This was an outstanding read. I read The Woman Who Walked Into Doors and Paula Spencer when they were released a long time ago, so I’m well familiar wThis was an outstanding read. I read The Woman Who Walked Into Doors and Paula Spencer when they were released a long time ago, so I’m well familiar with Paula Spencer.
Roddy Doyle captures the way women speak so well. He just gets the female voice better than any other male author I have encountered.
Paula is now sixty six. She’s still sober and working in a dry cleaners with her friend, Mary. It’s Covid time and Paula goes to get vaccinated along with Mary. Mandy, a younger friend, joins them for the outing driving them to the vaccination centre and they make a day out of it bringing McDonald’s to the beach.
Her pride and joy, daughter Nicola suddenly appears at her house. Nicola is 47 now. She always seems to have led a charmed life. She has a good husband, Tony, a great job, always looks gorgeous and has supported Paula financially and emotionally for a long time. Nicola tells Paula she won’t be going home. She saw Tony’s brother leering at her 15 year old daughter, Lily and it raised some painful memories for her. Her own dad leered at her at the same age. Paula saw it and hit him over the head with a frying pan, throwing him out of the house.
The Spencer family's past with the horribly abusive Charlo is explored. He used to batter Paula senseless. Paula recognises that Nicola mothered her when she was stuck in the mire of alcoholism and abuse, and even later during her recovery. Her other kids are going ok. Jack is a professor at a university in America, John Paul is a recovering heroin addict, and Leanne is just Leanne. Paula has a good relationship with her grandchildren. She knows they love her, whereas Nicola just tolerates her. Paula has a relationship with Joe who’s six years older than her. She cares for him but does not want to move in with him. She sometimes finds his middle class ways difficult to deal with. She’s desperate for forgiveness from all of her children but does not know if it will ever be forthcoming.
The book mainly focuses upon conversations between Mary and Paula, and Paula and Nicola. The poor relationship Paula has with Nicola because of the past is exposed in this way. Nicola thinks she should have left Charlo earlier but Paula couldn’t because of her fear of Charlo, her low self esteem, and alcoholism.
This is a sad book that is also very funny in parts. It is brilliantly written. It was a short, absorbing read. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it. Hopefully there will be a sequel given the book’s ending. I highly recommend this great book to others.
I really enjoyed this well written and engaging read.
It is a story told by Tina, Sarah, Doug, and Pete. Tina lives on the streets in Kings Cross two I really enjoyed this well written and engaging read.
It is a story told by Tina, Sarah, Doug, and Pete. Tina lives on the streets in Kings Cross two years after she had run away from home at 15. Her mum lived with a god botherer. Her darling brother Tim has passed away, Tina is devastated , and the mum’s boyfriend keeps trying to shove religion down her throat. Tina engages in prostitution in Kings Cross to survive.
On a winter's night she accepts a client's offer to go home with him. In his house she sees a skeletal child tied up by ropes under the table. She’s horrified to see the boy but pretends to be blase. She gives the man a blow job, is paid $20 and leaves, although the man is reluctant to let her go. She invents an imaginary pimp to deter him from following her.
The boy Tina sees is Doug and Sarah’s son Lockie who went missing 4 months earlier at the Sydney show. They are distraught and are desperate to find Lockie. They only turned their backs for a minute and he disappeared. They search frantically and spend a month in Sydney futilely looking for Lockie. Sarah has sunk into a deep depression. Their friends Pete, a copper, and wife Margie who love Lockie are also suffering. They do their best to help with Sarah and Doug’s daughter Sammy.
Tina cannot bear the thought of the little emaciated boy under the table. She keeps thinking of her late brother Timmy who was 8, around the same age. She goes back to the house that night and rescues Lockie , getting in through an open window. The client finds her and a struggle ensues.
Tina frees Lockie, feeds him at McDonald’s, and brings him back to her squat. He refuses to go to a police station as the man who snatched him wore a uniform, albeit a security guard’s uniform. The story continues from there in an interesting way. This is a very absorbing read, tragic yet hopeful , which I recommend to others. It’s a quick read and is well written....more
I loved this book. It was a most welcome gift. I became absorbed in it from the first chapter. My interest never flagged throughout its 500 plus pagesI loved this book. It was a most welcome gift. I became absorbed in it from the first chapter. My interest never flagged throughout its 500 plus pages.
The story is told from several different points of view. On a flight from Hobart to Sydney an older woman gets up and walks through the plane announcing the cause of death and age at death of all the passengers on board the plane, including a baby. Paula, the baby’s mum, is horrified as she’s told her baby, Timmy, will drown at age seven.
Cherry, the death announcer, becomes known online as the “Death Lady”. Allegra is a beautiful flight attendant who has just turned 28 and is told she’ll die that year from self harm. Leo is a civil engineer with a stressful, nervous disposition and a lighting bitch of a boss, Lilith. He’s told he’ll perish in a workplace accident on his 43rd birthday, only months away. Paula is a lawyer and a mum. Eve has just got married and is told she’ll die of intimate partner homicide. This causes her husband much horror. Sue is a nurse who’s 62, and is told she’ll die at 63 from pancreatic cancer. Ethan is 27 and is told he’ll die of an assault at 28. He had a friend Harvey who has recently died at 29 so this worries him. He has the hots for his wealthy flatmate, Jasmine, who doesn’t really notice him.
You have to like Cherry in all her eccentricity. She leads a really interesting life which is well described, interspersed throughout the book. I also enjoyed her mum, Madam Mae, a fortune teller, and her dad who enjoyed doing maths related things with her. Her Auntie Pat, a tough character who served in the nursing corps during the Second World War, appealed to me as well.
The plane situation was brilliantly described. It was easy to imagine the panic you’d feel if it happened to yourself!
Paula was a favourite character of mine. Being stuck at home with two young kids after being a lawyer is stultifying for her. She’s a huge worrier. I liked Eve and Leo as well. Ethan and Allegra were lovely characters.
A few of Cherry’s predictions appear to be coming true, leading to feelings of helplessness and panic in others on the flight, causing some to make life changes.
Here One Moment is a superb, well written read that I highly recommend to others....more
I really enjoyed this read. Issy gets dumped before her wedding to Steve. She decides to go on her Caribbean honeymoon with her cousin, Celeste.
She seI really enjoyed this read. Issy gets dumped before her wedding to Steve. She decides to go on her Caribbean honeymoon with her cousin, Celeste.
She sees Charles, a handsome and well known author, by the pool. She’s 29. He is 49. She falls for him although he can be rude and has poor social skills. She has a pre read of a book he is writing and tells him that it’s awful. She likes crime novels and advises him to write one. He decides to give writing one a go and makes a good fist of it.
Aerial is Charles’ agent and ex wife. She works very hard to market his books. She spoils Charles, who is egotistical. They often have drinks on a Friday as her office is in his mews house and they sometimes sleep together. Aerial is inclined to act as Charles’ dogsbody.
After the holiday, Issy to her surprise continues to see Charles. Aerial is told nothing of this relationship and continues on her not so merry way with Charles. Charles’ mum ( who doesn’t like Aerial) and his sister also feature. Issy has a civil service job in Customs and Excise so her life is very different from Charles’ glamorous life. Charles also takes Issy for granted.
Aerial, as usual, organises Charles’ glittering New Year’s Eve party. Issy and cousin Celeste attend the party. Charles proposes to Issy. She is shocked but says yes. Charles announces the engagement to his guests. Aerial is horrified, especially as Charles never did finalise their divorce, and she is highly disapproving. She does not think they are suited at all.
There is no smooth sailing post engagement for Issy. Much drama ensues between Issy, Charles, and Aerial. Steve tries to weasel his way back into Izzy’s life. This book has a good plot that keeps up the reader’s interest.
This is an engaging read that goes for well over 400 pages....more
It’s working class Dublin in the 1980s. Those f*cking sadistic nuns and priests are in their ascendancyI loved this book. It’s amazingly well written.
It’s working class Dublin in the 1980s. Those f*cking sadistic nuns and priests are in their ascendancy beating and tormenting small children in school and condescending to them all powerfully at mass.
Juno is defiant. She has a loser, drunk dad and a talented seamstress mum who the nasty neighbours take advantage of by not paying her in full. The mum keeps the family going financially. Juno loves watching her mum sew. Juno stands up for Sean in school when a nun and priest are abusing him. The power mad priest beats the crap out of both of them and targets them even further.
Juno renames Sean Legs. Legs is effeminate and the cruel nuns mock and revile him because of this. The nasty priest calls him names like faggot, etc and speaks to his mum of sending him to a special boarding school in Belfast. Juno and Legs become great friends. They love each other; are allies. All they have is one another. Juno’s mum is suddenly killed when she’s 12 and she’s left at the mercy of her awful, hapless dad.
Legs is a great artist. Juno loves to watch her mother sew and repair garments, wanting to be allowed to use her Singer sewing machine. She spends hours at the local library, befriending Missus H who is very kind to her, suggesting books for her to read.
A horrendous event ( well deserved by the sadistic priest who is its victim) separates them for years. I cheered at this event just as I cheered when nasty Mrs Nugent got her just desserts in The Butcher Boy. They reunite years later and Legs cares for Juno, who is now homeless. Legs is very sick . It takes Juno a while to realise this. They have some good times together before they have to separate again. There is light at the end of the tunnel though.
This is a poignant, beautifully written book that I highly recommend to others. It’s not just a dreadfully tragic and dark story....more
I really enjoyed this read. Well drawn, interesting characters. A very well written book. It was a short read, at least for me.
My heart broke for SopI really enjoyed this read. Well drawn, interesting characters. A very well written book. It was a short read, at least for me.
My heart broke for Sophie when Matt told her that he was leaving her after 30 years for another woman, just as they were about to move into a new home in Hastings. Their son Beau was a lovely character, albeit being a womaniser. Charlie, the wine guy, was definitely a good match for Sophie.
Sophie meeting Matt’s mistress at his funeral, who was wearing his leather jacket, was an interesting touch! Sophie sending in the troops to tell the mistress to sling her hook was excellent.
The story played out nicely. That Sophie nearly had an affair with her brother in law was a good twist. I liked the way that Beau cluelessly and haplessly went to work for his dad’s mistress, Juliet and unwittingly became close to his half sister. Juliet’s blackmailing employee was also a good addition to the story.
I would highly recommend this entertaining and sometimes sad read to others.
My thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Sarah Gilmartin’s Service is an outstanding read. It has an interesting and appealing dust jacket; an excellent choice.
This is essentially a “Me Too” Sarah Gilmartin’s Service is an outstanding read. It has an interesting and appealing dust jacket; an excellent choice.
This is essentially a “Me Too” story. It is narrated by three people: Daniel a celebrity chef who has been charged with sexual assault because of a police complaint made by an employee, Hannah, a waitress who worked for him at Restaurant T over a decade earlier, and Julie, Daniel’s wife , who wants to believe Daniel but is infused with rage at how the case is affecting her and her young sons adversely.
We hear how Julie was the main breadwinner in the relationship for years whilst Daniel honed his craft as a chef and often went on courses ( sometimes junkets) in Europe to develop his skills. Daniel and Julie are now very well off. He has opened his own restaurant some years back. They live in a spectacular, salubrious house in Dalkey. They are both from working class backgrounds. Daniel has developed a monumental ego as his fame and celebrity increased over the years.
This is a powerfully written novel that delves into the seamy underbelly of the restaurant business, describes what can happen with female staff late at night when the restaurant shifts are finished. It explores the power wielded by Daniel, his manager, his fellow chefs and barmen, over the less powerful women who work at the restaurant as waitresses.
Hannah is a victim of sexual assault. She’s a country girl from Thurles who has just finished her third year at Trinity. She is a talented student. She secures a waiting job at sought after restaurant T, which is reigned over by celebrity chef Daniel Costello. She is very taken with the glamour of the restaurant and with the fact that she can earn so much money in tips. She sees the sometimes sleazy customers and their horrible attitudes and actions towards her as a price she has to pay for working there. She is impressed with Daniel, who takes her under his wing and wants her to be a chef. She later sees another side to him late at night when all kinds of skulduggery happens at staff drinks. Drug use and drinking are rife at the restaurant staff socialising events at the end of the night. There is a shocking incident involving Hannah, Daniel, and his slimy cousin Flynn that makes Hannah see Daniel’s true colours.
Service switches easily between the three narrators. Ten years have passed since Hannah’s time working at the restaurant. Tracey, who worked there with her back then reports Daniel for sexual assault. Other women do too, but only Tracey’s case ends up making it to trial.
A minor character, Daniel’s sister in law, Susan interestingly gets some controversial lines in the novel. She says straight out to Daniel at one point that she feels the Me Too movement has gone too far but that she and others who feel the same could never say that publicly for fear of being lynched!
The book reminded me in parts of a latter day Are You Somebody? by Nuala O’ Faolain, a book that I have long loved.
Julie struggles during the trial. Initially she does not want to attend the trial but Daniel’s barrister is adamant that it will make a good impression on the jury for her to be present, as the loyal and supportive wife. Julie ruminates about how hard she worked in the early years of her marriage, putting off having children until her late 30s so that Daniel could become successful. She worries about her boys, now aged 13, and 15, and how the lengthy trial impacts so adversely upon them. Friends have become scarce on the ground since the news of the prosecution broke. Although Daniel is not named publicly, everyone knows that he’s the accused because of an online campaign.
Hannah’s life is marred as a result of her sexual assault. She scrapes through her degree, has a number of dysfunctional relationships, and later marries. At the time of Daniel’s prosecution, her marriage has just broken up. She doesn’t feel that she can help Tracey in her sexual assault prosecution, describe just how misogynistic the atmosphere at the restaurant was, and describe her own adverse experiences. The psychological effects of her sexual assault all those years ago stops her from doing so, as she has never reported her assault or sought counseling.
Sarah Gilmartin explores what goes through the minds of her three narrators brilliantly. She exposes how Julie makes excuses for Daniel whilst at the same time doubting him. She demonstrates very well how Daniel’s ego and his celebrity status has led him to believe that he is some kind of Demi God who can do no wrong. He is not painted as a one dimensional character though, as he is also tormented by the demons in his own past, his low socio economic background, and the memory his dad who took his own life when Daniel was young.
This novel is very engaging and absorbing. It is beautifully written. I found it hard to put down once I started to read it, especially the sections involving the court case.
This is a dark, unsettling novel, which as well as showing the stark and often dankly exploitative reality of life in the restaurant industry for powerless female employees, also explores the difficulties sexual assault complainants face both in getting cases to court, and also how intimidating giving evidence in court can be for them.
I highly recommend this powerfully written and thought provoking novel to others....more
Tim Collins is wrongly accused of a crime ( the murder of a young woman Jessie) as a young man in 1990, Dark Streets by Tadhg Coakley is a great read.
Tim Collins is wrongly accused of a crime ( the murder of a young woman Jessie) as a young man in 1990, whilst he is studying at UCC. He gets a very hard time from the Gardai following his arrest. This adverse time marks his life irrevocably, as he cared for Jessie. Tim is an inter county hurler. He has a brother who is studying at Cambridge, who is deeply shocked at his wrongful arrest. The actual murderer is later apprehended. Tim completes two degrees at UCC. He later decides that he wants to join the Gardai. His dad, who wants him to take over the family farm, is disappointed as he thinks joining the Gardai would be a waste of Tim’s university education. Tim actually enjoys it at the Gardai training centre at Templemore. The law areas of his studies particularly appeal to him, as does the physicality of the training given his hurling background.
This is a crime thriller set in the dark underbelly of Cork. It is a story that moves time wise between 1990 and 2015. The movement between the decades is done seamlessly by Coakley. This story captures the essence of Cork so well. People drinking in The iconic Long Valley ( an old haunt of mine) the Roundy, etc. Tim enjoys a meal at Cafe Paradiso , a well known and highly regarded Cork restaurant. Shandon Street and the gated ( not in the salubrious sense) lanes off it merit a few mentions.
The late Fr. Michael O’Brien ( known as Micko to all who were trained in hurling/ camogie by him ) makes an appearance. Micko is well described by Coakley. Showing up at the Garda station after Tim is arrested and demanding to see his “hurler “, his general demeanour when dealing with others, etc.
Although this is a grim crime story, there are some amusing one liners in it. Tim investigates an abduction case in Kerry that involves drugs. One scene set in Kerry ( Ballyferriter): “Welcome to the Kingdom,’ he said in a broad Kerry accent, smiling; remembering a story about cranky Cork people being diverted to Farranfore Airport on a flight from London.”
Over 20 years after joining the Gardai, Tim is investigating a series of grim crimes in Cork involving a vulnerable, marginalised group, who are terrified not only by the crimes but also by the Gardai’s lack of interest in these powerless victims of crime. The Garda investigation prior to his involvement appears to have been shoddy, with a patent inaction and barely any effort having been made by Gardai.
The more Tim involves himself in the investigation and digs into the unsavoury facts of these crimes , the more disturbed he becomes. He remembers and ruminates on his days as a young UCC student being wrongfully arrested. He wonders at times as the investigation proceeds whether he’s seeking justice or revenge.
As Tim becomes more involved in this investigation in the murky underbelly of Cork, those whom he considers allies become adversaries and the truth evades him. He gets briefly suspended from duty following an altercation with a colleague. Secrets and skullduggery abound. He ponders whether he made a mistake 20 plus years ago joining the Gardai in an attempt to pursue justice for others. He has to decide whether he, just one man, can make a difference; to determine how far he will go to uncover the truth.
There are many twists and turns in this well written story that brims with suspense. I found it to be a very absorbing tale, and it was difficult to put down once I started reading it. I have rated the novel as five star and I highly recommend this novel to others. The acknowledgements page was a pleasure to read as Coakley thanks profusely both those who assisted him in developing his writing and helped with the editing of this book, as well as booksellers and librarians. It was heartening to see his acknowledgement of librarians given their recently being terrorised in their workplace by Fascists.
I received a complimentary ARC from BookSirens and this is an objective, honest review that I leave voluntarily. I wished to leave a review on Goodreads but Goodreads has not yet listed Dark Streets on its forum. Once they do, I will copy this review across. ...more
A superbly written story so far. I read this witty excerpt last night that I just had to mention. I’ll be back with a proper review when I’m finished.A superbly written story so far. I read this witty excerpt last night that I just had to mention. I’ll be back with a proper review when I’m finished.
“She looked at her husband - simple and ordinary. She thought about getting the wine bottle and going to the end of the table and bringing it down over his simple, ordinary head.”
I’m finished reading it now. It didn’t take me long to read as it is a very engrossing story. I found it hard to put the book down once I started reading it. It’s an outstanding debut that is beautifully written. The characters are brilliantly developed. Donal is the type of faithless cur who should be tarred and feathered! He’d get up on a gust of wind and has a long suffering wife, Dolores, who he had a shotgun wedding to many years before. Izzy, who suffers from depression, does her best with a self absorbed husband, James, the local TD, whose main concern is what everyone is saying or thinking about him. Colette, a writer, left her husband for another fella and you’d think she was your man McArthur who callously murdered Bridie Gargan and the Offaly farmer the way townsfolk derided her! The new Parish Priest, Brian ( a former Garda) is viewed with suspicion as he likes to chat with Izzy whom he finds entertaining. Shaun Crowley, the town bigwig, is getting his own back on Colette for leaving him by keeping her in penury and denying her time with her own sons after she returns to the town, following the failure of her relationship with the man she left him for.
The Coast Road is set in a town in Ireland during the 1990s, before divorce became legal. It focuses predominantly on Izzy, Colette, and Dolores and how they manage and cope with their difficult marital relationships. Murrin delves into the female mind very well in the way he portrays their thoughts and actions.
The Donegal town where the story is set is wonderfully described by Murrin. The hardships and dangers faced by the fishermen. The beauty of the sight and the sound of the sea. The gossip that is rife in the town. The people in the town who thrive on trying to live others’ lives for them.
Colette runs a writing class and Izzy becomes a member. The two women grow close. Colette admires the perceptive way that Izzy writes. A rift arises between the women after Izzy helps Colette to see her young son Carl clandestinely and it is discovered by the controlling Shaun. The story also explores how Izzy’s young son Niall, Carl’s friend, suffers as a result of his parents’ deteriorating relationship.
The divorce referendum, and how it impacted upon the lives of so many people played a big background part here. James meets with the Bishop for his own selfish reasons and the referendum and Janes’ party’s position on it is discussed openly, with a dim view being adopted by the Bishop.
This is a beautifully written book about sadness, hope, failing and flailing relationships and the pain they cause people, both adults and children, and about small town Irish life at a particular time of social and legal upheaval.
I loved reading this book. I hope that Alan Murrin receives an award for it and that he goes on to write further heartwarming and challenging books....more
I am rereading this book after many years, maybe 15. I loved it the first time I read it and am enjoying Stella’s Sussex adventure again so far. The hI am rereading this book after many years, maybe 15. I loved it the first time I read it and am enjoying Stella’s Sussex adventure again so far. The horrible death of her younger brother shocked me, so I must have blotted that out. For some reason ( the arrows/ javelin similarity maybe) it reminded me of We Need To Talk About Kevin. I’ll write a full review when I’m finished my reread.
This was a great reread. Stella, the main protagonist, is a superb character. Martin is excellent as well. Mad Madden ( Piers) the dad, interested me, as did cranky Pamela, the mum. Mr. Trimmer, who wanted to make Stella his paramour was painted as eccentricity in itself. All the characters in the book are exceptionally well drawn.
Stella’s sojourn in the country that looks like it might become more permanent is brilliantly written. She leaves her husband of a couple of weeks to work as a carer for Martin, the Madden family’s son, who is in a wheelchair. She pretends she can drive (as it was a job requirement) when she can’t, which leads to a funny, chaotic incident.
The well off Maddens are a strange and volatile family, yet on some level Stella takes to them. There’s awful snobby Caroline, the daughter, and Toby, the feckless and arrogant son. Stella tells them she used to be a secretary but it later emerges she was a solicitor when the other daughter, Millie and her boyfriend Mark, who was at university with Stella, discover her in dire straits.
Stella is intrinsically a sad person. Her life in the country gives her adventures she would never have anticipated. The villagers have a grudge with Piers Madden and campaign against him because he’s trying to cut off a public right of way on his land. Stella encounters the head honcho of the campaign, a strange character who runs the post office. Although the story only covers about a week in the country we have flashbacks to Stella’s earlier life, particularly her childhood. She ruminates on her older brother who used to be happy and a bit of a comedian before her younger brother was tragically killed.
Rachel Cusk’s Country Life, which is very funny in parts, is a very well written book; a great study on human nature and different personality types. I highly recommend it to other readers....more
I read A special Relationship many years ago and I loved it. I am now rereading it and once again I rate it very highly. It is really well written andI read A special Relationship many years ago and I loved it. I am now rereading it and once again I rate it very highly. It is really well written and it pulls no punches.
I think the English people who were whinging about it in reviews because Kennedy doesn’t fawn over the English health and legal systems, or indeed the English themselves, need to get out a bit more and perhaps grow a thicker skin!
I will write a more detailed review once I have finished my reread. I have now finished the reread.
Sally Goodchild is a 37 year old American foreign correspondent based in Cairo when she meets fellow journalist Tony Hobbs ( English) who saves her life. They start a relationship. He is not an open person, diverting with self deprecating humour when Sally tries to dig deeper and Sally feels unsure of him. Tony is offered. a promotion back to the London office of the Chronicle where he has worked for years on an overseas basis. She discovers that she’s pregnant. They decide to get married , move to London, and buy a house.
When pregnancy related medical issues put Sally in hospital she loses a new job she secured in London with the Boston Post, where she has worked for a long time basis overseas. Tony becomes increasingly unreliable, blaming the pressures of his new job.. Sally has a terrible labour and develops severe post natal depression.
She ends up back in hospital in a psychiatric ward after she accidentally breastfeeds her baby whilst on sedatives. In the mire of depression she says unwise things of a threatening nature about the baby. After two months in the psychiatric ward she goes home. Tony is not around much. He is either out until late at night where he claims he’s at work functions or else goes to his study to work on a novel. He doesn’t help at all with the baby and she feels overwhelmed.
Her sister in Boston’s ex husband dies and she flies there to support her sister and children. Tony acts very supportive, even getting her an upgraded flight. When she returns to London, Tony and baby Jack are missing. Tony has obtained an interim parenting order for Jack, citing Sally as an unfit mother because of the threats, etc. She struggles to cope as he’s also shut down their bank accounts. She has to get a solicitor to challenge the interim patenting order on limited funds.
She discovers Tony has another woman who wants baby Jack as her own and now knows that the three of them live together. The story then focuses upon the fight for custody/ residence of baby Jack and Sally’s attempts to stay sane and make a living whilst she’s allowed only one hour a week supervised access with Jack.
It’s a fast moving story, albeit covering a lot of ground and issues, both health wise and legal wise . There are many twists and turns in the legal saga of who will get custody/ residence of Jack. This is such a well written read. You never really know what is going to ultimately happen with baby Jack as a lot of suspense is maintained. The characters: solicitors, social workers, judges, medical professionals, etc are all very well drawn. I enjoyed the ending.
I highly recommend this engrossing and absorbing story to others....more
I have been hanging out to read the Eilis Lacey sequel to Brooklyn. It did not disappoint. I would go as far as saying that it’s Colm Toibin’s best boI have been hanging out to read the Eilis Lacey sequel to Brooklyn. It did not disappoint. I would go as far as saying that it’s Colm Toibin’s best book to date. The Heather Blazing will always stay close to my heart, but Long Island has stolen it.
Eilis’ life on Long Island is fine. She has two children. The 17 year old highly intelligent Rosella and the charmer, Jack the lad Larry who’s not academic but is a lively character. Her husband, Tony, a plumber who she married over 20 years ago makes a decent living. She used to do the books for Tony and two of his brothers but escaped to work for an Armenian man who rates her highly and gives her history books to read. She lives in a cul de sac peopled by Tony’s mum and dad and his two brothers and their wives and children.
She misses Ireland. Sometimes she feels that she doesn’t really belong in America. She writes to her mum regularly but her mum never acknowledges photos she sends of her growing children . Whilst her life with the Fiorellis can be claustrophobic, Eilis thinks it’s not a bad life overall. She has on occasion thought of Jim Farrell whom she had a romance with when she went back to Ireland after her sister died. She had secretly married Tony before going back. The town horror gossip, Nettles Kelly threatened to reveal her secret to the town and she returned to Tony in America.
One day a man comes to her door and tells her that Tony has gotten his wife pregnant. He is insistent that he will not rear that child and if necessary will leave it on Eilis’ step when born. Her mother in law and the clever brother in the family, Frank, who is a lawyer, become involved. She finds out from Frank that her mother in law intends to take in the baby. She’s not happy about this. Tony does not let her know that he’s aware of his mum’s plan. She makes it clear though that she will leave Tony if the child is brought to either her house or Tony’s mother’s house.
Eilis decides to return to Ireland for her mum’s 80th birthday. She is not sure if she will return to America. She plans for her children to join her in Ireland for a month. Her mum is pretty contrary and difficult with her when she arrives in Ireland. Frank gave her $2000 for her trip to Ireland. Her mum baulks at it when Eilis buys a new cooker, a washing machine, and a fridge. She even refuses to have the washing machine plumbed in.
Her two brothers come from England to town for her mum’s 80th. Another one lives near the town in Cush, a seaside place. The eldest and richest, Jack finds out about Tony and the impending baby. He offers to buy Eilis a house as an escape mechanism.
Eilis meets her old friend Nancy Sheridan who invites her to her daughter’s wedding. She also meets Jim Farrell who she still has feelings for. He still loves her. She is unaware that he is secretly engaged to Nancy, with the engagement to be announced after her daughter’s wedding. Eilis and Jim finally have sex. Her mum finds out about Tony and the impending baby by interrogating Larry.
Larry fits in well with the lads in the town and goes to pubs and hurling matches with them. Rosella and her nan grow very close.
The story is beautifully written. We see Jim struggle with his feelings for both women. His feelings for Eilis are stronger and he is willing to follow her to New York. Nancy, who plans to marry Jim in the Spring, knows nothing of this. She has had a hard time since her husband George died five years earlier and dreams about her new life with Jim. She plans to build a Bungalow in the country and Jim checks out the site with her.
Eilis struggles as she decides whether she wants Jim to follow her to New York. She knows it will be a huge upheaval and that the Fiorelli family will be incensed. Jim also wonders how he would cope with a new life in New York after spending his life as a publican in a small Irish town where everyone knows and respects him. He’s keen to go though, and he pressures Eilis for an answer
Nancy brings things to a head one day. The ending is left open so there will possibly be a further sequel.
I highly recommend this beautifully written, melancholy book to others. ...more
God, I love this book. I originally read it back in 2006. I have read it twice since over the years and I read it again yesterday. To say it is magnifGod, I love this book. I originally read it back in 2006. I have read it twice since over the years and I read it again yesterday. To say it is magnificent would be an understatement.
Juliet who is a teacher and her low key husband, Benedict ( also a teacher) are invited to the salubrious house of the foul Matthew , who runs a photocopy business and acts like he’s invented Penicillin, and the lap dog like Louisa, his wife.. Juliet challenges a misogynistic comment made by bombastic Matthew and he vitriolically puts her down, telling her she needs to be careful as at her age she could sound strident, and that women like her don’t know how to play to their strengths ! Me, I’d have poured a glass of his overpriced wine over his fatuous, fat head! Juliet doesn’t really say anything in response. Sadly, Benedict is sycophantic towards bombastic Matthew and says treacherously that Juliet has a fine pair of strengths. Matthew, appeased, bursts into apoplectic laughter. “All men are murderers, Juliet thought. All of them. They murder women. They take a woman, and little by little they murder her.”
Part of this book towards the end, featuring a dinner party hosted by a character called Christine Langham, reappears in Cusk’s later book, Transit. I have read and relished everything that Cusk has written.
Arlington Park focuses on the lives of a. number of couples on a particular Friday. There’s a smug mum with a new kitchen inviting other mums around to coo over it. There are other mums heading off with their little kids clothes shopping at a nearby shopping. centre. Passive agrresssive comments abound between the mums.
These people live a couple of hours away from London and feel self satisfied to be living in a rarified, monied suburb. They don’t like it much when it occurs to them that their mini McMansions bring them no real deep seated satisfaction.
There is a brilliant excerpt from Philip Larkin's poem 'Going, going': And that will be England gone, The shadows, the meadows, the lanes The guildhalls, the carved choirs. There'll be books, it will linger on In galleries; but all that remains For us will be concrete and tyres
I highly recommend this beautifully written perceptive, incisive book by Rachel Cusk to others. It will sit with you for a long time after you put it down. The book’s dust jacket is superb....more
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