NZ Herald - 30 May, 2015 - Elisabeth Easther 

Anne Enright's turn of phrase is poetic, yet never clever simply for the sake of it.
Anne Enright's turn of phrase is poetic, yet never clever simply for the sake of it.
Rosaleen Madigan loves her four adult children but, it has to be said, she has a pretty funny way of showing it. Widowed and wounded, she knows she shouldn't be so cantankerous or sharp with them but it's as if her love for them brings out the worst in her. Handsome Dan, destined for the priesthood (Rosaleen took to her bed when she learned of his plan), was waylaid by homosexuality and the New York art world during the 1980s and the onset of Aids. It'd be fair to say he's Rosaleen's favourite, although no more deserving of the role than his siblings.

 Poor Hannah, she used to be such a fine actress but now she has a baby, the acting jobs have dried up and she plugs the great gaps in her life with white wine. Constance is the least outwardly disturbed - she married well, has a couple of kids and still lives in the small County Clare town they grew up in. Today, she's her mother's whipping boy, which mostly she takes on the chin, she's not the sort of woman to make a fuss.

More






The Green Road
by Anne Enright
(Jonathan Cape $36.99)
Elisabeth Easther is an Auckland reviewer.
- Canvas