You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A lovely but sad reflection on grief and losing a loved one. Felt like a mirror being held up to us to take notes of everything we take for granted in our relationship and not to make the same mistakes. Loved it.
this book got me thinking about my own coping mechanisms and kubler-ross' five stages of grief.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A surprising hit in the Women's Prize list for me. This story is a quiet and contemplative examination of grief that I was completely invested in. On paper, David is not a likable character; still, I found myself so invested in his story, and pleased with the tentative happy ending it came to. This was an incredibly meaningful and insightful book and I very much enjoyed it.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Mass/school shootings
Minor: Fatphobia
This is a book about grief. And marriage, and the parts of you that you sacrifice to make it work. It's about how life can change in an instant. It's about learning to move forwards after you've been derailed.
David lost his wife Mary Rose around 18 months ago. They used to go to the Costa Brava every summer and so he has travelled there again this year, but this has stirred up memories. As he tells us about their marriage he and (we realise) that while it was a good marriage, it was also a flawed one.
Kathleen MacMahon's writing is descriptive and real and often I felt myself nodding in recognition at her observations. At the halfway point I was convinced that it was a book without a plot and I was getting irritated by the way every little thing sent David down memory lane. But towards the end I realised how things tied back in and that there was a payoff for coming to understand David's back story so well. The ending was both moving and satisfying.
David lost his wife Mary Rose around 18 months ago. They used to go to the Costa Brava every summer and so he has travelled there again this year, but this has stirred up memories. As he tells us about their marriage he and (we realise) that while it was a good marriage, it was also a flawed one.
Kathleen MacMahon's writing is descriptive and real and often I felt myself nodding in recognition at her observations. At the halfway point I was convinced that it was a book without a plot and I was getting irritated by the way every little thing sent David down memory lane. But towards the end I realised how things tied back in and that there was a payoff for coming to understand David's back story so well. The ending was both moving and satisfying.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4 stars. This was a beautifully written novel about love and loss. I loved that while Mary Rose and David have bumps in their marriage it’s ultimately a happy one.
David’s wife, Mary Rose, has died suddenly and left him alone in their middle aged life. Surrounded by well meaning friends who take him on inappropriately located holidays, and keep him grounded in his grief, he just wants to go back to Aiguaclara. They holidayed there every year for twenty years, and he feels closer to Mary Rose there than in Ireland.
I really enjoyed this - the writing is understated but well controlled and joyful, even. David is a man who spent a lot of time following his dreams and believing Mary Rose to be following hers. Her death, so unexpected, makes him examine their life and his actions in a way which I can believe we all do when faced with such a change in our lives.
The narrative is not a big drama, or crime novel or mystery to solve - it’s David’s internal narrative as he goes about his daily business and adjusts to life without Mary Rose. I did have trouble with her name - I’m not sure it’s supposed to sound like the prawn cocktail sauce/ship or like two names said together? Definitely minor but somehow, I wanted to make sure I got her name right. Her absence is a character in itself - a selfless nurse with a big heart and plenty of love to give, it’s clear from the writing that she completed David in a way he’d never understood until her death.
I also thought David’s internal monologue was really authentic - I actually forgot that the book was written by a woman momentarily, and was surprised when I checked and it’s Kathleen MacMahon. I know that sounds like I’m damning with faint praise, but David’s character was so clear I thought he could only have been written by a man.
I’d recommend this not for summer holidays, actually, but this time of year - cosy nights in by the fire as you dream of sunshine and sangria.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books for the ARC, as always.
I really enjoyed this - the writing is understated but well controlled and joyful, even. David is a man who spent a lot of time following his dreams and believing Mary Rose to be following hers. Her death, so unexpected, makes him examine their life and his actions in a way which I can believe we all do when faced with such a change in our lives.
The narrative is not a big drama, or crime novel or mystery to solve - it’s David’s internal narrative as he goes about his daily business and adjusts to life without Mary Rose. I did have trouble with her name - I’m not sure it’s supposed to sound like the prawn cocktail sauce/ship or like two names said together? Definitely minor but somehow, I wanted to make sure I got her name right. Her absence is a character in itself - a selfless nurse with a big heart and plenty of love to give, it’s clear from the writing that she completed David in a way he’d never understood until her death.
I also thought David’s internal monologue was really authentic - I actually forgot that the book was written by a woman momentarily, and was surprised when I checked and it’s Kathleen MacMahon. I know that sounds like I’m damning with faint praise, but David’s character was so clear I thought he could only have been written by a man.
I’d recommend this not for summer holidays, actually, but this time of year - cosy nights in by the fire as you dream of sunshine and sangria.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books for the ARC, as always.