One explosive family reunion. A lifetime of secrets revealed.
When four feisty women from the same family get together at a family reunion, anything can happen…
Marie-Claire, betrayed by her partner Marc, plans to teach him a lesson he will never forget. She travels home from Toronto to Ireland, to the house of the Four Winds, for her great-aunt Reverend Mother Brigid’s eightieth birthday celebrations. It will be a long-awaited reunion for three generations of family, bringing together her mother, Keelin, and grandmother, Imelda - who have never quite got along
And then all hell breaks loose.
Bitter, jealous Imelda makes a shocking revelation that forces them all to confront their pasts, admit mistakes, and face the truths that have shaped their lives. With four fierce, opinionated women in one family, will they ever be able to forgive the past and share a future?
And what of Marc?
It’s never too late to make amends…or is it?
Spanning generations and covering seismic shifts in the lives of women, The Liberation of Brigid Dunne is a compelling, thought-provoking, important and highly emotional novel from a trailblazing author in women's fiction.
Review: Wow this is the first full length novel I have read from Patricia Scanlan and I don’t know why I waited so long to pick this book up because it just blew me away. I adored the way this novel brings feminism and religion to the forefront and exposes the battle that goes on at every level of society between these two things.
This novel covers three generations of women and their lives inside and outside of the family. I loved the fact that we got all these different perspectives and go to see these women at various different times in history because it created a very full and rounded plot as well as bringing us these real and relatable characters.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the religious aspect of this book, but if you have similar concerns, let me assure you that this book doesn’t land on one side or the other when it comes to the religious fence. It takes an impartial and critical look at the church through the eyes of all of these characters and I like the way it was shown throughout the novel. It definitely made me think.
Obviously the titular character in this novel Brigid has a big part to play but I loved getting to know more about her through her family, Her mother, her sister and her niece are all wonderful characters to read about in their own right but they all contribute to the development of Brigid as a person. I had a real soft spot for Imelda. I think she has a really difficult journey in this book and I feel like she doesn’t have as much support as some of the other women. She spoke to me and I find myself still thinking about her now.
I have already mentioned that this book delves into the world of religion and where feminism sits within the world but it also covers a lot of other topics all wound up in a complex saga of a storyline. I loved the jumps between time and characters that we did and I think that helped in dealing with some of the issues covered without things getting too heavy or getting too weighed down with some of the ideas uncovered.
I really recommend this novel and if, like me, you haven’t read a Patricia Scanlan novel before, this is truly a great place to start.
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