Another summer is in full swing on Roone, an island off the west coast of Ireland, and preparations are underway for a big birthday party at the local hotel. But before then, love and friendship will be tested ...
Who is the stranger who arrives at Imelda's door, just weeks after her world falls to pieces?
How long can Eve hide her secret from Andy?
And will Nell and Laura's friendship survive the storm that's about to hit the island?
Many thanks to Elaine from Hachette Ireland for my copy of The Birthday Party to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
I'm always delighted to read any books by the wonderful author Roisin Meaney and even more so when they are set on the very special and unique island of Roone. Any of the author's books which have featured this setting have been brilliant and even if you haven't read any of these you could still easily read this new book - The Birthday Party - as there is lots of back stories provided for new readers. Yes there are a lot of characters mentioned, and it could take a little time to get used to who is who and how different people connect to each other, but things do become clearer the further you progress through the story. As it had been over four years since my last visit to Roone, I'll admit it took me some time to settle back into the lives of the characters but once I did so I found this to be an enjoyable story following the trials and tribulations of the inhabitants and guests of the island. An island where on the surface everything seems idyllic and peaceful and everyone looks so contented and happy but underneath the surface there are stirrings of discontent for some and others are trying to come to terms with recent events.
As we arrive back on the island hotelier Henry Manning, even though it is only the beginning of the summer, is starting to plan his birthday/summer garden party in the grounds of the hotel which he hopes to hold at the end of August. He wants to give Roone a night it won't forget and he is hoping things will all go without a hitch. Being honest this was really the only mention of said party until we reached the end of the story and given this was the title of the book I was expecting it to feature more prominently. I understand the party does become the catalyst for secrets to be unearthed and for some home truths to be told but like I have seen with other readers it was a slight disappointment that the story didn't always connect back to the title as had been expected.
Pushing this issue aside and once I re-familiarised myself with the characters, I settled back into the relaxed rhythm of life on Roone and I enjoyed getting to know the main characters again. Although in this story they don't all seem as happy as they usually do and there is a lot of conflict and keeping secrets that really should have been brought out into the open much earlier on. Several of the characters surprised me with their actions and people I had loved in previous books I found myself really starting to dislike them. I suppose it shows that life can't always be a bed of roses and the author has tried to show that although life appears picture perfect on Roone there are still plenty of life changing events occurring.
Imelda came to the island as a tourist but fell in love with Hugh and has remained ever since but with the unexpected and devastating loss of her beloved husband, her life is no longer the same. She is trying to bear the unbearable and with the arrival of an unexpected visitor maybe this might be just the thing she needs to emerge from the wall of both sadness and anger that engulfs her. She is in a state of deep mourning and her grief is all encompassing so much so that she can barely manage to get through the days let alone help Eve who she and Hugh had taken into her home. Eve herself is struggling. She viewed Hugh as her real father and can't cope with the fact that the bond she established with him is gone forever. She is hiding secrets of her own but can't confined in Imelda as she thinks doors have been closed to her.
Eve was the character who I couldn't believe some of her actions. She had a secret that if revealed would be so explosive and affect the lives of so many others. To be honest this needed to be out in the open fairly rapidly for everyone to digest it and see how they could solve things but she kept avoiding that moment. Throughout the story she seemed very woe is me and I wanted her to buck up a bit and realise that many others had problems too and that we all have difficult situations to deal with in life. Instead of moping and being argumentative she should have been honest. People lie when they think the truth will not be well received and several characters adopt that attitude and maybe it's not the best way to be. The way the strand of her story developed until the eventual reasons were revealed was surprising and it provided plenty of food for thought.
Roone undoubtedly is a tight-knit community and the stalwart of that is Laura. She is not a native of the island but when she arrived, the island worked its magic on her and she stayed and married local man Gavin. She runs a guest house and her door is always open to everybody as she is great at offering a helping hand or just to sit and listen to someone's problem. Laura likes to keep busy with running the guest house and taking care of the children but that's not to say she hasn't had her problems in the past. She is a brilliant character who has been developed so well and she really is the matriarch figure of the books but here she feels under more pressure than usual. She has been told something very serious and the person with the secret has told her not to tell anyone. This is a heavy burden for her to bear and throughout the book I felt because of this she wasn't her normal happy self. Laura has a premonition that something bad is about to happen but little does she realise what is about to be exposed. Will she and the residents of Roone be able to deal with the fall out? Will the peace, comfort, tranquillity and warmth of Roone be shattered forever?
There are lots of other characters that feature but one last one I will mention is Tilly, the sister of Laura, who first arrived from Australia three years ago looking for her sister. Since then she goes back and forth to Roone every year and always looks forward to her time there. She is maintaining a long distance relationship with Andy but hopes to put things on a more firmer footing. She arrives for her holiday with plenty of goals in mind but life might just have other things in store for her. At times it seemed to me as if Tilly had her head in the clouds and needed to be a little more realistic about things. She needed to be that little bit more aware and in tune with what was actually going on but saying that I was desperately sad for what befalls her and I don't think she deserved what came her way. Things went out of her control and I wondered could she claw things back again?
Overall The Birthday Party was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I really enjoy Roisin Meaney's writing but that little bit of sparkle and magic that is normally so evident in the Roone books was absent. There were parts I really enjoyed but others felt a little flat and maybe it's because the characters themselves weren't always experiencing the best of times. Saying that, there was a very good exploration of family relationships, grief, parenting and friendship and how keeping things guarded and close to ones chest is not always the best option. There is definitely room for another story set on the island as there were many questions left unanswered and I feel we need more of a conclusion with regard to some storylines. I hope if we do return to Roone in the future that there are happier times in store for the residents.
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