The Dazzling Truth
Fiction
Graydon House Books
August 18, 2020
Advanced reader copy
384
Free from publisher
One Irish family. Three decades. One dazzling story.
In the courtyards of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1978, aspiring actress Maeve meets pottery student Murtagh Moone. As their relationship progresses, marriage and motherhood come in quick succession, but for Maeve, with the joy of children also comes the struggle to hold on to the truest parts of herself.
Decades later, on a small Irish island, the Moone family are poised for celebration but instead are struck by tragedy. Each family member must find solace in their own separate way, until one dazzling truth brings them back together. But as the Moone family confront the past, they also journey toward a future that none of them could have predicted. Except perhaps Maeve herself.
My review:
This book was a bit up and down for me. There were things that I loved, and things that niggled at me. First the good. This story takes place on a remote Irish island, and I found the descriptions of the land and seasons to be beautiful. While I personally would never want to live in such a place, I love to read about them! It's not a very long book, but I felt that in about 300 pages we got a good sense of most of the characters. The main focus of the book is on Maeve, who has mental illness that none of the family really confronts (more on that later). That part of the story definitely tugged on my heartstrings, both for Maeve and for the rest of the family. There was also some lovely descriptions of Murtagh's pottery work which I found delightful to read about.
Here's where things went a bit south for me. This book starts in 1978 when Maeve and Murtagh meet, and progresses through the early 2000's. Seeing that this didn't take place in the early part of the 1900's, I was frustrated that no one in the family insisted that Maeve get treatment for her mental illness. I'm sure that it must have been available at that time. I know that she was resistant, but given the end result, why didn't her family (especially her husband) talk about it more? I guess these are ongoing questions that relate to all of the problems with getting people to accept help today, so maybe that was the author's intent? It did bother me enough to take away from my full engagement with the family. Also, so much is made of the great love story between Maeve and Murtagh (which was believable) that the ending seemed kind of out there (no spoilers, but you'll know what I mean).
Overall this is a story set in a beautiful place, with a family coming to grips with the effects mental illness has on their wife/mother. A solid read despite my personal misgivings on a couple minor points.
