I didn't get into the novel at all. It was grim and I found it just wan't gripping at all

A well written powerful novel both grim and yet compulsive reading.
Strong characters and plot, recommended for those that like their reads hard hitting rather than cosy. ( )

This book is so eloqently written that at times it made for a harrowing read but one that is well worth sticking with. Heartfelt and plausable account of a family in the 70s and how they face up to life's difficulties and prejudices. Highly recommended. ( )

I wanted to like this book at least a little bit, but as it turns out, it just made me uncomfortable.

When I read books like this one, I can’t help but imagine the sad picture of a marginally gifted writer with nothing of terrible importance to write about. The idea seems to be to conjure up a few characters of varying likableness, put them all together in a hopeless situation, sprinkle the creation with a bit of tragedy, and serve it up to an audience eager for melodrama. It’s a recipe for disaster that’s sure to come out half-baked.

As I mentioned earlier, the book made me uncomfortable. I don’t feel like I was given an adequate introduction to any of the characters before “bad things” started happening to them. That is to say I didn’t care when this one got raped or when that one eventually ended up disfigured. Realizing that made me feel ill; I can be cold, but I’m not quite that heartless.

I was also upset to later find myself drifting off and comparing my own experiences with the characters’, scorning them for being so unexceptional while simultaneously feeling ashamed of myself for having been so helpless in similar situations. The odd thing is, I don’t feel like I can call that relating to the characters. Their entire existence felt too contrived…somehow borrowed…wrong. I tried to imagine that their experiences might be meant as a reflection of the authors’ experiences, but I have a too hard time believing that someone who actually lived through those things could go on to write about them in such a disgustingly negligent fashion.

In another circumstance, I could have used those feelings to catalyze a learning experience, but the story just wasn’t powerful enough to mean anything to me.

Yep, it was a recipe for disaster…flavorless, plastic disaster. I had a feeling before I started digesting this one that it wasn’t going to turn out well. Now that I’m finished, all I’m left with is this dull ache in the pit of my stomach and a strong desire to go burn off some empty calories. ( )

This is the third book I've read in the past year written by a young author whose comprehension of and ability to articulate the complexities of family dynamics has been astounding. I put Helen Walsh on a par - for this reason - with Louise Wener and Catherine O'Flynn. What is particularly amazing is that Helen Walsh can write so evocatively from the point of view of all four characters in the Fitzgerald family. For me Susheela pulled at my heart strings - particularly in the scenes where Ellie goes 'off track' - I know only too well the extent to which 13 year olds are capable of duplicitous behaviour and have felt also that misplaced trust and pride. Not only does Helen Walsh capture the emotions so accurately but the settings are spot on too - much of this novel was familiar geographical as well as emotional territory for me. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time after - it was a compelling and absorbing read. ( )