That's How It Was
by Maureen Duffy
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Description
I was just a girl and life offered only things I despised: houses, children, security, housework. I had to pass. I had to. I had to be different.' Paddy is illegitimate, the daughter of another Paddy -- an active member of the IRA who abandons her English mother, Louey, at her birth. This is the story of that mother -- frail, but with an indomitable spirit -- of that daughter -- and of their life together, seen through the clear eyes of Paddy as a child and adolescent. The working class life show more of wartime England is wonderfully evoked and the subtle changing relationship between Paddy and Louey is movingly conveyed. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
fountainoverflows Another exploration of a different sort of bond between mother and daughter.
Member Reviews
An engrossing read about a tubercular single mother's love for her daughter and commitment to her child's escape from poverty through education. Some idiomatic use of English and cultural references as well as occasionally fuzzy writing made a few early parts of the novel challenging. However, once I was a third of the way into the book, I found it hard to put down. Worthwhile.
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Lists
TML 200 Best Books 1950-1999
202 works; 10 members
The Modern Library (The Two Hundred Best Novels....
202 works; 1 member
Author Information
45+ Works 904 Members
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Notable Lists
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1962
- Dedication
- For G. R. W.
because I said I would - First words
- Lucky for me I was born at all really, I mean she could have decided not to bother.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And what the hell do I do now?
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 108
- Popularity
- 299,387
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.75)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 4
