Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - When All Is Said

Title: When All is Said
Author: Anne Griffin
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: March 5, 2019

T H R E E • W O R D S

Profound • Reflective • Human

📖 S Y N O P S I S

At the bar of a grand hotel in a small Irish town sits 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan. He’s alone, as usual - though tonight is anything but. Pull up a stool and charge your glass, because Maurice is finally ready to tell his story.

Over the course of this evening, he will raise five toasts to the five people who have meant the most to him. Through these stories - of unspoken joy and regret, a secret tragedy kept hidden, a fierce love that never found its voice - the life of one man will be powerful and poignantly laid bare.

💭 T H O U G H T S

When All Is Said was one of my 12 recommendations from 12 friends this year, and I must say probably the one I was most anticipating. It's a subtly beautiful novel that celebrates life, loss, and most importantly, love.

I absolutely loved getting to know Maurice, and reading his account of his own life, along with his tributes to each of the five individuals he toasts. He's a complex and charming individual, while also remaining authentic and relatable. Of course, his stories and heartbreak left me wanting to wrap him in a warm embrace and give him a pat on the back.

Beyond Maurice, Anne Griffin has delivered a beautifully written and incredibly well constructed plot. It left me reflecting on and contemplating life in general, but particular the following: if I had to pick five people to sum up my life, who would they be? If I were to raise a glass to each of them, what would I say? And what would I learn about myself during this process?

There is also a bit of a side mystery I wasn't expecting, yet appreciated, weaved into Maurice's narrative which certainly kept me guessing. I think it added a lot of value to helping Maurice explore his life's story. And one of the biggest takeaways, was how aspects of our lives can look incredibly different in hindsight.

Reb absolutely knocked it out of the park with this life-affirming novel! #Grumplit has quickly become a favourite trope of mine, and Maurice's character will stay with me for years to come. The audio helped add an additional layer of relatable emotion to this heartfelt story with themes of love, loss, grief, guilt, regret, revenge, family and loneliness. Certain elements reminded me of A Man Called Ove, and All the Lonely People, two of my all-time favourites. I'll definitely be exploring more of Anne Griffin's work down the road.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who like an older protagonist
• fans of #grumplit
• anyone who enjoyed A Man Called Ove and/or All the Lonely People

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"No one, no one really knows loss until it’s someone you love. The deep-down kind of love that holds on to your bones and digs itself right in under your fingernails, as hard to budge as the years of compacted earth. And when it’s gone … it’s as if it’s been ripped from you. Raw and exposed, you stand dripping blood all over the good feckin’ carpet. Half-human, half-dead, one foot already in the grave."

"I’m here to remember -- all that I have been and all that I will never be again."

Content Warnings