4 Stars
This book examines marital constraints women faced when divorce was not an option in a religious and patriarchal society. The plot is set in 1994 in the fictional Irish town of Ardglas in County Donegal and focuses on three women trapped in unhappy marriages.
Colette Crowley, a published poet, left her husband Shaun and three sons for an affair with a married man in Dublin. The relationship over, she returns to Ardglas, wanting to have contact with her sons, but Shaun denies her visits. She rents a cottage and tries to earn money by holding creative writing workshops.
Izzy Keaveney is married to James, an elected member of the government, who controls her life by denying her any attempts at independence. She often sinks into deep depression. Her only friend is Father Brian Dempsey, the parish priest. She attends Colette’s workshops and eventually sets up clandestine meetings between Colette and her youngest son.
Dolores Mullen is pregnant with her fourth child. She too is unhappy in her marriage because her husband Donal is a philanderer who constantly criticizes her. She suspects that he is having an affair with Colette who has rented their cottage next door.
The women are fully developed, complex characters; they are flawed but vulnerable so it’s impossible not to have empathy for them since they are trapped by circumstances and their lack of free agency. Colette may have left her husband, but she wants to remain a part of her children’s lives, especially her youngest son. Though she has some money, she relies on Shaun for financial support until he cuts her off completely. She becomes the target of the town’s gossip. Izzy wants to open up a business as a florist, but James refuses. James’ concern is always what the public will think. Dolores can’t escape: she’s pregnant, with abortion not an option, and married to a serial adulterer.
The men in the novel are bullies who manipulate others but suffer less from the townspeople’s intolerance. Whereas Colette is viewed as a sexually promiscuous woman, her husband Shaun dates another woman without being censored. James uses his powerful position to punish Izzy but remains viewed as an upstanding man in the community. Donal is a womanizer who psychologically abuses his own wife but still manages to find clients for his business. Women have much more to fear from scandal than the men.
One of the few likeable male characters is Father Brian. Though a Catholic priest, he is the most open-minded. He allows Colette to read in church and befriends Izzy. He also tries to counsel Dolores, though he obviously can’t advise her to leave her husband. He becomes a victim of James’ machinations and small-town rumours.
With its focus on characters and their circumstances, the novel is slow-paced. The perspective of several characters is included. Only the last part of the novel, after a tragic event, is more action-packed. This last section also shows women being stronger than the reader might initially think. Though accepting of their situations, they are not resigned.
I very much enjoyed the book and its examination of Irish women’s lives and how they were controlled by men and the Catholic Church before the legalization of divorce in 1996. I was impressed by the male author’s ability to convey the inner lives of women.
I will end on a personal note. There are so many excellent Irish novels, but I’ve been hindered by my lack of knowledge of Irish geography. Happily, my husband and I toured Ireland this past fall so I have a better understanding of the setting of Irish books I now know exactly where the various counties and towns are located and what their physical features are.
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