Dance Lessons: A Novel
by Aine Greaney is a story about the power of family legacy and how the marks of old hurts can be indelible. Beginning in Boston and then moving to the rugged beauty of the West of Ireland, this wonderful novel introduces us to plucky but also damaged characters who perpetrate their hurt on those they love the most. Fintan Dowd moves to Boston from Ireland in the 80's and meets American born Ellen. Fintan tells Ellen his mother has died and that there is no one left behind in Ireland so they never visit during their 15 year marriage. When Fintan dies suddenly in an accident, Ellen discovers he had lied to her - his mother is alive (if not well) in Gowna, Co Mayo. Ellen travels to her husband's birthplace, delivers the sad news to Fintan's mother and endeavors to understand this complicated woman and the childhood that shaped her, at times, difficult husband.
Fintan's mother, Jo, is dying of lung cancer but her cantankerous personality is still alive and well. As Ellen graciously offers to care for her, Jo begins to reveal her own history and that which shaped her son. This quote perfectly sums up what drives Jo:
"Or while he's [Fintan] been away living that city life, has he somehow forgotten who he is? No, who they are? Has he somehow forgotten the sufferance, the bitter sacrifice that forms the core, the credo of Jo Dowd's very existence?"Jo visited this bitterness upon her son taking out her frustration on the child she loved so much - "Jo slaps her child simply because he's there - just there between her and the rest of the world". It would be easy to make a villain of Jo but Aine Greaney skillfully creates a sympathetic and, at times, likeable character.
In addition to learning about her mother-in-law, Ellen also learns some well buried secrets about her late husband, Fintan. The trip to Ireland is really an excavation - Jo's past is explored as are the transgressions against her son and the impact they had upon him.
I LOVED this novel - the setting is beautiful and charming but the characters are really what captivated me. They are well drawn with a depth that includes their faults but also what they could not help - the legacy forced upon them. I highly recommend this book!
Don't miss the author's guest post entitled "The Ever Present Past" in which she talks about her immigrant experience.
I posted a review for this one today, too! I really, really liked it. I'm going to use it as part of my immigrant stories challenge...I need to do a status post on all my various challenges, too. I'm glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteOk, NOW it's going on my wish list. I've seen it around lately but wasn't sure about it. I trust you :)
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled across your site. Love it! This book sounds great. I'm glad the author didn't take the easy route and villainize Jo. Definitely want to give this one a try now.
ReplyDeleteTerrific review! I just added this title to my ever-growing list.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this thoughtful and detailed review--and for everyone's comments. Mary, Jenna and Beth, if you do take a chance on Dance Lessons, I hope it lives up to promise. The book took over 7 years to complete--about 3 X times as long as my first novel. What's up with that? Well, as you say, some stories just don't have an "easy route"--or this one sure didn't.
ReplyDeleteBut ... so far, it's been worth it.
It's got to take talent to make a character who slaps her son into one that is also sympathetic. This is the first I've seen of this book. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteSounds wonderful! I added the link to your review on the challenge page. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling me about this novel. You must have a shelf of Irish books by now.
ReplyDeleteOh this sounds like a book I would love! Books set in Ireland always captivate me and this one seems to have nice strong characters!
ReplyDeleteI love books where people find out secrets about their loved ones after they are gone
ReplyDeleteDance Lessons sounds like a beautiful, compelling and fantastic book! I cannot imagine Ellen's surprise when she discovered, after Fintan's death, that his mother was alive, living in Ireland. Meeting Jo, though, probably made it more understandable why Fintan told Ellen his mother was dead. I'm intrigued by Ellen especially because she offers to care for Jo who sounds like a very unhappy woman.
ReplyDeleteYour review of this book is terrific and I'm already captivated by it! I love stories set in Ireland and/or with Irish characters, too so I'm putting it near the top of my tbr list!
I'll be adding this book to my never ending 'gotta read' list. Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteI'll be reading this soon, and I can't wait. Glad to see you really liked it!
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