EPIC Staff Book Reviews
Review by Ana (Retail Supervisor)
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Apart from growing up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, Connell and Marianne don't seem to have much in common. In school, Connell is the popular athlete type, while Marianne is more of a quiet one. That doesn't stop them from feeling connected to each other, even though they don't like to show it.
Sally Rooney takes us from that first spark through the years beyond, and manages to portray a magnetic tale about first love, while also exploring the nuances of class and the complexities of family and friendship.
Review by Micaela (Retail Assistant)
"Oh my God, what a complete Aisling!" is a great book to forget about your problems and get lost in it. I find this book extremely relatable, Aisling could be any one of us, she could be your best friend, your sister, or your co-worker on the next desk! But this is not only a romantic novel, it also talks about serious issues that happen throughout everybody's lives, we've all been there in first person, or witnessed it on somebody close to us, and we should all have an Aisling to help us get through it. While it can be heart-breaking at some points, it's also very uplifting and you can't stop yourself from cheering for our heroine
Review by Adriana (Retail Assistant)
Grown Ups - Marian Keyes
A wife with four children, the boss of her own company, she never gives up when it comes to gather the family for whatever holiday/celebration comes next - 'family is meant to be together!'
A husband, co-worker at his wife's company, with his own concerns, aspirations and frustrations. Two brothers with respective wives and children...
An ordinary family, dealing with ordinary issues on the everyday routine.... but being adult doesn't always mean one has the maturity to do it. An interesting portrait of human's behaviour... after all, we are all humans, grown up humans...
Review by Carol (Retail Assistant)
WORKING CLASS HEROINES
Based on thirty years of research spent interviewing and recording the life stories of the working-class women of Dublin, it covers the squalid tenement days of the early 1900, through the mid-century decades of 'slum land' block flats, and into the 1970s when deadly drugs infiltrated poor neighbourhoods. What emerges is intimate and poignant celebration of the Mamie's and grannies who held the fabric of family life in an environment of hardship and, often, cruelty.
Through vivid tales of how they coped with grinding poverty, huge families, pitiless landlords, the oppressive church, dictatorial priests, feckless husbands, these remarkable women shine with with astonishing dignity, wit, pride and a resilient sprit, despite their struggles.
