Christine Dwyer Hickey

If I was Esther Freud I'd be hauling Christine Dwyer Hickey's backside to court quicker than you could say 'get your own bloody ideas', for The Narrow Land shares more than a hint of resemblance to Freud's Mr. Mac and Me. Famous painter living in cute house in semi-isolation with artistic wife - check. Beguiling friendship with a lonely, damaged young boy - check. Artist struggling with his artistic mojo - check. Coastal setting - check. Wartime setting - well, half a check. Freud's book is show more set at the beginning of WW1, whereas Dwyer Hickey's is set a few years after WWII, but still. No wonder there was such an air of familiarisation to this book.

BUT (and Esther please forgive me - I generally love your writing dearly), I think Dwyer Hickey's novel is better by some margin. Why? Well, for starters there it felt like more of a story was developed in The Narrow Land, which is odd given that on paper Freud had a much more exciting real-life drama to play with in her book. I think Freud excels when she's all about brooding landscapes and emotional tension, and it felt like she begrudgingly squeezed an unwanted plot she didn't know what to do with into the last few pages of the book. Also, Dwyer Hickey is just plain terrific with her characterisation in The Narrow Land, particularly in the way she used different characters to bring out the best and worst sides of Hopper's wife in particular, who was drawn out especially well.

Backing up (and I'll set the knife down now Esther), The Narrow Land tells the story of the intertwining relationships between Edward Hopper and his wife Jo and a family renting a house close by on Cape Cod. Socially prickly and jealously protective of her husband, Jo Hopper's relationship with the Kaplan's gets off to to a poor (and unwanted) start, but as an unlikely friendship develops between Jo and a 10 year old German orphaned boy staying with the Kaplan's, the social net of the Kaplan's draws in the Hoppers, throwing a lens upon the Hoppers and their marriage that they eventually can't avoid looking through.

Whether this US novel by an Irish author stands up to scrutiny by American readers more directly familiar with Cape Cod I can't say, but it certainly worked well for me and my imagination.

This novel was a joy to read, and I'll be looking for more of Christine Dwyer Hickey's books in the future.

4.5 stars - Dwyer Hickey's timing is just spot on in this fine novel. show less

This is a fine novel, primarily about the older years of Edward Hopper and his wife, intertwined by the story of a young German orphan who comes into their satellite. The Hoppers are pretty destructive, gritty people to each other, with very occasional mellowings. In an era when there was not much opportunity for a woman to be an artist, Hopper’s wife is frustrated by always being in the background of his famous life and jealous of the attention he gets. That Hickey keeps you just about show more with them, despite them being quite inhospitable people is the skill of a fine writer, but you will wince from time to time.

The story of Michael, the orphan, we mostly see as the guest of the family next door to the Hoppers He has been offered the summer with the family of the woman who placed him with his adopted parents. Out of place in this world, without any memory of his real parents, likely lost in the Holocaust. Not quite what his adopted parents expected. Meant to be a companion to the grandson of the matriarch. He entertains himself as often as he can away from everyone I his hidey-hole, or with the Hoppers in their home when he can. Both boys soften ‘the Aitches’ as they call them.

What Hickey consistently achieves is making you feel what is going on in the minds of these characters. She is also very good on place.

I will certainly be reading more of her books. show less

There is a certain ease and authority with their characters that some authors possess, that makes reading their books, on whatever themes, a pleasure. Dwyer Hickey is one of those writers.
I’m not sure that I would have chosen to read this book based solely upon the theme, as some sort of love story set over about forty years between Milly (a bar worker) and Pip (a boxer/alcoholic) doesn’t sound engaging. But I had read one previous book by Dwyer Hickey which was beautiful, and this is show more another beautifully written story.
Not only was it beautifully written, it had a great dynamic for the story, alternating between a chapter of Milly ranging over about forty years from 1979 and a chapter of Pip over about ten months, building towards a climax in December 2017.
I happened to live in London for a couple of years in the mid-1980’s, and I could recognise a lot of the walks taken, the connection of streets and parks and sights.
I’m trying to say, read this book! It’s good 😊

I received a Netgalley copy of this book, but this review is my honest opinion. show less

The House on Parkgate Street and other Dublin stories is a collection of ten short stories set in Dublin, mostly around the Phoenix Park area. Several are about children and teenage girls and some are about older people. They have a shared theme perhaps about loneliness and nostalgia, about observing other people's lives.

The title story, The House on Parkgate Street, is one of two longer stories in the collection. Gráinne is 13, struggling to fit in and being bullied at a new school after show more her parents' separation, missing her father and being sent to stay with her mother's friend Judy, reluctantly taking on Judy's caring responsibilities. She has been told not to chatter too much, but then she meets Noreen, who seems friendly and interested in her conversation.

In the Yellow Handbag, Ashok is a homeless taxi driver, trying to maintain contact with his estranged daughter and driving around a woman who has been away from Dublin for many years and is shocked and dismayed by the changes.

These stories are beautifully written but terribly sad. show less