Della S

While I loved the premise of a dysfunctional family forced on a road trip, I found the book failed on many levels; The characters, all of them unlikable, are never fully developed. Even the grandfather whose death starts this journey is completely unbelievable. The dialogue and personal interactions between the characters never felt real. While the plot twist at the end was a real surprise (and well-done), by that point I had ceased caring about any of the characters and just wanted the ride to end.

Anne Enright's latest novel explores fame and its effects on both the famous and their family, while also creating an intimate portrait of a complex mother-daughter relationship. Katherine O'Dell's rise ( and fall from) fame and success is told through the eyes of her daughter Norah, who has reached middle age without reconciling her feelings or thoughts about her mother, her mother's fame or her own life trajectory.

Enright's cool prose perfectly captures Norah's measured review while surgically delving into both women's complicated psyches. Focusing tightly on the two characters, Enright explores issues of politics, gender, loss and power.

This book will undoubtedly serve as a standard, not only for great Irish literature, but for women's literature. In light of the #MeToo movement, it is a must-read for book clubs and will provide hours of thoughtful discussion.