A review by erinkayata
Philomena by Martin Sixsmith

4.0

I recommend seeing the recent film before reading the book, something I wouldn't normally do. I caught Philomena on a plane back to the US from Amsterdam. I was interested in the story and thus, decided to read the book. What an interesting and thought provoking story it turned out to be, in my opinion. However, be warned that the movie and the book are two completely different stories, with the book being a bit misleading. I'm glad I watched the movie first because it introduced me to the story of Philomena and showed me how she found Michael. The book mostly focuses on Michael and his life, something I was more interested in after watching the movie. I was initially apprehensive though, after reading poor reviews of the book, including some that questioned the book's factual basis. I cannot vouch for the truthfulness of the book, but I found myself very into it. The story explores the legal issues in Ireland regarding adoption, what unwed mothers had to endure at that time, and the emotional repercussions that come with taking a child from its mother at such a young age. As someone who's always been interested in adoption, I thought it was fascinating to read about Michael's adoption and how it was handled so differently than it would have been today. The story follows Michael's frankly tragic childhood and adulthood. It explores his political career and the difficulties that came with being a gay man during the 70's, 80's, and 90's and being a member of the Republican National Party. The book not only captures Michael's story, but the atmosphere of the country at the time. Again, this is something that I personally found very interesting. I enjoyed reading about the AIDS epidemic and how different life was for people who identify as gay. Be warned though that not every reader may be as interested. This book is definitely more of a portrait of Michael and the world he grew up in, with a strong focus on his sexuality and political career. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it and the themes the book explored.