Wildest Of All

“You're either with the Donnellys or you're not, and if you're not, then you might as well be against them.”

Oh, the Donnellys...a weird bunch of people. Exasperating, opinionated, stubborn, and perhaps, a tiny bit slow-witted. They are in dire need to talk to each other and solve the multitude of problems that are hidden in their troubled household. In other words, a psychiatrist would have an awful lot of work dealing with the three women of the family. Usually, people like these make for very interesting stories and this is what we have here. A beautiful story -with not so beautiful characters- inside the pages of a book with an outstanding cover.

When death strikes, Jude, her daughter Sissy and her mother-in-law Anne are influenced in a way that changes their lives dramatically. They experience pain and loss to the point where strife begins and it seems that death brought to surface problems and wounds that were already there, waiting for the opportunity to appear. P. K. Lynch does a wonderful job in showing how loss can alter people rapidly. Jude becomes even more docile, Anne finds the chance to let her domineering, tyrannical self come forth and Sissy takes the cue to escape, to discover herself.

The writing in this book is superb. Simplistic and poetic with vivid, modern dialogue that are extremely well-written. There is an aura of dark poetry in the way the transitions from one character and theme to another are composed. Sissy, in particular, is given a couple of near-monologues that are moving raw in their honesty.

I found that loss, Catholicism and the influence of the city were the main themes in focus. We have people unable to fortify their lives and themselves from loss and misfortune, unable to stop the deterioration of the family relationships which seem to be devoid of love and compassion. This is where Catholicism comes into focus. Anne is a devout to the extreme Catholic who wishes to dictate every single aspect in the life on the Donnelly family according to her strict beliefs. This is something that easily happens in a household where the mother lacks the required strength of will to protect her child. London and Glasgow become the two poles of the story. Glasgow is the refuge, but it is a bleak and oppressive place in the eyes of Sissy. London becomes the metropolis, but its atmosphere is gritty, full of debauchery that becomes a false escape from despair and loneliness.

The characters of the novel is a troubling case. Anne is the one I loathed. A tyrannical figure who wants to control everyone, with her religious misconceptions and a twisted notion of matriarchy. She is a weirdly misogynist woman, cruel and manipulative, a true oppressor. No matter her story, she was insufferable and bossy. Nothing gave her the right to manipulate the family and impose her own medieval beliefs about sins and children in need of “salvation”. She complains she's never been loved. Well, no kidding...At a point, it became too much because it reminded me of my father's mother and her vile behaviour towards my mum. But that's another story. My point is that I hated Anne from the very depth of my soul and I didn't give a fig about her “personal drama”...

“All her life people had told her what to do. Why had she let them? Why had it taken all this time to realise she was her own boss? That she owed no one anything?”

Sissy is a wonderful character. She is determined to create her own life and prove she's worthy of some peace and safety. Clever, courageous, compassionate, enthusiastic even about the dullest of jobs. And what does she get in return? Cruelty and hypocrisy. (Bottom line, never be too kind with people. They seldom appreciate it...)Yes, she lives the wild, ill-thinking life for a while, but it helps her understand herself even better. She has no choice but to rebel against the tyranny of the past and she matures and flourishes in the process. Losing her father meant losing her emotional support and she's a teenager left with a woman who isn't really much of a mother at this point and a grandmother who's more of a psychopath. Sissy is a fighter and a learner and unafraid to admit her mistakes and correct them. And I far prefer fighters than hypocrites and pseudo-religious do-gooders.

Jude is a doormat, Danny is doormat number 2 with an extra dose of pathetic .Cam and Risk's presence is a complex case, I admit. I could never decide whether they were insufferable, whether I simply disliked them because of their behaviour towards Sissy or if they were the voices of wisdom in her life. The only other character with a few scraps of common sense in her head is Susan.

So no sympathetic characters in this one, with the exception of Sissy. But it doesn't matter because the strength of the book lies in the story and the writing. I almost read it in one sitting, something I haven't done in ages. In my opinion, this is definitely one of the finest books I've read this year.

Many thanks to Legend Times Group and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.