“… so skillfully composed it is an effortless read, and a gripping one. The dialogue is spot-on and events unfold with realism and momentum.” “A Blessed Snarl is a merging, even collision, of the high and low, saints and back alleys, bile and grace. It is crafted with compression and compactness. It shows a gritty urban world. But one where there is humour, generosity, and mercy.”
“Martin has a certain knack for writing out and excavating the things in life that are difficult to read, let alone experience… This human struggle, what Martin seeks to portray most of all, is explored in a remarkably sensitive, observant manner, and is often gritty, disturbing, nerve-wracking, and heartbreaking but also breathtakingly satisfying.”
“Samuel Thomas Martin’s debut novel dives right into the densest mysteries of life—the “blessed snarl” of its title. The novel is woven with opposing convictions: Catholicism and Protestantism, murder and innocence, the spirituality of art and of speaking in tongues—a warp and weft that is pulled tight by anger and let loose again by grief. All this set into an icy Newfoundland landscape that wreaks its own chaos on its inhabitants … Despite the heaviness of the material, Martin’s fine hand with characterization makes moments of longed-for reunion ring true… ”
“I’m capable of being critical… but when I read a thoughtful novel like A Blessed Snarl, I simply stand and applaud. I might even be tempted to call Martin’s accomplishment anointed.”