Maggie marries her first serious boyfriend and settles into typical married life with the requisite two children and a comfortable middle class existence. An academic theologian Maggie is as devoted to God as she is to Thomas and her children.

When she begins writing to James, a poet they begin an illicit affair. As the children grow older so does the intensity of their letter writing and although they only meet on a handful of occasions their meetings are erotically charged. As she shirks the sexual advances of her husband and fights her feeling for James, Maggie must confront not only her devotion to Thomas but her devotion to God and her faith.

Fire Sermon is not your normal story of marital strife and an illicit affair. Its uniqueness is in the way it is written via letters, Maggie's sessions with her therapist and a series of flashbacks to her past life.

Yet, it also pits theology and faith against wants and desires. As Maggie's feelings towards James grow so does the guilt that she feels not only to her husband but also to her faith and her strong belief in God. She constantly wrestles with the need or perhaps duty to confess her sins, to absolve herself and feel whole again. Yes, she loves Thomas and is devoted to him, but does the pure physical joy and desire she feels with James warrant leaving her family?

I did get a little frustrated with Maggie and her dilemmas at times but this was perhaps the aim of the novelist, to provoke a reaction and to question what we would do in the same situation.

Quatro's writing is sparse but extremely eloquent and thought provoking. I found the latter part of the novel particularly emotional and tender.

It is not an easy novel to read and will not be to everyone's taste. I didn't form an opinion straight away and put the novel to one side to think about it before I could really appreciate the quality of the writing and its contents and write a review.

It is a very assured debut and I am looking forward to see what Quatro will write next

Thank you to Picador and Alice May Dewing for a proof copy to read and review.

“At least three times a month, the pastor continued, an unhappy spouse would come to his office and say, This marriage can’t be God’s will for me. God wants me to be happy.
And the pastor would say, Show me where it says that in the Bible.”
Maggie, a writer and practising Christian enjoys an intellectual correspondence and, finally, one solitary night of passion in Chicago with James, a poet, after which they agree never to meet again.
The book sounds slight, and yet the subject matter is massive. In a narrative that sweeps and dips round the timelines, taking in confessions, letters sent and unsent, emails, Socratic dialogues, Jamie Quatro explores love, faith and fidelity.
Her husband, Tom, is described as a “good husband”, (we never hear his point of view) though he seems something of a sexual bully, taking three goes, it seems to work out that his wife is simply not interested in vibrators. Likewise James’s wife Beth, “warm and witty and smart… but … funny about meeting my writer friends” (no kidding) doesn’t get a say.
Beautifully written, this book is a far better evocation of a marriage, its joys, frustrations and accommodations than, say, Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Jamie Quatro has written a moving and beautiful novel in The Fire Sermon. Unlike other stories that tell the story of illicit love or desire, this novel explores the subject using philosophy (I loved the appearances of Maggie Nelson and beyond) and theology. When Maggie has an affair, she is burdened not just with guilt for betraying her husband and children, but for turning away from her God. Quatro' writing is beautifully paced; it never hurries over the complexities of human emotion.

At times it feels a little too philosophically indulgent as Maggie and her lover James have intricate conversations analysing theology, poetry and philosophy. Although this is mostly a subtle and wonderful way of understanding the internal lives of the characters, occasionally it feels a little forced and can stint the flow of the novel.

I had never read any of Quatro's novels and will certainly be visiting her backlist!

If you are a person who enjoys reading about relationships and marriages along the same lines as Revolutionary Road by Richard Yate's I think you will love this. At times, this nonlinear narrative takes a little deeper concentration as it jumps from journal entries, to emails to counselling sessions but the work is worth it.

We follow Maggie as she divulges the most intimate details of her life and the incidents that happen between her and her husband, her lover and her children. At times tender and at others heartbreakingly honest, Quatro makes you want to look away as you feel you may be eavesdropping on someone's most private moments and conversations.

A must-read for those who enjoy novels that consider marriage, religion, philosophy and the impacts these have on us and what happens if we meet someone who is prepared to listen to our deepest most hidden thoughts on these subjects.

This is a book about the lifelong marriage between Maggie and Thomas. Maggie is an academic who gives up her studies to bring up their two children whilst Thomas works in a city job. The book explores the tensions at the heart of the marriage driven by Maggie's passionate affair with James, a poet. Maggie also has a complex relationship with her Christian faith and there are several deep theological conversations between her and James about the nature of (and contradictions at the heart of) the Christian faith.

The book jumps around in time and is told from multiple viewpoints - letters and emails from Maggie to James, Maggie's conversations with God and with an unknown person (her therapist?). It's initially difficult to place yourself within the different time periods / narrative modes but the prose is wonderful throughout and the various strands slowly start to tie together.

I loved this book and am moving straight on to her story collection!

'I admit that unless something is forbidden I cannot want it with any intensity. I admit that unless something is forbidden I can't fucking feel anything.'

Sweet Jesus, what a writer.

I loved this. The language is gorgeous, it’s smart and intense and short. And the main character, Maggie, is a mess. I also love that she is reading Bluets in the first part of the novel, and she calls Maggie Nelson, 'the blue author'.

Life, living, love, desire, devotion, morality, god - it’s all there. Especially how destructive desire can be and how we willingly tear apart our well-made worlds to touch its edges.