Review of 'Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín. October's Book Club Choice.

Perhaps you would rather see the film before reading the book? To me, the book will always come first and I don't mind knowing the story when I go to see the film.  I will still enjoy the film.  Plus the film is usually not a 100% accurate portrayal of the original story, and I prefer the book every time.  Whatever way around you do it - book then film, film then book or just film or book, I would love to hear your thoughts on Brooklyn.  Here are mine, after a short summing up of the story -

Eilis Lacey has lived in the village of Enniscorthy in County Wexford her whole life. She lives with her widowed mother and her older sister Rose. Her sister Rose is the breadwinner for the family, and there are few prospects for girls in Ireland in the 1950s to have a career. Getting married and having a family are usually the way forward. However Rose has other plans for Eilis, and she, her mother and a well-meaning priest, Father Flood work on a plan for Eilis’s life. Eilis soon discovers that a job and a new life in Brooklyn await. She accepts this with equanimity, although we are to discover that the women in this family never tell each other how they are really feeling and this is the tragedy of this story.

Eilis doesn’t want to go to America, but feels she has no choice but to accept the path laid out for her, Tóibín writes; “She had expected that she would find a job in the town, and then marry someone and give up the job and have children. Now, she felt that she was being singled out for something for which she was not in any way prepared.”

In Brooklyn Eilis is given lodgings with a Mrs Kehoe, along with some other female lodgers. She works on the shop floor of a department store called Bartocci’s. Following an initial period of numbness, followed by a severe case of being homesick, once she realizes the reality of her situation, Eilis settles down to life in Brooklyn and begins studying to become a bookkeeper. After a few months she meets an American called Tony at the local Parish dance organized by Father Flood. Love blossoms and it seems she may have found her happy ever after. However, when she is called back to Ireland following a family tragedy, she must make the ultimate choice between love and duty.

I was a fan of  Colm Tóibín before reading this book, but now I would say I am a super fan! The story will definitely go into my list of favourite reads of all time.  Tóibín portrays the dynamics of family life in Ireland in the fifties with such accuracy and subtlety, that I could almost feel myself there. Eilis respects her mother and sister and behaves accordingly. At times I wanted to scream with frustration that she wouldn’t tell them how she was feeling, and yet I understood how and why she couldn’t. Was the choice she made in America a type of revenge? I don’t believe so. I think it was sincerely done with no thought that she wouldn’t return.

Did she make the right choice? I think it was a choice between the head and the heart, and she made the ultimate sacrifice and went with duty and the head. For me she is a heroine for that reason.

What I loved about this book was how the author shows how place plays such a significant part in our lives. We can live in one place and when we are away from it for a while, it seems like a dream. Eilis states that Tony seems; “part of a dream from which she had woken.” Yet she is emotionally aware that if she returned to Brooklyn, then it would be her life in Enniscorthy that would seem like a dream. It is also a clever working of the plot that it is the nasty Miss Kelly who she worked for in Enniscorthy, before departing for Brooklyn, who discovers her secret and forces her decision.

I found it such a poignant book and found myself crying at several points during the story, sometimes without even realizing there were tears sliding down my face. In particular the author’s description of how it feels to be homesick: "All this came to her like a terrible weight and she felt for a second that she was going to cry. It was as though an ache in her chest was trying to force tears down her cheeks despite her enormous effort to keep them back. She did not give in to whatever it was. She kept thinking, attempting to work out what was causing this new feeling that was like despondency, that was like how she felt when her father died and she watched them closing the coffin, the feeling that he would never see the world again and she would never be able to talk to him again."

It reminded me, I suppose, of my own journeys back and forth from Zambia to Ireland as a child and teenager. Thank goodness I never had to face a choice like she did. I don’t think I would have had the strength.

October's Book Club Choice

October’s Book Club Choice is Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. I specifically chose this  book for two reasons.  Firstly, the film version starring Saoirse Ronan is out on 6th November, and secondly, someone recently reminded me what a fantastic novel it is, and I wanted to read it before the film came out.

Described by the New Statesman as ‘tremendously moving and powerful,’ this is a book not to be missed.   
The story centres around Eilis Lacey, who moves to Brooklyn from Ireland to find work.  Desperately  homesick and miserable, she struggles to fit in.  Then one night at a dance, she meets someone and everything changes.  But when tragic news calls her back to Ireland, she finds herself facing a terrible choice: between love and happiness in the land where she belongs and the promises she must keep on the far side of the ocean.

Brooklyn is considered one of Toibin’s finest works and is a must read!  I can’t wait to hear your views.  Read it BEFORE you see the film! So here’s your link to get you started and I hope you enjoy it.
Brooklyn   

Review of 'The Good Girl' by Fiona Neill

This is Fiona Neill’s fourth novel and I found it a compelling read. If you are the parent of a teenager, I would imagine this novel could leave you feeling more than a little unsettled, if not down right terrified.
Romy is  a straight A student who hopes to go to medical school.  Her mother Ailsa is the new Head of the school she attends in Norfolk.  The family have all recently relocated from London, but the three children in the family, Luke, the eldest son, Romy, who is 17 and the youngest child Ben have not been given a clear answer as to why they had to move.
Romy soon discovers why, and this changes her relationship with her parents forever.  I can say no more than that for fear of spoilers.  This is one strand of the story.  The main plot however centres around the fallout when Romy becomes caught up in a sex scandal at school.   When new neighbours, the Lovedays move in next door, both families lives become irrevocably entwined. The teenagers from both families become embroiled in secrets, scandals and more, while trying to find their place in the world.
This is a novel predominantly about the choices we make in life and the repercussions of those choices.  How one seemingly small decision can change the direction of your life forever.  It is also about the dangers of social media and the manner in which our lives can become so connected to our social media image, and what is known about us online.
The novel is told from the perspectives of both Ailsa and Romy. This highlights  their individual struggles and their beliefs of how others perceive them, which is usually inaccurate.  The family dynamics are portrayed with razor sharp accuracy and small touches of irony and humour.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.  Fiona Neill deals with very complex issues such as sexting, pornography, parental responsibility (where does it begin and end??) and much more.   I thought her characters were authentically portrayed and empathetic, and the dynamic between both parents with each of their three children made for fascinating reading.
I would recommend this book and I am now interested in reading more of Fiona Neill’s work.
I would love to hear your views on this book, particularly if you have ever experienced any online trials by social media, or  perhaps you have teenagers of your own and have a view point.

Recently Read Recommendations

I have been doing a lot of reading lately, so I thought I would share some of the books I have read, because I am a giving sort of a gal!

OK, firstly I discovered a totally new writer whilst I was doing research for my first fictional novel.  Her name is Christina McKenna and she hails from a little village in Northern Ireland called Draperstown in County Derry, where my grandfather came from.  She has written a very amusing trilogy of life in the village of ‘Tailorstown’ (fictional but we can guess where it’s based upon!)  I have read the first two books in the trilogy:  ‘The Misremembered Man’ and ‘The Disenchanted Widow.’  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed them.  Her characters are so vivid and typically ‘Norn Ireland’ that you can so identify with their sense of humour, (if you are from this part of the world, and if you are not, you will be introduced to a new type of humour!)  I found the narrative to be lighthearted, witty, but also poignant and touching.  I am looking forward to reading the third book in the trilogy.   You can check out Christine McKenna’s author page here:  Christina McKenna She reminded me a tiny bit of my favourite Northern Irish writer Anne Dunlop, whose books I simply adore and have read several times!

Secondly I read ‘Us’ by David Nicholls.  Now I think this book could be a bit like marmite.   Having loved ‘One Day,’  I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but I must say I adored it.   It is all about a man called Douglas who is desperately trying to keep his wife Connie from leaving him.  His son is about to head off to college, so he plans a trip round Europe for the three of them.  Needless to say, disaster ensues.  I found the character of Douglas to be a bit stereo typically anal (sorry!) and yet I was on his side from the get-go.   Nicholls is a master of good descriptive writing and great characterization, so for me it was a total page turner and  I had it read in a couple of days.  It is a poignant story of desperately trying to hold on to something that is slipping out of your grasp, and consequently you can’t do right for doing wrong, and who among us hasn’t been there?!!

My final recommendation is ‘Americanah’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  I am reading this for my Third Thursday book club at the Gutter bookshop in Dublin.  I am a big fan of her writing anyway, but so far I am loving this novel about two  young Nigerians, Ifemelu and Obinze.  Ifemelu goes to the USA to university, and is faced with race and identity issues.  Obinze lives a more desperate life in London.  After undergoing life changing events, and being broken apart through circumstances largely beyond their control, they meet up again in Nigeria 15 years later.  So far I am loving this novel.  Her writing is exquisite.
Don’t forget to read September’s Book club choice ‘The Good Girl.’   Also please do share your comments.  I would much rather this was a conversation than a monologue!    Thanks.

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins. The book club choice for August.

Following it’s phenomenal success, I was very much looking forward to reading this book whilst on holiday.  On my flight, the lady beside me was reading it and she didn’t put it down once, which I thought was a great sign!
Now I understand why.   It is, in my opinion, a gripping read – a real page turner.

So, to the story first. We first meet Rachel as she is returning home from work (by train) on a Friday afternoon.  She is the narrator, and we are immediately drawn into her world of drinking and daydreaming.  She has four cans of pre-mixed gin and tonic on the train and that is just for starters.  So, as a narrator, we see that she is pretty unreliable from the off.  However she is also very likable with all her human flaws and I felt I could identify with some of her feelings early on.  Rachel’s journey takes her past the back of her old house, where she lived with her now ex-husband Tom.  We soon discover she is divorced, as a result of her drinking, which is partly as a result of her not being able to conceive a child.

She loves the train journey and she begins a fantasy about a couple she watches as she passes by on the train every day.  She calls them Jason and Jess.  The story unfolds as she is a caught up in the real lives of Jason and Jess, who are actually called Megan and Scott.  The story takes off when Rachel reads in the paper that Megan has vanished, and she decides to tip off the police. She is convinced that Scott, who is the prime suspect,  would never harm his beloved wife.
But due to Rachel’s drinking, which is causing blackouts, irrationality and drunk dialing, the police dismiss her as a time waster. She has also been persecuting her ex-husband Tom and his wife Anna, by bombarding them with offensive messages.  She is an extremely flawed character and her alcoholic lifestyle is tragic, and leads to much confusion, both for herself and others.

As the story develops, and Rachel continues to try and remember what happened on a particular night, her life is intertwined with that of Scott, her ex-husband Tom and his wife Anna.

My thoughts on the book: starting with the good – if you can suspend judgement and get past some very unrealistic facts, this is an engrossing page turner and a perfect holiday read.  The structure is clever, the narrator, although flawed is very human, and I was certainly on her side, although mightily frustrated by her as well.

The bad – I just couldn’t believe how Rachel was seemingly able to give up the drink so easily whenever it suited her, and go from a complete wreck to a competent intelligent woman, running around solving mysteries like a detective. COMING UP, SPOILER ALERT:

I also felt that Tom, as a character, was unrealistically portrayed.  Surely some of the evil side of his character would have been in evidence before the end of the story?  He was overly nice and thus a somewhat unrealistic character in my opinion.   In saying that, I didn’t see it coming, so the author did a good job,by throwing in a few curve balls along the way (such as the red headed guy who was definitely suspicious to me, because I am obviously a bit too gullible!!)

The ugly – I felt the book was over dramatized in places.  There was a lot of biting of lips and wailing and clenching of fists.  I would have preferred a more subtle approach at times, although I do appreciate that the author was building tension.

To summarize, I would recommend this book. If you are willing to suspend judgement on reality and enjoy it for what it is, a great page turner of a thriller.
I look forward to hearing your views.

My thoughts on 'Go Set a Watchman.' One of our book club choices for August

After all the hype and the many conflicting controversial reports on Harper Lee's novel, I prepared to read it on my holidays and decided to try and read it without any  prior  judgement. I ignored the critics and I am glad I did.

I may be one of the few, but I enjoyed this novel very much.  If, for one moment, we see it as independent of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' I found it a very entertaining, humorous and thought provoking read.   If you don't wish to know what happens, I suggest you stop reading now!
Scout, or Jean-Louise as she is now known, is returning to Maycomb to see her father Atticus Finch, who is now a 70 year old man.  She also has a beau in Maycomb called Henry (Hank).  Jean-Louise goes home and not only discovers how Maycomb and the people there have changed, but she also reflects a lot on the past.  SPOILER ALERT.....

We find out that Jem died suddenly aged 22 and Dill is off travelling.  Jean-Louise reminisces about her childhood and there are some extremely funny stories during this stroll down memory lane.  One relating to a missing bra and the other about Dill dressing up as a ghost and falling into a pond. Jean-Louise clearly misses her brother terribly and she is happy to tell Hank all about her wonderful childhood in Maycomb.
She then discovers that Hank and Atticus are attending meetings which involve some less that moral men and/or subjects, namely the Klan.  Without finding out more, Jean-Louise jumps to the wrong conclusions, (as did the media in my opinion) and assumes that her father has become a racist bigot overnight.  To my mind, those who believe Atticus is a racist in this book, have missed the point of the book entirely.  He is finding out more about what's going on, so he can be prepared for any future trouble, as he tells Jean-Louise repeatedly.

This leads to my favourite part of the book, the moral ending where Jean-Louise and Atticus go at it hammer and tongs.  I felt it was well portrayed and strongly  argued by both characters.  Jean-Louise comes to see that Atticus is not a perfect human being, but he's not a racist either, and that he still maintains and holds all the values that make him so important to her.    I felt she was the flawed character in this book.  She had written Atticus off, without even giving him a chance to defend himself and I hated her for that.  However she did eventually give him a chance to say his piece, and it certainly gave both her and us plenty to think about.   Atticus's love for his daughter is unconditional but her love for him isn't.  She expects him to be the perfect person that she put on that pedestal all those years ago, and she has to realize that he is still a great man, but his opinions and convictions may have changed somewhat with the changing times.    The relationship between them is as dynamic and all encompassing as ever, and I loved that.

OK, so there are many inaccuracies in the book, if you set it alongside Mockingbird.  We are told that Calpurnia, the Finches’ maid, has “run off the place” after Jem’s death; but then a few pages later we actually hear that "she returned to the Quarters in honourable retirement”. The worst offence is when they discuss the trial of Tom Robinson, the guilty verdict has suddenly become an acquittal, which is definitely strange given the outcome of 'To Kill a Mockingbird.'

However, I didn't let that spoil my enjoyment, and as a novel in it's own right I thought it was well worth the read. I understand those who cannot see them as two separate novels, and for that reason they are highly critical of this book.  I do see their point.  In a perfect world 'Go Set a Watchman' would be a flawless sequel, but given the fact it was the original story and how it came to be published, that was highly unlikely.  However  I am glad it was published and I highly recommend it!

Review of 'To Kill a Mockingbird.'

As part of my holiday reading, I said I was going to read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' followed by 'Go Set a Watchman.'  Well, as I have just finished 'To Kill a Mockingbird' I thought I would share my thoughts. 

For those who don't know the story, it is told through the eyes of Scout, a young 8 year old girl who lives with her brother Jem and her father Atticus Finch, in the town of Maycomb in Alabama.   Atticus is a lawyer and a very upright, moral and caring man.  We don't know anything about their mother, other than that she is dead and Scout doesn't remember much about her at all.   Atticus is the lynchpin of the family and although strict, shows great affection and love to his two children.  Atticus is called on to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accussed of raping a girl, Mayella Ewell.   Meanwhile Scout, Jem and their friend Dill, who visits during the summer, are obsessed with childish games and trying to see Boo Radley, the mysterious man who lives down their street, but never appears in public.  As the case of Tom Robinson goes to court, Scout, Jem and Dill are to find their innocence shattered forever and their lives caught up in the evil ways of certain people in their society.

Re-reading this book confirmed for me why Harper Lee is such a phenomenon and why this Pulitzer Prize winning novel is so popular.   The voice of Scout is perfectly pitched.  The novel is full of humour, acute observations about the human spirit and how sincere goodness in a person can have a profound impact on individuals in a society.

I adore the character of Atticus Finch.  A loving father and an upstanding member of society, he quotes some of the most memorable lines of the book such as:

"First of all," he said, "if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

During the court case, Atticus shows up the deep racism that exists and how the judgement of a man because of the colour of his skin is entirely wrong.  He is calm, composed and articulate, but he is also realistic, and seems to me almost resigned to the racism that exists in this small town.   For me, Atticus is a hero.  He never falters and in a cynical world he is someone we can all have faith in. 

It was revelatory to read this wonderful novel again.  So many themes to consider, great characters and an engrossing story make this one of my favourite reads of the year.  To anyone who has never read it, I say, do yourself a favour and read it now.   It is a classic for a good reason.