The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O’Neill

O’Neill creates a believably complex family that would rather ignore a situation rather than deal with the implications of honesty and directness. This should resonate with many readers today as it seems to be a growing pattern of dealing with conflict. The book is told from alternating perspectives of the three Ryan sisters. Each sister has her own personal issues that make the family gathering more complex. Even though they are family, there is an uncomfortable tolerance that pervades the gathering. O’Neill masterfully weaves the current situation with the flashbacks of the events that the sisters have buried. As Isabel tells Maggie in the book, these issues are just festering as they all try repress past events. They put on a mask to the rest of the world that makes it appear as if they have their lives put together. Each sister is uniquely crafted to appeal to the reader as their traits will remind us of how our own families operate.

Additionally, I love the title because it alludes to the lack of closure that has occurred for this family through an “Irish Goodbye.” As a person with Irish roots, I love a good Irish goodbye; however, living in Wisconsin, the Irish goodbye is the antithesis of the Midwestern goodbye, so it isn’t utilized often. Nevertheless, O’Neill uses the title to symbolize the inordinate amount of trauma this family has suffered, yet has never truly addressed. They would rather walk away quickly than deal with the elephant in the room.

The one aspect that felt unfinished was the relationship between the girls and their parents. Alice has a touching moment with her mother toward the end of the novel, but the other daughters do not have the sort of apotheosis moment. This scene is an anomaly. In fact, I’m more confounded by the parents at the end of the novel than I was earlier in the novel. While O’Neill relies on them heavily at the end to move the plot forward, I would have like to see a bit more development for these characters. They are lynchpins for this family drama, but they are not even allowed to be supporting players within the story.

The Irish Goodbye was provided from Henry Holt & Company through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.