October 15, 2014
McInerney (The House of Memories, 2014, etc.) serves up a satisfying family drama stemming from a fed-up woman finally coming clean in her traditional Christmas letter. For more than 30 years, Angela Gillespie has been sending out an annual letter on Dec. 1, rife with platitudes about her family that hide a far more complicated picture. But after a particularly trying year, she sits at her computer and tells a different story. When her son, Ig, requires a trip to the emergency room-quite a journey from their home in Errigal, a remote sheep station in the Australian Outback-her husband, Nick, sees the draft on her computer and surprises her by pressing "send" so her missive won't be late arriving in the inboxes of more than 100 readers. Though Angela was brutally honest in the letter-chronicling her three daughters' financial, career and relationship woes, her young son's recent dismissal from boarding school and attachment to an imaginary friend, and her own fears of her husband's infidelity and emotional distance, as well as his rash decision to make a clandestine deal with a mining company that could wreak havoc on the Outback-for the most part, the family handles the airing of their secrets to friends and family around the world reasonably well. It's Angela's mention of her fantasies about having chosen a different husband, life and family that truly upsets them. When an accident shakes up their lives, the Gillespies are forced to take on new roles, and the novel gains momentum. McInerney writes with a deep respect for her characters, allowing each the opportunity to help reshape the narrative of next year's inevitable Christmas letter. In a book written with humor and charm, family members show the best of themselves after the people on their wife and mother's mailing list saw them at their worst.
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November 15, 2014
Angela Gillespie is feeling low as the holidays approach, and so she writes her first honest Christmas letter in 30 years. Instead of glowing reports of yearlong successes, she composes an email of worries and disappointments over her husband and the life choices of her four children. Unfortunately, before she deletes it to rewrite a "real" letter, it is mistakenly sent to her huge list of contacts. The fallout from this event alone could fill a novel--but it's not this one. After that startling beginning, McInerney (The House of Memories; Lola's Secret) tells a story of one crisis after another: breakups, pregnancies, lost children, Internet scams, car crashes, massive storms, and, finally, amnesia. Angela's epistolary lapse was only the first sign of larger changes destined to shake up members of this family. VERDICT Readers who enjoy multicharacter, drama-laden family stories like those of Susan Wiggs or Maeve Binchy will find this episodic tale engaging. Its appeal lies in the evocation of the modern Australian outback; thorough descriptions of landscapes and the social norms of the Gillespies' community lend authenticity to the story.--Melanie Kindrachuk, Stratford P.L., Ont.
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 1, 2014
When Angela Gillespie moved to Australia with her new husband, she started writing an annual Christmas letter to keep in touch with her family and friends still in England. Over the years, her letters highlighted the best of her life, even in difficult times. Thirty-three years later, though, Angela is tired of putting a sunny spin on things, and when she starts the newest letter, she begins by airing all her grievances in a first draft: her oldest children struggling with adult life, her youngest floundering in school, the family ranch faltering, and her marriage on the rocks. But then the draft letter accidentally gets sent to everyone on her list. Shocked and humiliated, Angela's family is furious with her, and they must all face the many people who now have new insight into their most personal battles. But their humiliation pales when, shortly after the Christmas holiday, tragedy forces them to face the possibility of losing Angela forever. McInerney's knack for characterization and the beautiful Australian setting make this heartwarming family story an enjoyable read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)