We received a copy of this title, from the publishers, in return for an honest review. Many thanks to my new guest reviewer, Martina, for her insightful review...
Guest review from Martina O'Connor.
The Tracey family
are like any Irish family living in 1960s Ireland. Seán and Nance Tracey are
the parents of three girls, Fiona, Angela and Bridget. Fiona lives at home and
helps out in the family run shop and public house while Angela lives
independently in Dublin and Bridget is on course to become a nun while living
at a convent in Athlone. Throughout the book, we get an insight into the Tracey
family through the perspectives of Fiona, Angela and Bridget.
Geraldine kicks off by introducing
Fiona, the eldest daughter, who receives a letter from America from her friend
Elizabeth, who informs her that she has been successful in getting a nanny
position with a family in New York. Looking forward to her new adventure in
America, Fiona helps her parents during the busy Christmas period in the shop
and the pub until she leaves for New York in the New Year.
When the reader is introduced to
Angela, they also get introduced to an independent young woman who has suffered
from polio, which affected her leg, from a young age. Angela has not let this
hold her back as she manages to get around. She lives amongst people who suffer
from the same disability as her so she feels comfortable in her surroundings.
Throughout the book, you feel the tensions Angela feels towards her mother, as
she doesn’t feel close to her parent as much as Fiona would.
Bridget, the third daughter, is
living in a convent with the hope of becoming a nun. Bridget also has her
independence but is set on completing her vocation as she has strong religious
beliefs.
Like every family, tragedy strikes
when you least expect it to. When a tragedy strikes the Tracey family each of
the girls deal with this event in their own way and Fiona is forced to postpone
her trip to New York. She does this so that she can help her mother run both
the shop and the pub but when her mother falls ill, Fiona has no choice but to
cancel her trip altogether and look after her mother at home. Fiona soon finds
herself yearning for the independence her sisters have. Bridget has her
religion to help her through the tragedy and Angela is busy with work in Dublin
so both are away from home and Fiona is left to take on the responsibilities of
two businesses and looking after their mother by herself. This aspect of the
book made me feel sorry for Fiona as she had her hopes and dreams for the
future taken away from her. Fiona feels like she is left looking after things
at home on her own as her sisters are unable to return home from their own
responsibilities. I also get the idea that Angela is reluctant to return home,
which is unfair on Fiona who is left to look after their mother on her own.
Soon, the story gives hope to the reader that Fiona
can find happiness again, when a handsome American books into one of the rooms
above the pub. Fiona immediately finds herself attracted to the American
tourist, Michael O’Sullivan, and a romance blossoms. Could things work out for
Fiona? Only one way to find out.
Geraldine O’Neill’s writing is extraordinary. She
finds a way to draw the reader in with her dialogues and depiction of family
life in Ireland at this time. Throughout the book, we get a sense that there
are family secrets and tensions when we are introduced to Nance’s relationship
with her sister Catherine. Fiona, Angela and Bridget don’t understand the
tension between Nance and their aunt and this tension keeps the reader turning
the page to find out what is the reason behind this fallout. The girls get
caught in the crossfire as all three sisters hear something that could change
the family for good. What is the secret that has caused this tension in the
Tracey family? Geraldine O’Neill keeps the reader hooked from start to finish
in order to find out.
Throughout the book, many characters are introduced. While
most characters are likable, there are one or two characters that the reader
would find less appealing. For me, Fiona is the most likable as she is a strong
character. She shows great strength in the way she runs the family businesses
while looking after her sick mother. People would be able to relate to her
after she had to sacrifice her trip to America to look after things at home.
On the other hand, a character I disliked, to some
degree, was Nance Tracey. She started off as a strong character with a happy
marriage and three beautiful daughters. However, when she fell ill, she didn’t
show the strength that she portrayed at the beginning of the book and showed no
interest in getting better which affected Fiona the most. In my opinion, Nance
holds Fiona back from following her dreams and holds her back from gaining real
independence, which she aches for. Also, when she pushes her only sister away
because of the fallout they had, it just doesn’t give a good insight to the
character.
There are many twists and turns throughout the course
of this book that are exquisite. Geraldine O’Neill has a talent for bringing up
plot twists at just the right moment. Each character in the book is dealt with
a challenge that throws their future plans in the balance. Angela finds out
what the Tracey secret is at a moment when her relationship with her mother is
looking up. Fiona is unsure what her future holds and doesn’t know whether her
dreams for America will happen and what that means for her relationship with
Michael O’Sullivan. Another incident puts Bridget’s vocation in jeopardy. Nance
also reaches a new low with her illness that threatens her life. Will the
Tracey family be able to overcome these challenges in order to find true
happiness for themselves? My advice,
read “A Letter from America” to unfold all the secrets, sadness and happiness
that the Tracey girls become subject to in Geraldine O’Neill’s magnificent
story about family, grievance, romance and new opportunities.
A Letter from America is published by Poolbeg Books and is available in TPB and ebook format. At the time of posting, Poolbeg are running a 50% sale on all their fiction titles. You can check out their range here. The ebook can be ordered via amazon link below:
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