Lovers' Hollow [Paperback]

This is a really riveting story spanning the years from the end of the Irish War of Independence in 1922 to the mid-1990s, via London and San Francisco. It has lots of different strands and storylines that are tied together in a very satisfying way.

Two families on opposite sides of a political divide are separated as much by murky familial and love entanglements as the ostensible reasons that make them enemies. The public reason that the Devereux and the O'Donovan families are against each other is that they take opposite sides in the Irish Civil War of 1922/3. The Devereux family work and suffer for the Republican cause; the O'Donovans benefit by being pro-Treaty.

But "Lovers' Hollow" is much much more than a story of a war-divided community. The narrator is Jo Devereaux, the grandchild of one of the pro-Treaty Devereuxs, who now, at the age of 38 (in 1995) and expecting her first child, researches the papers about the Civil War time left to her by her dead mother. When she was younger, the boy she loved was forbidden to her (she being a Devereux and he an O'Donovan) but they fell in love anyway, with disasterous consequences for her. Now she is back in the small village where they grew up and where he still lives, now with his wife and two children.

She settles into a rundown shed to research the papers and uncover the story of what truly happened in the 1920s, while he visits her and they talk about old times and their feelings for each other rekindle.

In this way the author draws together four generations of women and scenes as far apart as Wexford, London and San Francisco. it's a unique story that puts the women at the centre of a conflict long known in Irleand as 'The War of the Brothers', but if that makes you think the women are stereotypically the goodies and the men the baddies, you're wrong. All the characters are real, brought vividly to life, and all have good and bad in them.

Through this story of murder, mystery and madness, we learn a lot about Ireland, about the meaning of war, and about human nature. As the narrator slowly comes to a true understanding of love and freedom, so do we. I loved this book and found it hard to believe it was a first novel. The author is a born storyteller

Jo Devereux returns to Ireland for her mother's funeral with some trepidation as she left home without telling the family where she was going some twenty years before and hasn't been back since. One of her mother's dying wishes was that Jo should write the family history using a suitcase full of family papers as research material. Pregnant as the result of a one-night stand, Jo decides to stay on in Ireland rather than return to her home in San Francisco. The story is not just about what Jo discovers of her family history, but what she finds out about herself and those closest to her.

I did wonder if I was going to like this book. The cover and the title suggest that it might be chick-lit and we're not far into the book before I suspected that we were going to be dealing with a heroine who likes drinking too much and indulging in one-night stands. It didn't take me long to change my mind though, and I read all 688 pages over a period of about three days - and this is a big, big story. It's Orna Ross's first novel, but it's crafted with the skill of a veteran and the suspense is masterly. Jo Devereux is a strong, feisty heroine who will stay in my mind for a long time.

The papers in the suitcase take Jo back to 1923. The Easter uprising is still fresh in people's minds and Ireland is on the brink of civil war between those who want to accept the terms offered to them for a free state by the English government and those who want an Irish republic. The main setting - Mucknamore - is a fictional village set in County Wexford, but the surrounding countryside and the events which took place there reflect historical fact. It's a detailed recounting of the division of society which took place not because of religion but because some people had the stomach to continue the fight for an Irish republic and some did not. Families, friendships were divided and were still divided by the end of the story, more than seventy years later.

This is history, but it's delivered in a user-friendly way and I couldn't put it down. The plot neatly weaves together the story of the Devereux family for four generations - five towards the end - with the history of Ireland and this is a complex story. There are numerous plots and sub-plots, but not one is superfluous and they all build together to a satisfying and completely believable conclusion. There wasn't a single loose end left untied but there was nothing that felt contrived.

Of course the book couldn't do this, no matter how good the story, if the characters didn't convince. The book isn't autobiographical although Orna Ross has drawn on her own experiences to produce the heroine of the book. Like Jo Devereux she was brought up in a pub, went to Loreto Convent and University College Dublin and was an aerobics instructor. Apart from the fact that her great-Uncle was shot in the Irish civil war that's where the similarities with the book end.

Before she left Ireland in her late teens Jo had loved - and lost - Rory O'Donovan whom she meets again when she returns to Mucknamore. Rory is a compelling, charismatic character, but ultimately weak and he's beautifully portrayed. It's not just the main characters that have this care and attention. There are minor characters, such as Jo's friend Richard, whose death was still fresh in her mind as she went to her mother's funeral. The details of his death are stark, but handled sensitively and Richard is a vivid character.

There is, of course, a whole cast of characters from the time of the civil war and these are given the same care and attention. Jo's grandmother, Peg Parle, in love with Dan O'Donovan, a ruthless Free-Stater, but still prepared to murder for the Republican cause that she holds dear, compels and repels in equal measure. She sets in train the events which are to cast a long shadow over the rest of the century. Once again, even the minor characters around her are memorable and believable.

Not surprisingly, given that Orna Ross lives in Wexford, there's a real ear for local dialogue and an ability to write dialogue without it sounding in any way stilted. She could make me laugh and cry, all within a few sentences.

When I saw this book I thought that the obvious comparison would be with Maeve Binchy, but I don't think that does this book justice. This book is epic in its scope and tackles difficult issues with skill and sensitivity. There are few works of fiction which leave you not only wiser about events in history but also about the issues behind the events.

Well researched with lots of ideas and some real people who do not always make sensible decisions and who react in differing ways to teh same situation. I loved Peg and Maire but really wished that Jo's mother's background was a bit more developed.

This is a book of strong women and a story of a hard time in Ireland's history. My only problem - hence 4 stars rather than 5 - is Jo ... she really is unpleasant from time to time and although we know why she has fractured relationships I just wish that I could have warmed to her more. You do wonder how she will survive in America when she returns.