Our Score:★★★★★★✩✩✩✩
GENRE: Contemporary, Family
Selected by Sandra - September 2019
SYNOPSIS:
A tale of a single night. The story of a lifetime.
If you had to pick five people to sum up your life, who would they be? If you were to raise a glass to each of them, what would you say? And what would you learn about yourself, when all is said and done?
This is the story of Maurice Hannigan, who, over the course of a Saturday night in June, orders five different drinks at the Rainford House Hotel. With each he toasts a person vital to him: his doomed older brother, his troubled sister-in-law, his daughter of fifteen minutes, his son far off in America, and his late, lamented wife. And through these people, the ones who left him behind, he tells the story of his own life, with all its regrets and feuds, loves and triumphs.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)
THE DISCUSSION:
This story not only divided us but evoked different emotions within us.
For some, the story was a bit slow and depressing. Maurice reflects back on his life, toasting the five most influential people. Firstly, his big brother who was his idol and after his death cast a shadow over the rest of his life. Secondly, his daughter Molly who sadly was still-born. His third toast Noreen, his sister-in-law. The next toast to his son Kevin and the last toast saved for Sadie his wife who passed away recently and without her his life, in his eyes, was no longer worth living. From the very beginning you are aware that Maurice is lonely and wants his life to end. For some members they couldn't overlook the suicide issue and it soured the novel for them.
However, others were not put off by the underlying theme of suicide and truly enjoyed reading about Maurice's life; about his family, his losses, his hopes, his ongoing feuds with his neighbours and ultimately about the love he felt but could never articulate to those around him. As Donna said 'This is about a book of life, yes it's sad and heartbreaking at times but "when all is said" there is really nothing left'.
There were a vast amount of themes running through this book: stillbirth, death, abuse, loneliness, the elderly, mental health and dyslexia to name just a few. And then of course the big one - suicide. Now everyone has there own thoughts on this and like I mentioned earlier we had a long discussion with conflicting opinions. Some of us found that in this instant Maurice who was elderly, although admittedly in good health, had the right to decide whether he wanted to continue living lonely, in a care home or take his own life. Others ultimately didn't agree and found his act incredibly selfish especially as he left behind a son and grandchildren.
So whilst there were a lot of serious and heartbreaking elements to the novel some of us found it humorous in places and an enjoyable read. Noreen was one of the characters who added a touch of lightheartedness to the story, yes she was suffering from her own mental health issues but her relationship with Maurice was lovely and her obsession with coins was amusing 'Sparkle, Sparkle'! Emily was another character where we glimpsed a softer side to Maurice. And of course the whole family feud with the Dollards, and the coin, gave the story another dimension and focus.
It is amazing how Anne Griffin can evoke such a lengthy and lively debate from six women with just 264 pages of her novel. Whether we enjoyed it or not we applaud you on your brilliance for combining so many life issues, for tackling them head-on and for providing us with a book which we were emotionally invested in.
REVIEW: (Contains spoilers)
Gemma's Thoughts:
To begin with I found the book hard going, not because of the way it was written but because you get a sense of how the book is going to end and that filled me sadness. However, once the book started to recount Maurice's childhood and the relationship he had with his big brother I almost forget about my initial reservations and started to enjoy the novel. Yes I found it sad in places but I also found it heartwarming, realistic and touching. I did secretly hope that there would be a twist to the ending but also agree that if it had gone differently it would have flawed the concept behind the novel. This is definitely a book that you think about long after reading it. I wasn't particularly looking forward to it initially but am thrilled that this was our September read and I had the opportunity to immerse myself into this powerful, thought-provoking novel.
THE SCORES:
Donna: 8
Gemma: 6
Kim: 8
Nic: 5
Pamela: 6
Sandra: 7
Average 6
Let us know what you thought about this book. We would love to read your reviews and hear what you would score it.
If you enjoyed this book why not try:
A Man Named Ove by Fredrik Backman
The Unlikely Pilgrim of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Happy reading!