Welcome to the site for Baby Jesus Pawn Shop. The novel, published by The Permanent Press, was released in November 2008.

Publishers Weekly, September 8, 2008, Starred Review, “stellar first novel.”

National Public Radio says, “Think Dr. Zhivago in Southeast Asia.”  Full review:  Fine fiction always offers a strong sense of time and place along with a compelling plot, memorable characters and a significant theme, but what first-time novelist Lucia Orth has pulled off is really impressive:  a haunting, suspenseful, beautifully written love story that takes place in The Philippines. The time is 1982, during the despotic regime of that brutal thug, Ferdinand Marcos, venal wife, Imelda, and their military toadies. The wonder is that it’s not a political screed but a tale essentially about the Filipino people. Think Dr. Zhivago in Southeast Asia.                         Joan Baum, National Public Radio