An engaging look at the difficulty growing up.
This is chronicle of a Dublin Irish family whose interrelationships are not that uncommon in this modern day. The difference being with Anne Enright’s writing of the story, one is never left adrift with cliché or over sentimentality. Dealing with religion, money, commitment, where one son is in New York gay scene confronting the brutality of love, lust and death, given this is at the height of the Aids problem. Meanwhile, another son is portrayed in an altogether different environment—Mali where poverty rules giving his willingness to help the conditions as he tries to keep balanced the needs of his heart with those he desperately tries to ameliorate. Ms. Enright’s book, as read by Alana Kerr Collins, Lloyd James and Gerard Doyle, proves an honest telling of conflict and resolution. There is much to contemplate about what it’s like to truly grow up, embracing, rather than rejecting the hardships of illness, misunderstandings and separation of family. There are also joyful moments fused into this complex but very accessible story. Highly recommended for anyone seeking out integrity in the writing of a family saga.