Thanks to the author for sending me a copy of her novel, in return for an honest review.......
Karen and Greg are teenagers in love. More than that, they are connected by an
invisible bond that makes their love seem unbreakable. Life is a mix of exams, discos and walks in
the park. Kissing, holding hands and dreaming of their future. One stupid misunderstanding breaks the bond
and here begins a lifetimes worth of
‘what-ifs’ and bad timing. Over
the decades, Greg sends the occasional postcard to Karen, letting her know that
he thinks of her, as much as she does him.
Life moves on, from Ireland in
the 1980s, across America and Europe, but will their love for each other ever
lose its intensity?
Michelle Jackson has written a story of young love in
Ireland and using her experience as a travel writer, has weaved some great
locations into the tale. She describes
the North Dublin areas of Sutton and Howth very lovingly and anyone who is from
the area will know the street names, landmarks and pubs that are mentioned
throughout. The
Grove disco was indeed a rite of passage in the 1980s and many a romance
started there. However, there seems to
be a trend for this kind of story lately and while I am all for the nostalgic
flashbacks to the 80s, this particular book was a bit too serious for me. There was very little humour in any of the
memories and I know that young love is intense and all consuming at that age,
but there are definitely some laughs and giggles along the way. I like the mention of Top of the Pops and
what songs Karen was listening to at the time, but I still couldn’t connect
with her teenage self. She seemed too
one dimensional and lacked a realism that would have brought the story
alive. Greg began to annoy me with his
teasing phone calls, visits and postcards.
I could feel the bond that was there between them and the sexual tension
that built up over the years was well written, but due to decades passing by
with no real story to grip to, I soon gave up caring too much.
In saying all that, I did enjoy the book. I read in two sittings and kept turning those
pages. Michelle’s writing style is fluid
and easy to read with good chapter lengths. I also loved the addition of the
pictures of Greg’s postcards. Even the
stamps are accurate. I had penpals, back in the day, and recognised the stamps
straight away. Overall, had the book
been edited down a bit, it may have worked better for me. Less Howth and more story. Poolbeg seem to thrive on books based near
the Irish coastline, but after years of reading the same descriptions of the
landscape of the same areas, I would like to see more books about the rest of
Dublin, or indeed the many other beautiful parts of Ireland.
Six Postcards Home is published by Poolbeg and is available in paperback of e-book.
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