Not That Kind of Girl) is well written, engrossing, and succeeds in making Frances and Bernard’s shared interest in religion believable and their relationship funny, sweet, and sad. A lovely surprise.
Publishers Weekly
In the late 1950s, over the course of one long lunch at a writer's workshop, Frances and Bernard begin a journey of love and loss. They banter about writing and the workshop's limitations, and, while falling in love, they struggle with the meaning of religion and the nature of friendship. In the end, their relationship is tested to the limits when Bernard suffers a manic episode.... This remarkable method of storytelling provides snapshots of the events that shape the story. —Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib., Providence
Library Journal
[A] debut novel of stunning subtlety, grace, and depth...Bauer’s use of the epistolary form is masterful as she forges a passionately spiritual, creative, and romantic dialogue between characters based on two literary giants famous for their brilliant letters, Flannery O’Connor and Robert Lowell.... They begin as friends sharing their thoughts and feelings about the church and writing and gradually, cautiously on Frances’ part, venture into love.... Bauer is phenomenally fluent...composing dueling letters of breathtaking wit, seduction, and heartbreak.
Booklist
Debut novelist Bauer pens an epistolary novel whose protagonists lead insular, self-absorbed and very dull lives..... There's no doubt Bauer is well-educated and passionate about her religious views, her love of literature and her characters, but her attempts to create stimulating spiritual and intellectual dialogue feel forced. The characters are too wrapped up in themselves and totally ignore anything outside their narrow personal spheres. How can they not once mention one word about the space race, Elvis, the Beatles, JFK's assassination or Vietnam (just to name a few of the social and political events that occurred) during their 11 years of correspondence? Disappointing.
Kirkus Reviews