Mother Mother: A poignant journey of friendship and forgiveness

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She shows the life of a rock band as I imagine it can be – drugs, alcohol and all-nighters along with the constant touring and the elation of a crowd’s reaction. She knew what to say when her father’s face clouded over at the realisation of where she would be every day.

Dubliner Orla has moved to England, hoping her life will finally begin, that she will get her break into music and become the person she assumes she will be.The Troubles sit on the periphery, occasionally breaching the characters’ lives, but fundamentally it is concerned with the resilience and fragility of a family, in particular a young mother, Mary, who falls apart more than once. An old man shuffles past, slight hunch on him, craggy faced with a reddish tinge to his nose and cheeks. Mother Mother is described as a "gritty, affecting coming-of-age novel" which follows a young woman, Mary McConnell.

She does that thing that so many mother do, and gives up her sense of self, and her life revolves around her son, TJ. We pulled out the sofa bed in the living room and had family sleepovers, the room a mess of duvets and wriggling kids, biscuit crumbs everywhere. There’s a sense that she was already on this path, or at least beginning to examine periods of flux. My kids are now aware that their world is unpredictable and that change, when it comes, can upend everything they know. As someone who grew up surrounded by music and, with a brother who was steeped in the local band scene, I loved the attention to detail with all its rawness and grit.As a result, the book becomes repetitive, boring, with characters who don't say a word to each other and who are not memorable. mary is a thoroughly sympathetic character and completely realised - macmanus amplifies every emotion without ever verging into dramatics. Revealed: Volunteer police officer who told Christian singer that she is 'not allowed' to perform 'church.