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Heritage of Secrets
 
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Heritage of Secrets (Paperback)

by Aoife Mannix (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Flipped Eye Publishing Limited (9 Jul 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1905233248
  • ISBN-13: 978-1905233243
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 13 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 133,489 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

It's 1970s Ireland. Jack O'Connell saves the life of an American sailor, Troy, who repays him by unwittingly stealing the love of his life, Kate O'Rourke, from him. Jack is determined not to lose Kate and, spurred on by jealousy and circumstance, wins his girl back. Now a doctor in Dublin, his life is perfect - with a young son and another child on the way - when it all falls apart as Kate commits suicide. In the fall out, he loses custody of his son, Cathal, to his embittered sister-in-law, but many questions remain unanswered. Twenty years later, Cathal has gone missing in the US and Jack is drawn back - secrets and all - into the family that ostracised him after Kate's death. Peopled by multiple suitors and women enamoured of men in uniforms, "Heritage of Secrets" has echoes of Thomas Hardy's "Far from the Madding Crowd" in more than just the name of the American sailor, Troy. With a keen eye for drama, Aoife Mannix navigates the peaks and troughs of intertwining lives in this exploration of a society in flux. As "Heritage of Secrets" reaches its climax, actions taken during the days of 'The Troubles' yield startling consequences at a time when marijuana has begun to filter into the bathrooms of convent schools in Ireland and issues of sexuality come to the fore as a new generation shakes off the shackles of convention and small town claustrophobia.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Teenage angst and family secrets in an Irish Village, 16 Dec 2008
By Heather Tyrrell "Tricity Vogue" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Heritage of Secrets (Hardcover)
Love and tragedy in claustrophobic 70s Ireland, set against a present-day coming-of-age story that is also about uncovering the previous generation's secret.

This is Aoife Mannix's debut novel and she writes with a fresh and genuine voice that seems to come from the inside of the world she portrays - a world of stifling small-town mores, of trapped teenagers desperate to escape, and of men and women whose lives are weighed down by the secrets they've ended up dragging along with them for years. This is a story about what else was going on in Ireland in the 70s whilst The Troubles were grabbing most of the headlines - a family story that touches on all the universal stuff about parents and children, and how they can never understand - or even stand - each other, but one rooted in the very distinctive setting of 70s southern Ireland. There are plenty of skeletons in everybody's family closet, but luckily not all of us are hemmed in on all sides by nuns with an axe to grind. Whether the book's main hero (or anti-hero) would have behaved the same way if he and his inamorata had grown up somewhere they'd had enough room to breathe is another question, as is whether you decide to forgive him or not. Aisling, his niece, and the next generation of young Irish rebel, wins hands down as my favourite character in the book. It's great classic melodrama, that would make a fantastic film - and it's also the sort of book that makes you want to ring your parents/brother/sister as soon as you've put it down.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing tangled web, 14 Jan 2009
By J. Lonergan "Joanne Lonergan "Dear Reader... (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Heritage of Secrets (Hardcover)
This is a deeply compelling work from an author whose poetry books and performances have shown her to be a keen observer of human nature and the vagaries of life. While aspects of the story will speak uniquely to Irish readers the themes of desperate love, family secrets and moral consequences will touch universal nerves. The parallel between the characters' unearthing of their hidden histories and uncovering of their true selves is cleverly drawn and ultimately satisfying and uplifting. The author's voice invites the reader to identify with its warmth and humour throughout which stimulates an understanding relationship with her characters.
This book genuinely belongs in the over-used category of 'hard to put down' and deserves the interest of both the Irish and wider readership in a new Irish writer I hope we are destined to see more of.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Layers of stories untold and shared, 1 Sep 2009
By P. Hilgers - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Heritage of Secrets" and found it a really gripping page turner. I particularly enjoyed the depths of the characters and the different and complex layers to their actions which were covering all shades of grey rather than being simplistically black & white. Also I found the male perspective to the book very insightful and enriching, especially since I often get quite stuck in my female experience of the world. Actually, I'm amazed about how the female author engages with this so delicately and at the same time richly.
I probably would have liked fewer layers in the actual story line because I got a bit impatient when yet another story popped up or one of the stories all of a sudden took a totally different and unexpected turn - but then I do appreciate that the world is usually much more complex than I'd like it to be!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down
I read this book while on holiday and I am delighted I had the time free because I couldn't put it down until i had finished it! Read more
Published 5 months ago by A. Wynne

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant and engaging read
Aoife Mannix tells a touching tale of love, tragedy and family secrets set against a backdrop of the Irish troubles. The plot is well crafted and intriguing. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. Jennifer Kingsley

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read with love, secrets, tragedy and awakenings
What a wonderful book. A cliché but it is true, a real page turner. The author's voice is clear and her observations ring so true. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Deirdre McCarthy

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