Julia MacDonnell

The cover of the book is whimsical and looks like a light fluffy summer read, but don’t judge a book by its cover. There’s humor, but there’s also a sadness and heartache in this story of a rather quirky 68 year old divorcée. Mimi lives alone after being dumped by her husband for a younger woman, and has recently been forced into retirement. Her daughters are worried about Mimi’s memory and when an MRI shows signs of TIAs, there is a campaign to convince her to move to an assisted living facility. Mimi flatly refuses. She loves her independence and her needs are simple: Frank Sinatra music playing in the background, a clean home, a Manhattan, and a cigarette. With Mimi, what you see is what you get. I loved her attitude.

Mimi is from a large Irish Catholic family, and has 6 daughters of her own. As so often happens in families, there’s miscommunication and strained relationships, but Mimi declares she’s not one to dwell on the past. Everything changes when a grandnephew needs her help on a genealogy project, and Mimi finds a pendant that belonged to her mother who died in childbirth when Mimi was very young. These two events brings back long repressed memories of her disturbing and painful childhood, including the mystery of her sister Fagan’s fate after she was sent away to Ireland but never heard from again.

I enjoyed reading about the get-togethers with her sisters (the Yik-Yak Club), and how siblings growing up in the same family can have different memories and versions of events. The relationships she has with her daughters, and how coming to terms with one’s past can bring healing to present day relationships felt very real to me. The side story of her budding romantic relationship added to the charm of the novel.

I didn't much care for the inclusion of Irish fairy folklore near the end of the book, and at times I felt Mimi was portrayed as someone 20 years older than she was (although I suppose there are women like this) but it wasn't enough to ruin the book for me. Pay attention to the chapter titles, as as they are lines from Sinatra songs. A nice touch.… (meer)

At age 67 Maire (Mimi) Sheehan Malloy is more or less content with her life. She has a cozy apartment all to herself, her daily cocktails and cigarettes, a family of sisters and daughters who live nearby her Quincy, MA, home, and a suprising late-life budding romance with the apartment complex handyman Duffy. Mimi has always believed that it is best to leave the past in the past and not to dredge up unhappy memories but a genealogy project being done by one of her grandchildren forces the past back to the surface. Mimi grew up as the 3rd oldest of 6 Sheehan girls all of whom adored their "Da" and "Mam". After their Mam died in childbirth with the youngest child Da quickly remarried to give his daughters a mother. The woman he chose was Flanna, a beautiful redheaded Irish woman who lived and breathed Irish myths and traditions. Da was mesmerized by his new wife but in secret she was cruel to the girls doing harm to them on many occasions. Da either did not believe his daughters or was so lost in drink that he was unaware of the situation. After the girls were told that the next to youngest child had been sent back to Ireland because she was out of control the family fell completely apart as the girls went to live with their Nana. Mimi faces the ghosts of her past as she realizes with horror exactly what happened when she was a child.

This was an odd story as most of it was told with Mimi's memories. Very little else happened in the book except for a small amount of romance with Duff who carried his own secrets. I think the relationships with sisters and daughters was realistic in that they certainly did not all get along and there were several estrangements. It was an ok read for me.
… (meer)

What a story this is! Mimi Sheehan Malloy is the central character, and much of the story is about her, and her relationship with her daughters. She has sisters, too. And what transpired in their childhood has left each of the sisters scarred in some way. The scar that they bore had repercussions on their own children, and this is the story of how a child's school project draws out hidden memories and pain. But once the story has been brought into the light, the healing begins, and that is almost the best part of this book.

We find Mimi who has the fear of all of us, once we reach that certain age, finding the ability to feel joy again. Her family is mending, and so is Mimi, but she is doing it with the help of a very special friend.

The locale is outside of Boston in Quincy, Massachusetts.I enjoy reading a book that takes place in an area I am familiar with, so that added to my enjoyment. I recognized the speech patterns and "accent" as I read. It brought back a few memories for me, from the years we spent living not far away from there.

I definitely recommend this book, and I think I will be looking for others by this author, who has such a beautiful voice.… (meer)