Sisters, Babies
This was an unexpected treat. I am drawn to a lot of Irish literature, but this one had been sitting nonchalantly on my TBR list for a while. When I finally did get around to reading / listening to it, I was hooked.
During the World War II German bombing of Belfast, twin sisters, Aelish and Isabel, were orphaned and sent to the Sisters of Bethlehem Orphanage. Aelish eventually becomes a nun, Isabel rebels and runs off unexpectedly, off to Newfoundland with Declan, a man both sisters love. Unrequited love is a theme threaded throughout here. While this sounds like the makings of a soap opera, the story is much stronger than that.
After years without communication, Isabel becomes severely ill and Aelish, now Sister Clare, rushes across the sea to see her and her twin children. Another tragedy strikes these ill-fated sisters and Aelish, always the one holding out for hope, tries to shake Isabel up.
"Have you had just about enough?" Aelish asks. Isabel folds her bottom lip into her mouth and bites down. "Because I have. And I won't stand for it, Isabel McGuire. We've had more terrible in our lives than anyone deserves...we don't need to go searching for more."
They voyage back to Belfast and Isabel seethes with the anger consuming her for years. Aelish knows Isabel has been shrouding something from her, the terrible secret that drove her away from the orphanage.
The characters here are brilliant. The mother superior, Sister Edel, makes Nurse Ratched of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" seem like a pussycat. Sister Michael is the chain-smoking nun with a heart of gold who has always taken a maternal approach to the twins. The other nuns and staff provide a fascinating glimpse of life behind convent walls.
And then there is the "mother and baby home" just adjacent to the orphanage, a reflection of a dark, dark side of Ireland. Like similar stories about these homes, one has to wonder how naive neighbors and those in the community could have been while unspeakable atrocities took place. At what point was it just convenient to turn a blind eye and not question things.
Up until this point, author Melanie Maure has written a riveting story, with well-rounded characters and a secret slowly unfolding. Without giving a spoiler, though, I found the ending to be a little flat. An historical fiction, I do not know what path it could have followed without changing history.
I did the combination of reading and listening to the audio for this book. If the writing warrants a high four rating, the audiobook performance by Aoife McMahon surely is a 5. I had trouble turning her off.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was an unexpected treat. I am drawn to a lot of Irish literature, but this one had been sitting nonchalantly on my TBR list for a while. When I finally did get around to reading / listening to it, I was hooked.
During the World War II German bombing of Belfast, twin sisters, Aelish and Isabel, were orphaned and sent to the Sisters of Bethlehem Orphanage. Aelish eventually becomes a nun, Isabel rebels and runs off unexpectedly, off to Newfoundland with Declan, a man both sisters love. Unrequited love is a theme threaded throughout here. While this sounds like the makings of a soap opera, the story is much stronger than that.
After years without communication, Isabel becomes severely ill and Aelish, now Sister Clare, rushes across the sea to see her and her twin children. Another tragedy strikes these ill-fated sisters and Aelish, always the one holding out for hope, tries to shake Isabel up.
"Have you had just about enough?" Aelish asks. Isabel folds her bottom lip into her mouth and bites down. "Because I have. And I won't stand for it, Isabel McGuire. We've had more terrible in our lives than anyone deserves...we don't need to go searching for more."
They voyage back to Belfast and Isabel seethes with the anger consuming her for years. Aelish knows Isabel has been shrouding something from her, the terrible secret that drove her away from the orphanage.
The characters here are brilliant. The mother superior, Sister Edel, makes Nurse Ratched of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" seem like a pussycat. Sister Michael is the chain-smoking nun with a heart of gold who has always taken a maternal approach to the twins. The other nuns and staff provide a fascinating glimpse of life behind convent walls.
And then there is the "mother and baby home" just adjacent to the orphanage, a reflection of a dark, dark side of Ireland. Like similar stories about these homes, one has to wonder how naive neighbors and those in the community could have been while unspeakable atrocities took place. At what point was it just convenient to turn a blind eye and not question things.
Up until this point, author Melanie Maure has written a riveting story, with well-rounded characters and a secret slowly unfolding. Without giving a spoiler, though, I found the ending to be a little flat. An historical fiction, I do not know what path it could have followed without changing history.
I did the combination of reading and listening to the audio for this book. If the writing warrants a high four rating, the audiobook performance by Aoife McMahon surely is a 5. I had trouble turning her off.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
