I can't believe I didn't post this. Well, I did on Goodreads but wanted to record it here as well. It's one of my favorites from my Twenty Books of Summer event.
I absolutely loved this book and read it any chance I had. It starts in the 1970s with NYPD rookie police officers Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope. As they are patroling a call comes through about a robbery. They rush to the scene finding the owner of the bodega dead, blood all over him. Gleeson apprehends the suspect. It's the start of a partnership and good careers for Stanhope and Gleeson and, what you would initially think, a great friendship.
Both marry, have children, live next door to one another in a smaller town just outside the city. The neighborhood children had the kind of upbringing I had - kids running around across the lawns, riding bikes, catching fireflies and having birthday parties at each other's homes.Ideal. Except there isn't an easy friendship and then there is a tragedy so great it shapes the lives of everyone in both the Stanhope and Gleeson familes permanently.
The story is told over a 40+ year timeline and from different perspectives. Such an excellent story. Themes of love, forgiveness, tragedy, mental illness and more.
This is an author new to me and I would group this story with Claire Lombardo's The Most Fun We Ever Had and Ann Napolitano's Hello Beautiful. A+ 5 Stars
You'll read how head-over-heels in love Jess was with Malcolm and vice versa. The initial thrill of being together, then the reality of marriage, the constant doctor appointments, IVF treatments and disappointments for seven years. Malcolm trying to keep the bar in the black and run his business. It's mostly his happy place.
I can't enumerate the times I wondered WTF was going on with this relationship, if you could call it that. I will say it took fortitude to finish the book, it was like an accident where you can't look away. About the 75% mark things started happening at a rapid progression.
This book has more ruminations and observations from each character than dialogue between them and others. There IS dialogue and you are in the moment for it. I don't regret reading this book but I will say I loved Ask Again, Yes and this didn't meet that bar.
My opinion - I am not recommending reading it or passing. Keane is a good author and I will be reading another of hers next month.
Also on tap next month is a buddy read for the book September by Rosamunde Pilcher 😊📚
Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon.
These books both sound good . I’ve read Ask Again, Yes by Keane and enjoyed it. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteAsk Again, Yes was my first book by this author, that was a winner :-)
DeleteI liked Yes, Ask Again Yes, too. Though the story has sort of faded in my mind.
ReplyDeleteAnn, I have another of her books ready for next month called The Walking People. I'm looking forward to that one.
DeleteGreat reviews, especially Ask Again, Yes. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteCindy, hope you have a wonderful reading week!
DeleteUlysses is a book that deeply intimidates me. I would love to try it, but I'm sure that I'd never make it through the book.
ReplyDeleteA five-star read for Ask Again, Yes? And a comparison to the work of Ann Napolitano? That is high praise! So glad to see how much you enjoyed it.
Deb, I wouldn't try Ulysses again if you paid me, that was required in college for my major! It's impressive but man... I had another professor who was all into Joseph Conrad and that's all we read.
DeleteI did enjoy Keane's book very much and hope to read more.
It *is* impressive! But good to know that it's not a pleasure trip of a read.
DeleteAsk Again, Yes sounds amazing. It's nice to find those books that you can't stop reading!
ReplyDeleteErin, it's been a awhile since I had a book I couldn't put down....and neglect housework and everything else!
DeleteThat's fun to find a new to you author to read!
ReplyDeleteJoy, it is a blast when they have many books out so I have an instant reading list.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed Ask Again Yes, though the second novel seems like a miss. Sometimes that happens with our favorite authors, but we keep reading!
ReplyDeleteSusan, so true. If I have a favorite I always give their other books a chance.
DeleteI was thinking of September by Pilcher, myself! I love her writing, and what a perfect fit for the month ahead…soon enough.
ReplyDeleteBellezza, you can't go wrong with Pilcher and I love her big fat books the best. Coming Home and Shell Seekers are my favorites.
DeleteThose are my favorites, too.
DeleteAsk Again Yes sounds good. I'd been wondering what the heck it's about ,so thanks!
ReplyDeleteJinjer, I liked this one a quite a bit, it's long but I like how the life stories played out.
DeleteI gave Ask Again, Yes a 4.5/5 rating. It was so good on audio and I need to remember to recommend it to my book group so I can read it again (in print) next year. I'm sorry the Half Moon was a disappointment. I'll skip that one. Looking forward to re-reading September!
ReplyDeleteLes, that would be a fun one to read for a book club. Half Moon wasn't a huge disappointment but there I think it could have been shorter in some situations. Get to the point earlier. Looking forward to September as well! Looks like this latest Claire Messud novel will be all I get through in July. It's huge. And detailed!
DeleteWe live in the south becaus cold makes are faces hurt. We just have to remember that when we are being carried off by mosquitoes and it's a billion degrees!
ReplyDeleteBoth of these look interesting. I'm not sure either is really for me but I am curious about them both!
Katherine, you said it! It does hurt my face when it's cold and I need to remember that when I am hating on the humidity :-)
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