Saoirse (pronounced Seer-sha)
By Charleen Hurtubise
Sarah Roy knew she had to escape. Surviving years of abuse by her addict mother’s boyfriend and protecting her younger sister Lea left her with few options. Now, her mother is dead. After arranging Lea’s safety, Sarah sets off to Ireland. Changing her surname from Roy to Walsh is easy when she swipes an unsuspecting nanny’s passport. On the plane, her seatmate Paul is overly friendly. She accepts his offer of hospitality, and although his mother hesitates, his father welcomes Sarah with open arms. As she reinvents herself as Saoirse, Paul becomes controlling and manipulative. Under Paul’s thumb for years, Saoirse falls in love with another man named Daithi (Dah-Hee) who takes her to live by the sea. An incredible painter, she begins to experience success in the art world. Saoirse’s happiness is short-lived as the unbreakable ties with Paul’s family hold the secrets of her past. Art, freedom and love fill this beautifully written story with heartbreaking emotion,and enough suspense to keep you turning the pages. Pour a cup of tea, wear something green, and lose yourself in this incredible Irish novel.
Nesting
by Roisín O’Donnell (pronounced roh-SHEEN)
One afternoon, Ciara holds the hands of her two young daughters and leaves their Dublin home. Ciara’s husband Ryan will be furious, but eventually his anger will subside, he will profess his love and beg her to come home. When that doesn’t work, he will gaslight her and convince Ciara she needs medical help – this is Ryan’s pattern. After a decade living in Ireland, isolated from her mother and sister and having given up her teaching career, Ciara has few friends and no money. But Ciara knows she is not imagining this, and she cannot let her girls witness this destructive marriage. As Ciara navigates life on the run, she finds shelter and legal counsel. Every step Ciara takes forward feels like 10 steps back. This story is a devastating peek inside an abusive marriage. No one wants to live where they do not feel safe. Ciara feels shame, fear and guilt as she searches for help, but it is less important how she got there than figuring out how to escape. Hard to believe this is a debut. Róisín O’Donnell is a powerful new Irish voice.
Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way
by Elaine Feeney
In London, Claire works as a writer and university professor. She has a boyfriend named Tom Morton and a future that looks nothing like the rural town of her youth. London is far away from her abusive father and sad mother. One day Claire is notified that her mother has died, and she heads back to Ireland for the first time in years. At the funeral, Claire receives a mixed welcome from her brothers and childhood friends who feel she abandoned them. Afterward, Claire returns to London, but falls into a deep depression. When her father becomes very sick, Claire returns out of some twisted guilt to arrange his care. With the arrival of the pandemic, she finds herself unexpectedly stuck once again in western Ireland. As family secrets are revealed along with a descriptive brutal Irish history, Claire continues to struggle. Unexpectedly, Tom shows up searching for her forgiveness while he works on the novel that never ends. Written with a distinctly Irish lilt, which I love, this is a haunting story of grief, guilt and survival.
WorthWatching: “Four Letters of Love” is a romantic Irish drama based on a bestselling novel from Niall Williams. Set in 1970s Ireland, it follows two young people, Nicholas and Isabel, whose lives are shaped by family upheaval and loss. This is a quiet story with big Irish scenery and an outstanding cast. Check it out on Netflix.
