Academy Street
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By Mary Costello
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2 reviews
WINNER OF THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2014
She stood on the edge of the grass. She hovered between worlds, deciphering the ground, tracing in mid-air the hall, the dining-room, the stairs. She was despairingly close to home now, to the rooms and the voices that contained the first names for home. Memories abounded and her heart pounded and history broke in . . .
Growing up in the west of Ireland in the 1940s Tess is a shy introverted child. But beneath her quiet exterior lies a heart of fire. A fire that will later drive her to make her home among the hurly burly of 1960s New York.
Over four decades and a life lived with quiet intensity on Academy Street in upper Manhattan, Tess encounters ferocious love and calamitous loss. But what endures is her bravery and fortitude, and her striking insights even as she is ‘floating close to hazard.’
Joyous and heart-breaking, restrained but sweeping, this is a profoundly moving story that charts one woman’s quest for belonging amid the dazzle and tumult of America’s greatest city. Academy Street establishes Mary Costello as one of Ireland’s most exciting literary voices.
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All the members of our book club found the book an easy read, in spite of the not very happy story line. A lot of us appreciated the fact that the long time span covered in this short book was in chronological order, with no confusing flashbacks!
Some individual comments from members of the group:-
1.'I thought this was a very descriptive novel, with very evocative language. The main character Tess I found a bit of a 'wet' if I'm honest. She just drifted and let things happen. However, you couldn't but feel a little sad for her - she was just so needy. And what a family she had - alcoholic brother, sister dying, father afraid to show affection, determined to keep the kids from going off the rails after his wife's death, which sadly Tess and her brother do.'
2. 'For the first few pages I thought, "Oh no, not another (albeit fictional) misery memoir, but I persisted and I'm so glad I did.
Apart from an excess of staccato sentences, which make for uncomfortable reading, I thought it was the best book I'd ever read about a child seemingly born 'needy' and anxious, and the impact that life events will have on such a nature.
I was surprised when I looked at the author photograph and saw how young she looks. Her writing and understanding is so mature that I'd expected someone much older to have written it. Well done, Mary Costello!'
I loved this. A simple story but beautifully told with plenty of detail and atmosphere. I felt I was there and thoroughly enjoyed this sensitive book;would it had been longer.
