AUTHOR: KATHLEEN MacMAHON
Pages: 376
Date: 24/09/2013
Grade: 4+
Details: Book Club Read
Large Print Copy
Library
The blurb:
This
is when it begins
Fall, 2008.
This is where it begins
The coast of Dublin, Ireland.
This is why it begins
Bruno, an American, has come to Ireland to search for his roots. Addie, an out-of-work architect, is recovering from heartbreak while taking care of her infirm father. When their worlds collide, they experience a connection unlike any they've previously felt, but soon a tragedy will test them-and their newfound love-in ways they never imagined possible.
This is how it ends . . .
================================================
Well, I have to
start this review by saying that this book managed to surprise me. This story
turned out to be not at all what I thought it would be when I first started the
book. While I did get the love story I was expecting, I also found an awful lot
more in this book. And although I did find myself reading the last few pages of
this book with tears in my eyes, I couldn’t help being pleasantly surprised by
the rather unexpected way this story concluded.
While this is
indeed a love story, it is not a traditional one. Our hero, Bruno is fifty
years old, has two failed marriages behind him and has recently lost his job.
Unable to face the upcoming elections – Obama vs. McCain - in America, he decides to travel to Ireland
and research his family’s roots.
Addie is
thirty-eight years old and has recently lost a baby as well as her long term
partner. What is more, her work as an architect has dried up. With no real
purpose in her life it is almost a blessing when her cantankerous father, Hugh,
breaks both his wrists and needs her to move in to the family home to look
after him. When Addie and Hugh discover that Bruno, who is a distant relative,
is in Ireland
to look into his family history, both of them are determined to ignore him. The
last thing they need is a sentimental American disturbing the peace in their
lives.
Yet, when Addie
does meet Bruno she instantly knows that she is looking at the start of a love
affair. What she doesn’t know is that she is also looking at the start of a
complete life change. It may not be Bruno who causes all the changes in the
lives of Addie and her family; he does somehow appear to be at the centre of
them. Over the course of less then a
year everything will change for Addie, Hugh, Della – Addie’s sister – and
Bruno. And even with tragedy facing all of them, most of those changes are far from
bad.
This story was set
up in a rather clever way. When the story starts both Addie and Bruno came
across as somewhat pathetic. Addie seems to have lost her way in life
completely. Looking after her father keeps her going but she appears lethargic
and borderline depressed and lacking the will to do anything about it. Bruno’s
journey to Ireland
seems to be some form of a midlife crisis at first. While it makes sense that
he would like to give his life some purpose now that he has lost his job, his
fear of the possible outcome of the upcoming election seems completely
unrealistic and over the top.
It is only as these
two characters develop that the reader slowly gets an insight into what
motivates them. And while I never completely got my head around Bruno’s
obsession with the election, I did get a much better appreciation of what was
driving Addie and her reasons for being who and what she is.
While this book is
foremost about the journey Bruno and Addie make together, both Hugh and Della
have some issues of their own to come to terms with. Especially Hugh having to
confront his past, his reluctance to talk about it, “snobbery, pure snobbery”
and his heartbreaking confrontation with karma were very well executed.
I liked that none
of the characters in this book were perfect; all of them were selfish and
insensitive at times although it was constantly clear that they were all trying
to do the best they could within their personal limitations.
This is a book that
will take the reader through a wide range of emotions. You will find yourself
smiling, frowning, exasperated and crying. This is a story that resembles life;
there is no such thing as a perfect happy ending. All we can do is make the
best of what we are given. And that is not a bad message to send out into the
world.
Overall I would call
this a deceptively easy read with a far deeper meaning than you would expect
when you first pick it up. Prepare to be pleasantly surprised even while your
heart breaks a little bit.
2 comments:
I remembered the title but not the story - had to read your review to be reminded. I did actually like this book but apparently, it didn't stick. :-)
Judith, I think that is an almost inevitable result of the number of books we read. I find that even with the books that do stick in my head it is only the outline of the stories I remember and rarely any details. It is the reason I started this blog years ago. Sharing my thoughts with others was very much an afterthought.
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