A long contented sigh escaped my lips upon closing this novel. Binchy (may she rest in peace) has always been one of my favorite authors. I have read almost all of her novels except for 2. This was one I hadn't read (not sure how it escaped me as I enjoyed her novels all through the 1990s and early part of this century) and when my oldest girl was cleaning out her bedroom and came across this gem, I asked if I could borrow it because I discovered I had never read this one! It is a true gem and depicts Maeve's writing so well.
STORY SUMMARY
Kit McMahon is the oldest child of Martin and Helena. She has a brother about 4 years younger than named Emmett. They live in a small village in Ireland on the shores of Glass Lake. The nearest big city is Dublin, about 2 hours away.
Kit is best friends with the very moody Clio who is the oldest daughter of the village doctor and his wife (Peter and Lillian). Clio has an annoying little sister named Anna who is a beautiful child.
Kit's mother is never truly happy. She is kind and a good mother but very distant. She is seen walking the shores of the lake almost every evening. And then one day she disappears and the only thing that is found is a boat drifting upside down on the lake that gave the town its name (Lough Glass). (Pronounced Laak (lock)
Helena who is film-star beautiful never really belonged in Lough Glass....at least not in the way her pharmacist husband imagined her. When she disappears suddenly, Kit is very much haunted by the memory of her mother sitting at the kitchen table one afternoon with tears streaming down her face. Kit knows her mother has secrets. But now Kit has secrets too......because on the night that Helena was presumed dead in the lake, Kit found a letter addressed to Martin on his pillow....and took it, unopened, and burned it. There were reasons she did so....she thought she was doing the right thing....but....
it turned out not to be the right thing. It was the night that everything changed. Forever.
MY THOUGHTS
I wanted to share more of the character and the plot with you, but I am afraid I might put spoilers in and i don't want to do that. This is a book to savor.
The author, as in all of her novels, has a lot of characters but she introduces each one effortlessly. It's not cumbersome at all nor is it too difficult to keep track of them all.
The setting is so well described, I felt like I could hear the bustle of Dublin and London when reading about Kit in those places. I could practically smell the lake shore and the wildflowers and hear the birds chirping. She has a way of depicting settings and character so you think you are right there. That the characters are real people.
This book has so many amazing themes: the mother-daughter relationship; the husband-wife relationship; friendship; forgiveness; acceptance.
It also touches a bit on alcoholism, adultery, racism/bullying towards people who are "different", and unwed mothers. It also includes some old-fashioned Catholic ideas as most of her characters are Catholic or went to Catholic schools.
The setting is in the 1950s and I appreciate how well written it was in depicting a bygone era.
There's a lot of drama to this story as well as some romance, (not the sappy kind!) and some mystery. There's a super climactic ending which I did anticipate although the circumstances were not what I was expecting.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.
3 comments:
I am going to be on the lookout for that book. I haven't read any of Maeve's books, but they sound like they are not to be missed. Thanks for the review. :-)
Sounds interesting. I may have to try it!
I have never read a book by this author but have wanted to. Do you have to read them in order?
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