Lisa O'Donnell

I adored Lisa O'Donnell's debut novel The Death of Bees. And so did a lot of others - O'Donnell was the winner of The Commonwealth Book Prize. When I heard she had a new novel - Closed Doors - I jumped at the chance to read it.

O'Donnell has again set her novel in the recent past. Closed Doors takes place in the early 1980's on a small Scottish island where eleven year old Michael Murray lives with his mother Rosemary, his unemployed father Brian and his Granny.

Michael is busy practicing show more his 'keepie-uppies' for the talent show the neighbourhood kids are going to put on, arguing with his arch nemesis Dirty Alice and keeping an eye on what goes on in his bit of the world. But when his mother comes home from work bruised and bleeding, he's sent to his room. Why won't his ma go to the police? Why is he told to tell the neighbours she fell down the stairs? What happened to her?

Confused and worried, Michael needs to know what happened to her and what is going on.

"I listen at doors now. It's the only way to find out stuff. No one tells me anything."

Life has changed drastically for the Murray family. As adult readers, we know what has happened to Rosemary. And as adults, it is heartbreaking to watch Michael try to make sense of things. He continues to listen at doors, hearing bits and pieces and being told half truths as the family struggles to keep things quiet. But gossip in a small town cannot be contained and when another woman is hurt, there can be no more secrets.

O'Donnell has created yet another wonderful child narrator in Michael. His voice is real, running the gamut of emotions. There is a sense of innocence in the children of this island. Part of it is the insular nature of island living, part of it is the time period used. I can't imagine this same story being told in present day. O'Donnell has chosen time and place well - it absolutely works. The loss of that innocence makes Closed Doors a coming of age tale in so many ways.

"It's terrible to know too many things about people. It makes you feel like a liar because you have to act like you know nothing at all when the truth is you know everything there is to know."

"Lies make people happy, I think, and that's why people tell them, not to hurt or anger anyone, but to keep them safe from the truth, except our lie, the lie Ma and Da and Granny are telling to themselves and everyone else around them, it is the worst of lies and it is making no one happy and when lies don't make you happy, you have to wonder what will happen nest.

O'Donnell also deftly explores family and family dynamics in Closed Doors. What secrets would you keep to protect your family? And at what cost?

Closed Doors is another great read from a talented wordsmith. I'll be waiting for book number three. show less

Lisa O’Donnell’s novel is a wonderful coming-of-age novel depicting the harrowing lives of female siblings living in the projects of Glasgow, Scotland. As the novels open, Marnie and Nelly have just buried their parents in their back garden. While only they know why they have done what they have, a suspicion harboring neighbor and the neighborhood drug dealer are asking plenty of questions- in addition to truant officers and other government officials who would separate their family of show more two. As the girls face that their parents are gone for good, they slowly start to form a new life for themselves but to protect its fragile bond they have to examine their assumptions about the world, and the basis of who they are in order to survive.

The Death of Bees is told from the perspectives of the sisters Marnie and Nelly, and Lennie, their elderly and lonely neighbor. The strength and distinctiveness of their voices is so certain that at any given moment I could have flipped to a page and know immediately who was speaking. O’Donnell writes a compelling novel about the lives of kids who have to raise themselves, but the warmth and humor she injects into her splendid characterizations provide a levity that makes a novel that could be a grim piece of reading, heartfelt and illumining. show less

Marnie and Nelly's neglectful parents have both died, and they know that if they go to Social, they will likely be separated and put in foster care. So, they bury them in the back yard and hope no one finds out they're gone until after Marnie turns 16, the age at which she is considered an adult and can be responsible for Nelly. They are helped along the way by Lennie, a neighbor who is a registered sex offender but so much more than that, and Vlado, an illegal immigrant drug dealer who is show more also more than he seems. When the girls' grandfather, who abused their mother as a girl, comes back into their life and wants to make amends, it seems they might be saved...or are they really in more danger than ever? show less

From the very first page I fell in love with The Death of Bees, the debut novel of Lisa O’Donnell. Fifteen year old Marnie decides not to report the death of her parents and instead she and her sister, eleven year old Nellie, bury them in the back garden. The girls do not want to be separated or go into foster care. They tell everyone that their parents have gone to Turkey and this lie is easily accepted as the parents are druggies that have left their children alone before. The girls are show more haunted by their experience and while Nellie has nightmares, Marnie takes to drinking, and casual sex. Eventually the girls are befriended by Lennie, the elderly gay man next door and these three, along with Bobby the dog, bond together as a family. All is well until their grandfather shows up demanding explanations and wanting the girls to come live with him.

One of the things I absolutely loved about this book were the voices of the two girls, Marne in her own way was sensible and practical with very modern sensibilities while Nellie was romantic, hilarious and old-fashioned. What was very clear was that these girls loved and cared about each other. Although rather gruesome in places, the author had a light, sympathetic style and although the subject matter was at times appalling there was an element of black humor that made this story really appealing to me.

While this book won’t appeal to everyone, it was a stellar read for me. I found it both original and imaginative. My emotions were quickly engaged and The Death of Bees became a book that I couldn’t put down and one of my favorite reads of 2016. show less