Page 3 of 4
There are currently 24 member reviews
for Big Girl, Small Town
-
Kenan R. (Liberty, MO)
Hey - is this an Irish book??
So... the Irish slang itself didn't bother me, I read Roddy Doyle, Tana French et al. But the phonetic spelling - seriously?!? I do not need you to spell tea "tae" or beast "baste"! I know what an Irish accent sounds like. Honestly what a slog, and a great way to break up the rhythm of the language. That said, I am giving it 3 stars because I liked the story. I rather enjoy slice of life stories, and I think that this glimpse of a week in the life of Majella is really well framed. By time stamping and listing Majella's (mostly) dislikes as headers throughout her days we get a feel for this character who is trapped by circumstance and her own fear to break out of her routines. The Chipper where she works serves as a window into her world - a small village in Northern Ireland. It allows us to join her, and observe the characters that move in and out of her world revealing the sublime that may be found in a workaday life.
-
Peg A
Big Girl, Small Town
Big girl, small town is about a week in the life of Majella O”Neil (big girl) in the small town of Aghybogey in Northern Ireland in the time after The Troubles. The book uses local vernacular which I enjoyed and is written in vignettes titled under Majella's list of likes (few) and dislikes (many)
Majella lives with and takes care of her alcoholic mother and works in a fish and chip shop.
She rocks and flicks her fingers when upset appearing to have behaviors of a person on the autism spectrum. Through her work routine and occasional outings we learn about Majella, her family, and the people of Aghybogey
Three tragedies come up throughout the book: Majella's father disappeared a few years ago, her uncle who was in the IRA is dead and most recently her grandmother was assaulted in her home and died in hospital.
The police are investigation her grandmothers assault but it is never addressed much further. The book held my interest enough to finish but with Irish history mixed in with murder it could have been a much richer story.
-
Elyse G. (Creswell, OR)
Okay in a Pinch
This book is essentially a play-by-play of a week in the protagonist's life. A 27-year old Irish woman, she lives with her mother and works at a Fish and Chip shop. There is a little background of the character - family involvement in the IRA, missing father, recently murdered grandmother. You expect some kind of story involving one or both of these facts, but there's not much. There's a funeral, the police are investigating. The reading of the will contains a surprise, which seems to be the climax of the book, after which one expects some character development, some increase in tension in the story. Don't count on it. One thing you can count on is an overabundance of detail regarding Magella's daily ablutions, bathroom breaks at work and the occasional 'quickie'. what I did enjoy was the local patois, though there were times when I would have appreciated a glossary. Recommended perhaps if you have nothing better to read.
-
Sharon P. (San Diego, CA)
Torn about my review...half great, half not so great
Normally I love this type of book...set in another country, depicting a slice of life through a myriad of quirky characters. On the positive side, I thought the writing was fabulous and I loved all the Irishisms, funny nicknames of the patrons and neighbors and the slice of small time life. It even left me craving a nice portion of fish and chips. However, I did not find if funny or even particularly entertaining. I did not like any of the characters much. I admire Majella's loyalist to her mom and her job, but it was all rather depressing without a purpose. I would not call this comedic, hilarious or even full of dark humor...At least not to me. Kudos to the author and her wonderful writing style, but the story just wasn't engaging.
-
Arlene I. (Johnston, RI)
A Listless life..
This story takes place in a small town in Ireland during one of the most turbulent periods of time. Magella is the main character and although Michelle Gallen doesn't label her, she is definitely on the autistic spectrum. She lives with her alcoholic mom in a run down neighborhood and house. Magella has experienced much trauma in her 27 years. She doesn't know whether her father is dead or alive, but presumed dead. Her father's mother has been brutally murdered and the reader is left wondering if it is related to her father as the police continue to investigate. Surprisingly with everything Magella has endured and with her disability, her character slowly develops throughout the story. By the end of the book, the reader becomes hopeful that Magella will do much more than survive.
Magella! Her autism is revealed through snippets. She is awkward with people. Does not like to go to crowded places or streets. She doesn't look anyone in the eye during conversations. She answers in one or two words. She dislikes changing or new situations. She has a difficult time trying to gage people's emotions. She doesn't like change. As the story proceeded, Magella was learning how to cope with some situations in better ways in spite of her egocentric mother.
The pace of the book was slowly developed in the first half of the book. The chapters are short and dated and titled by what Magella likes or doesn't like. Spoiler alert: dislikes out way the likes. The only part of this book that I felt was humorous was the nicknames of the customers and how they got them. But overall, I found the story to be sad. Although Magella had a few people looking out for her best interest, I felt she was taken advantage of because of her disability.
Ms. Gallen's descriptions of the era of Protestants vs. Catholic is well depicted. Using the natural language of that era and descriptions, you felt what it was like living in a small town. I thought the story was well-written and the character development was excellent. Although this book will not make my favorite list, I would be willing to read another book by a talented Michelle Gallen.
-
Jill S. (Chicago, IL)
A nuanced character study
Big Girl, Small Town laser-focuses on the stout and underachieving character Majella O'Neill—cruelly called Jelly – who lives in the small village of Aghybogey during the Irish Troubles.
Each chapter begins with the time of day and an item from a list of things she doesn't like at the start at the novel (the most important of these items is "other people.") The precision of the chapters suggests that in all likelihood, Majella is on the autistic spectrum. She lives a small and bleak life: no friends, no ambitions, wears the same clothes every day, works in a local chip shop called Salt and Battered and watches her favorite TV series, Dallas. Yet the narrow focus on Majella belies the important events going on around outside her.
Her mother is an alcoholic, her octogenarian Gran has been murdered, and the Irish Troubles pervades everyone's life. People are segregated by religion and violence is never far in the background.
The author gets many things right: the Irish patois, which takes some getting used to but adds a great degree of authenticity…the ambiance of Aghybogey….and most of all, the internal and external nuances of a character. It's hard for a reader not to feel in the skin of the character; in fact, the novel works best as a character study.
The promised humor is outweighed by a sense of bleakness and poignancy. The book is best recommended for readers who have patience for a book that meanders slowly as it focuses on outward routines and inward churning. I didn't love it, but I admired the author's intent and execution.
-
Mary Ellen N. (Oakbrook Terrace, IL)
Definitely Not "Derry Girls"
I expected this book to be a much lighter and funny read after seeing the praises on the back cover: "darkly hilarious," "wildly entertaining," "engaging," and "captivating." It actually was very dreary and depressing to me. I failed to see the humor in her dealing with a sad home life, having an alcoholic mother, having no close friends, and having nothing to look forward to in life at the age of 27. I did like the author's style of writing as she used Majella's lists as references. A few of the characters who came into the chip shop were entertaining, but certainly not enough to make me laugh. And I definitely did not like the ending. Sorry to say, I honestly cannot recommend this book to anyone.
