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Dubray Review

The Kelleher family converge on their sprawling home in Maine every summer.  At the head of the family is Alice, a grandmother in her eighties with a dark secret from her past that has cast a long shadow over her life.  Kathleen, her daughter, has spent her entire life disentangling herself from Alice, carving out a life for herself far away from this boisterous Irish American family with its fondness for wine and song. Maggie, Alice’s granddaughter, desperately craves acceptance from her grandmother.  Anne Marie is the doting daughter-in-law, forever tending to the needs of her husband and his difficult family.  What holds these disparate characters together is their annual pilgrimage to the house in Maine but their refuge may now be under threat. A rich family tapestry told through the eyes of four very different yet unforgettable characters.

- Nicola Kennedy, Bray

Description

The Kelleher clan's beachfront holiday house creaks under a weight of secrets. Won in a bar-room bet after the War, it is a place where cocktails follow morning mass, children eavesdrop, and ancient grudges fester. One summer, three generations of Kelleher women descend on the shore. Kathleen, finally sober, hoped never to set foot there again. Maggie, pregnant, has left her hopeless boyfriend. Ann-Marie, bound to the family by marriage, fantasizes about an extra-marital affair. In the middle of all this is matriarch Alice, who drinks to forget her failings as a parent and the events of a single night, decades before. As changeable as the sea in front of their house, the Kelleher family is by turns fierce and loving, cruel and unforgiving. Maine is a novel of sibling rivalry and painful secrets, alcoholism and denial; it lays bare the paradoxical nature of family and the love that we are bound to, no matter how savage the storm.

Reviews

'Maine delves into the secrets and simmering emotions of one dysfunctional family over the course of a single summer month... Rich and exhilarating... The dialogue sizzles... Maine does not falter. You don't want this novel to end.' Lily King, New York Times Book Review 'This read will transport you... The cast of quirky characters will have you laughing out loud and aching for their regrets in the same chapter, pining for more pages when it comes to an end.' Marie Claire 'Bittersweet, true to life, Maine is a reminder that every family should be celebrated however dysfunctional.' Bella Pollen, author of The Summer of the Bear 'Simple yet elegant, sometimes funny, often sad and always convincing. By the end, I felt as if I knew the characters intimately. Their shared history, with all its secrets, guilt, fear and hope, will definitely stay with me.' Emma Henderson, author of Grace Williams Says It Loud