THE LAST REPORT ON THE MIRACLES AT LITTLE NO HORSE, by Louise Erdrich

The book is the strange story of a farm woman who by chance takes on the role of a country priest, Father Damian Modeste, in a Native American Objiwa reservation in North Dakota in 1912. Erdrich won the National Book Critics' Circle Award for the novel. Much of the book chronicles her amazing yet sincere role play. The other aspect of the plot is her investigation into purportedly miraculous occurances that might lead to the cannonization of a local nun, sister Leopolda,  that had taken place in the previous century. The "miracles" plotline moves in unexpected and interesting directions. The story's chronology is complex and shifts back and forth over a century. It's a book of great beauty that highlights the complex struggle to understand "truth".

click here for a review of the book from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/04/08/reviews/010408.08klinket.html