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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
As a Catholic and given the institution of the Catholic Church the stories of The Magdalen girls did not surprise me considering what this church has dome with other institutions.
This novel brings to light and reminds us of the abhorrent institutions known as "laundries" where women who supposedly sinned were sent for treatment, often for trivial reasons, only to endure emotional and physical abuse, excessive workloads, meagre basic necessities and often vicious, sadistic punishments.
This story was absolutely captivating.
The only heartwarming part of the story was the relationship between these two women - the friendship, loyalty and courage through all of the depravity
This novel brings to light and reminds us of the abhorrent institutions known as "laundries" where women who supposedly sinned were sent for treatment, often for trivial reasons, only to endure emotional and physical abuse, excessive workloads, meagre basic necessities and often vicious, sadistic punishments.
This story was absolutely captivating.
The only heartwarming part of the story was the relationship between these two women - the friendship, loyalty and courage through all of the depravity
A fascinating read, reminded me a bit of Wiseman's "What She Left Behind" in that it portrays the powerlessness women in the past had. I felt like the conclusion of the novel was too open-ended. It seemed a little lazy that Teagan gets to experience and enjoy her freedom while Nora is left to rot. The whole "maybe I'll go back for her" thing didn't sit well with me. I was not familiar with Magdalen girls, so this novel was eye-opening to me.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I leaned so much about the history of the laundries through the eyes of Teagan, Nora and the other fictional characters Andrew’s constructs. There are vivid descriptions of the sad life in the laundries for both the penitents and the nuns. Well done.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was lucky enough to win copies of this book for one of my book groups. It tells a fascinating story about Dublin’s convent of The Sisters of the Holy where “problem” girls were sent to live. Society was harsh, and sometimes the girls really hadn’t done anything wrong like one of the protagonists, Teagan Tiernan, whose only sin was being a beauty. Her beauty attracted the attention of a new priest who lusted after her. After his confession to the bishop, the bishop feared a scandal might follow. To prevent anything from advancing, he went to Teagan’s family and made arrangements for Teagan to be sent there. Teagan also forms a bond there with another girl, Nora Craven, whose poor family sent her there to get her away from her boyfriend. These girls had to work in the Magdalen laundry located on the convent grounds. This was not a warm and loving convent that the girls were sent to. They were basically held as prisoners, working long agonizing hours, kept from contact with the outside world, and suffered horrific and cruel and treatment and punishments.
Although the book felt a little slow in the beginning, I enjoyed learning about something I did not previously know about. I actually had difficulty remembering that the book was taking place in 1962 because it was so hard to believe such things could be happening in such recent history. It was unbelievable how many people could overlook the atrocities and make justifications for what was happing. I did enjoy the friendship that developed, and although the subject was hard to read about, I’m glad that I learned about this terrible spot of history. The book does have a bit of mystery as well about a secret past of one of the sisters.
You can read my reviews on my blog: marysreadallaboutit.wordpress.com
Although the book felt a little slow in the beginning, I enjoyed learning about something I did not previously know about. I actually had difficulty remembering that the book was taking place in 1962 because it was so hard to believe such things could be happening in such recent history. It was unbelievable how many people could overlook the atrocities and make justifications for what was happing. I did enjoy the friendship that developed, and although the subject was hard to read about, I’m glad that I learned about this terrible spot of history. The book does have a bit of mystery as well about a secret past of one of the sisters.
You can read my reviews on my blog: marysreadallaboutit.wordpress.com
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Twice now I’ve read VS Alexander books, and twice now I’ve felt like the books were remarkably similar to much much better movies.
The first was The Taster and its counterpart Der Untergang (where the infamous Hitler yelling meme came from), which was also about a woman who worked in the inner circle of Hitler and his cronies. The second is of course this book and the 2002 movie The Magdalene Sisters.
The movie did an excellent job creating the sense of despair and hopelessness that permeated those laundries; this book…not so much. The plot beats were almost identical but with exponentially less emotion. Oddly the main thing I heard about the movie is that real women who’d lived in the laundries had said everything was so so much worse, so it was odd that this book chose to be even MORE watered down than the movie. There was also a supernatural element that was…odd and pointless.
Alexander picks interesting topics but does not seem to be able to execute them in a way that I find compelling.
1.5 stars
The first was The Taster and its counterpart Der Untergang (where the infamous Hitler yelling meme came from), which was also about a woman who worked in the inner circle of Hitler and his cronies. The second is of course this book and the 2002 movie The Magdalene Sisters.
The movie did an excellent job creating the sense of despair and hopelessness that permeated those laundries; this book…not so much. The plot beats were almost identical but with exponentially less emotion. Oddly the main thing I heard about the movie is that real women who’d lived in the laundries had said everything was so so much worse, so it was odd that this book chose to be even MORE watered down than the movie. There was also a supernatural element that was…odd and pointless.
Alexander picks interesting topics but does not seem to be able to execute them in a way that I find compelling.
1.5 stars