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Elyse G. (Creswell, OR)
Okay in a Pinch
This book is essentially a play-by-play of a week in the protagonist's life. A 27-year old Irish woman, she lives with her mother and works at a Fish and Chip shop. There is a little background of the character - family involvement in the IRA, missing father, recently murdered grandmother. You expect some kind of story involving one or both of these facts, but there's not much. There's a funeral, the police are investigating. The reading of the will contains a surprise, which seems to be the climax of the book, after which one expects some character development, some increase in tension in the story. Don't count
…more on it. One thing you can count on is an overabundance of detail regarding Magella's daily ablutions, bathroom breaks at work and the occasional 'quickie'. what I did enjoy was the local patois, though there were times when I would have appreciated a glossary. Recommended perhaps if you have nothing better to read. (less)This story takes place in a small town in Ireland during one of the most turbulent periods of time. Magella is the main character and although Michelle Gallen doesn't label her, she is definitely on the autistic spectrum. She lives with her alcoholic mom in a run down neighborhood and house. Magella has experienced much trauma in her 27 years. She doesn't know whether her father is dead or alive, but presumed dead. Her father's mother has been brutally murdered and the reader is left wondering if it is related to her father as the police continue to investigate. Surprisingly with everything Magella has endured
…more and with her disability, her character slowly develops throughout the story. By the end of the book, the reader becomes hopeful that Magella will do much more than survive.
Magella! Her autism is revealed through snippets. She is awkward with people. Does not like to go to crowded places or streets. She doesn't look anyone in the eye during conversations. She answers in one or two words. She dislikes changing or new situations. She has a difficult time trying to gage people's emotions. She doesn't like change. As the story proceeded, Magella was learning how to cope with some situations in better ways in spite of her egocentric mother.
The pace of the book was slowly developed in the first half of the book. The chapters are short and dated and titled by what Magella likes or doesn't like. Spoiler alert: dislikes out way the likes. The only part of this book that I felt was humorous was the nicknames of the customers and how they got them. But overall, I found the story to be sad. Although Magella had a few people looking out for her best interest, I felt she was taken advantage of because of her disability.
Ms. Gallen's descriptions of the era of Protestants vs. Catholic is well depicted. Using the natural language of that era and descriptions, you felt what it was like living in a small town. I thought the story was well-written and the character development was excellent. Although this book will not make my favorite list, I would be willing to read another book by a talented Michelle Gallen. (less)Normally I love this type of book...set in another country, depicting a slice of life through a myriad of quirky characters. On the positive side, I thought the writing was fabulous and I loved all the Irishisms, funny nicknames of the patrons and neighbors and the slice of small time life. It even left me craving a nice portion of fish and chips. However, I did not find if funny or even particularly entertaining. I did not like any of the characters much. I admire Majella's loyalist to her mom and her job, but it was all rather depressing without a purpose. I would not call this comedic, hilarious or even full
…more of dark humor...At least not to me. Kudos to the author and her wonderful writing style, but the story just wasn't engaging. (less)Big Girl, Small Town laser-focuses on the stout and underachieving character Majella O'Neill—cruelly called Jelly – who lives in the small village of Aghybogey during the Irish Troubles.
Each chapter begins with the time of day and an item from a list of things she doesn't like at the start at the novel (the most important of these items is "other people.") The precision of the chapters suggests that in all likelihood, Majella is on the autistic spectrum. She lives a small and bleak life: no friends, no ambitions, wears the same clothes every day, works in a local chip shop called Salt and Battered and watches
…more her favorite TV series, Dallas. Yet the narrow focus on Majella belies the important events going on around outside her.
Her mother is an alcoholic, her octogenarian Gran has been murdered, and the Irish Troubles pervades everyone's life. People are segregated by religion and violence is never far in the background.
The author gets many things right: the Irish patois, which takes some getting used to but adds a great degree of authenticity…the ambiance of Aghybogey….and most of all, the internal and external nuances of a character. It's hard for a reader not to feel in the skin of the character; in fact, the novel works best as a character study.
The promised humor is outweighed by a sense of bleakness and poignancy. The book is best recommended for readers who have patience for a book that meanders slowly as it focuses on outward routines and inward churning. I didn't love it, but I admired the author's intent and execution. (less)I expected this book to be a much lighter and funny read after seeing the praises on the back cover: "darkly hilarious," "wildly entertaining," "engaging," and "captivating." It actually was very dreary and depressing to me. I failed to see the humor in her dealing with a sad home life, having an alcoholic mother, having no close friends, and having nothing to look forward to in life at the age of 27. I did like the author's style of writing as she used Majella's lists as references. A few of the characters who came into the chip shop were entertaining, but certainly not enough to make me laugh. And I definitely
…more did not like the ending. Sorry to say, I honestly cannot recommend this book to anyone. (less)
Gail B. (Albuquerque, NM)
A Salt & Battered
How I felt after reading this book If you like: small town gossip, dialect without translation (not sure what a cropil or a gleek or a gurning is), downbeat no-hopers, sex out by the dumpster, you'll love this book.What redeems it are the rare glimpses into happy family relationship, all of which occurred in the past. There hints of mysteries but none resolved. Too bad.
Jean B. (Naples, FL)
Big Girl, Small Town
When I read the reviews for Bi Girl, Small Town I looked forward to reading it. According to the cover of the book The Guardian called it darkly hilarious and wildly entertaining and the Irish Times labeled it captivating.
However, I found this book profoundly sad. It was also difficult to read because it was written with a heavy Ulster slang. Majella, the main character, leads a truly dreadful life with a selfish, demanding, drunken mother and a boring job, enlivened only occasionally with sex (not involving love or even attraction) with her co-worker. There are graphic descriptions of totally un-loving sex,
…more bathroom visits, and female monthly problems. The only humor I found was in the names of the chip shops: A Salt and Battered and The Cod Father. Perhaps if I hadn't read reviews expecting humor I might not have been as critical of this book. (less)I have been particularly drawn to Irish authors such as Anne Enright and Sally Rooney, and I looked forward to Michelle Gallen's debut. She notably portrays a provincial Irish village, rendering her characters with painfully honest and detailed definition, complete with the local patois and ethos. The tension between Catholics and Protestants is fully on display, as the story takes place not long after the Troubles ended. Gallen is obviously talented and insightful, but I regretfully had to force myself to finish it. The author was purposely redundant to make a thematic point of a woman stuck in a static town
…more with backward customs. Unfortunately for me, it backfired and became a series of Groundhog Days, page after implacable page, chapter after intractable chapter, with a plodding, punishing plot.
Majella, the pudgy 27 year-old protagonist, possesses dormant intelligence and questionable personal hygiene habits, but prefers a spotless environment. Her compulsive tics point to the autism spectrum, although it isn't specifically stated. She's worked at the local fish 'n chip shop for nine years, and occasionally has sex in the storeroom with her married co-worker. Her dad disappeared when she was a child, never to be found, and presumed dead by many. This trauma disturbs Majella's life, soils her outlook, and sustains her stagnation.
Majella supports her insufferable, somatic and alcoholic mother, who stays home to drink, smoke, and complain. Their house is decaying and their bond is declining. In her free time, Majella makes lists of what she likes—eating, cleaning, Dallas (the TV show), among other things, and what she doesn't like, such as noise, fashion, gossip, and sweating. There are subgroups of each, but it all boils down to not liking "Other People."
Every night, Majella returns home with fried food from work, microwaves it, and tucks herself in bed to watch old episodes of Dallas, or lies there in confounding displeasure, eating. Periodically, she intervenes in her mother's attention-seeking and self-destructive behaviors. Occasionally, Majella takes the hours long journey to visit her beloved granny, her only departure from the recycled days. We know from the opening pages that her granny was recently murdered, and the perp is still unknown. As the narrative alternates time periods, we learn just enough to stay restless.
"Majella didn't understand all this pseudo-secrecy, the stories people told. She liked things straight. But things weren't like that in Aghybogey. It was a town in which there was nowhere to hide, so people hid stuff in plain sight."
Despite the narrative confidence and unique voice of Majella, the daily repetition of circumstance and interactions fell flat for me. Although I acknowledge that the author designed the story to illustrate the quotidian life and unchanging mores of this fictional village in Northern Ireland (near the border of the Irish Republic), it failed to keep me engaged beyond the first few chapters. I powered through, hoping for an intriguing payoff. However, the finale was quickly dispatched and foreseeable.
Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I'll keep an eye out for Gallan's next novel. I appreciate what she achieved, but I'm the wrong audience for this book. She controlled her narrative and gave it the structure she intended, but it left me sluggish and listless. Gallan's talent is indisputable, however, and I'm optimistic about her future work. (less)
