A review by hay_jude
The Green Road by Anne Enright

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I had read 'The Gathering' by Anne Enright previously so knew I would be in safe hands with this novel. As in that book, she writes brilliantly about the complexity of family relationships and how parents and childhood experiences can shape people as adults. Rosaleen, the mother of four children growing up in Ireland is difficult to like at the beginning of the novel, with her unpredictable moods and sulks and manipulative behaviour towards her children. In some ways she seems more the child than the parent. You get the sense that all four children are keen to leave the family home and it was fascinating to follow  them as adults and find out how their lives were impacted by their difficult upbringing. I particularly enjoyed Dan's story where Enright writes so movingly about his coming to terms with his homosexuality against the background of AIDS ravaging the lives of gay men in New York, but each of the children's lives is described sensitively and beautifully and they emerge as fully rounded, believable characters. The last part of the novel, when the family comes back together in Ireland is seen more from Rosaleen's point of view, and I did view her more sympathetically by the end. Enright's writing is understated and unshowy. She writes with humour and is a master at dialogue. Like other Irish writers such as Claire Keegan and Colm Toíbín, she is a brilliant storyteller.