And onto the letter T ... Set in Ireland in the 1990's, The Blackwater Lightship, by Colm Toibin, is a story of heartbreak and humour within the Devereaux family, as told by Helen, who became estranged from her mother Lily some ten years previous to the opening of the story. Helen is contacted by a friend of her brother Declan. Her beloved sibling is dying of AIDS and is in hospital, but this is the first Helen is hearing about his illness. So instead of departing on her own family's planned holiday to Donegal, she goes to spend time with him. But Declan wants to leave hospital and visit their grandmother, who he and Helen lived with during their childhood at a time when their own father was dying. This brings the grandmother, mother and daughter together in the same place at the same time for a decade. Into this mix are two of Declan's closest friends who also come to stay. As Declan's condition deteriorates (and no details are spared here), this proves to be a catalyst for the family who are desperate to support Declan but who cannot help but bring up grievances and deep felt hurt from the past, which lead us to the root cause of the estrangement. Whilst this could be an overly sentimental story, there is grit and edginess in the dialogue that is very convincing of a family who have held onto grudges for a long time. There are lighter moments, especially between Declan's friends and Dora, the grandmother, which are very welcome. The characters are distinct and well drawn, although I found Lily, the mother, maybe not quite so three dimensional as the others. There are beautiful passages, and emotions do run high, but overall a very satisfying read that reinforces the adage that you shouldn't wait for a tragedy to bring healing to a broken relationship - because then it might be too late!
My STAR rating: FOUR
Length: 288 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.98
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download.
No comments:
Post a Comment