A lovely tale, in an old-fashioned unhurried style, that succeeds in re-creating a strange, lost world.
Third-novelist Davis-Goff (The Dower House, 1998, etc.) offers a leisurely, elegiac portrait of a decaying Anglo-Irish family in County Waterford during the dark days of WWII.
Daisy Creed, the daughter of an English vicar, volunteered for national service and became one of the “Land Girls” who helped run Britain’s farms while the men were off at the front. On a farm in Wales, Daisy was introduced to Patrick Nugent, an Irish relation of her employer. Whirlwind romances were the norm in wartime, and Daisy and Patrick managed to fall in love and become engaged over the course of one weekend. When Patrick, an army officer, received word soon after that he was being ordered back to France, he and Daisy were quickly wed. Patrick then shipped off for the Continent, and Daisy journeyed to Ireland to visit her in-laws. Anglo-Irish Protestants, the Nugents were landowners whose fortunes had come pretty far down since Ireland’s independence. Only three Nugents were still living on the old family estate of Dunmaine, in County Waterford: Patrick’s senile grandmother Maud, his feeble-minded brother Mickey, and his somewhat disreputable sister Corisande. Daisy moved into this cold and unhappy household and slowly accustomed herself to a strange new world. From the perspective of neutral Ireland, the war in Europe seemed at once more distant and more ominous. Irish president De Valera’s refusal to open Irish ports to British warships brought fears that the republic would be invaded by the Germans. Axis bombings in Belfast prompted Dublin to send fire trucks across the border in violation of neutrality laws. An exiled English fascist was murdered. Daisy’s wartime fears grew even more intense when she learned that Patrick was in a POW camp. After a fire raged through Dunmaine, she resolved to stay and rebuild a new home for her and her husband.
A lovely tale, in an old-fashioned unhurried style, that succeeds in re-creating a strange, lost world.Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-100847-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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