Christina Mckenna

This is the debut novel of Northern Irish author Christina McKenna, the first in the Tailorstown series. It is a literary historical fiction that shifts between the 1930s and 1970s in Northern Ireland. The two main characters, awkward farmer Jamie McCloone and prim, repressed school teacher Lydia Devine, are in their 40s and looking for some companionship. Lydia is trying to escape the authoritarian clutches of her mother and to find a date for a wedding. Jamie is egged on by his hilarious, supportive neighbours to embark on a date.

The chapters alternate between the comical present and Jamie’s grim, traumatic and dark upbringing in a 1930s Catholic orphanage, abused and mistreated by the nuns and priests. These chapters were a harrowing read and not for the faint-hearted and probably too much for me. It was at times a sharp juxtaposition between the humourous brogue of Jamie’s neighbours, and then the dank, fetid evil of the orphanage.

This was a well-written read which captures the lilt of rural Northern Irish dialogue brilliantly, but be prepared for the heavier themes, and don’t go in expecting a gentle romance, it is not a romance novel at all. 4 stars.… (meer)

I got this as a kindle daily deal bargain book. it looks and sounds like a romance between two forty somethjng people in rural Ireland but that is not quite accurate.


Our main characters are both lonely and unhappy people looking for companionship and they do find it with each other but not before dealing with a variety of obstacles. The book makes extensive use of flashbacks detailing one character's horrific life in an orphanage and I undrstand why they were there and appreciate what those scenes added but I found them to be too heavy handed.

The rest of the book is just OK - a little bit sweet, a little bit funny, a little bit over done.… (meer)