A review by lauracbest
Girls in Their Married Bliss by Edna O'Brien

5.0

How did I not know of Edna O’Brien before this? This trilogy definitely stole my heart. It’s impossible to describe the writing style - both fast and full of seemingly simple sentences that break your heart. The flawed nature of the characters and the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) suffering they undergo, often with razor sharp humor and sarcasm, made this even more real. The description of so many examples of disenfranchisement (many of them simple, subtle) while only written in the 60s, felt far too close for comfort. When I learned of how the book was banned in Ireland initially and the author shunned, I realized - of course! “they didn’t want us to read this!” you know, back in 1980s Dorset. Can’t stop us now...:)