Little Flower

Little Flower is a novel about Sister Shanti, an elderly nun from Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, and Meeta, a young prostitute in New Delhi, whose lives are tied together in ways that become increasingly clear – and complicated – as time goes on.

Ted Oswald is a gifted storyteller, and that gift is on full display here. This novel is written from the perspective of a close observer, in the form of a letter to Pope Francis, urging him to consider Sister Shanti's case for sainthood (noting her 142 miracles, of course). Only it's not so much a letter as a guided tour on rickshaws and by foot, in brothels, and among slaves in a brick kiln.

Here's a snippet from near the end of the story:

“We could argue about what a saint is or is not, but I am beyond convincing otherwise: a saint is a person who touches you and you become alive in a new way; one who suffers from all the same doubts and fears and failures as the rest; who knows perfection is unattainable and rejoices that it is so. Give me the Shantis of this world, who are free to love because they know they are loved. Who are utterly human, and who shine with holiness nevertheless.”