Anna McPartlin

[Nollaig]

Anna is an Irish, best-selling author of four novels:

Pack Up The Moon

Apart From The Crowd

The Truth Will Out

So What If I'm Broken.

 

Since I've read a second of the four, I'm turning this into a general Anna McPartlin thread.

If you like chick-lit, seriously check this lady out. Even I love her books, and I'm not into chick-lit.

****

 

 

 

Pack Up The Moon

Anna McPartlin

(2006)

 

Synopsis:

 

It was a night of laughter and celebration. But when John dies in a dreadful accident, his girlfriend Emma is plunged into despair. She loved John more than life itself – and now death has taken him from her. She feels nothing, she has lost everything, her world spins out of control. Or so she thinks. For Emma has friends – good friends who rally round. But the memory of that night returns to haunt each of them in different and trying ways. And Emma knows that if she is ever to laugh at life again, or find the love she once had, she will have to let go of the man she thought she couldn’t live without. She must let go and trust her heart.

Pack Up The Moon never directly refers to the poem by W. H. Auden featuring this line about the death of a loved one. Anyone who suspects this reference however, will be immediately offered a taste of what can be found in this novel – a kind of lamentation for somebody who was so wholly your world that it seems senseless to suggest you could continue without them. But that is not all this book is about. It is more particularly focused on the living that does, in fact, remain to be done no matter what, and the joy that can be found with time. The whole novel is constructed with a sense of retrospection and nostalgia. At times it felt like reading a memoir, and upon reading the ending I realised this feeling serves as a testament to the writing ability of the author. It includes a short bio about the author’s own life on the cover – and you can see how it comes into play. The rawest moments of heartfelt emotion are so sincere they cannot but be drawn directly from her own experiences, thus touching the reader on a most basic human level.

 

 

Readers will know from the outset that John dies – it says so in the synopsis on the back cover – so the challenge that remains for the author is to convey a character whose death the reader will mourn after only a precious few chapters knowing him. She succeeds. Not because of the particular person John was, but because of the emotion with which he is conveyed – the sheer contentment inspired by his very presence in Emma’s life and the jarring pain of his being ripped out of it. A similar sense of emotion-fuelled characterisation continues throughout the novel – McPartlin doesn’t overlook anybody, and I think it is more the secondary characters which give the novel it’s emotional edge. While I didn’t specifically relate to any of the characters themselves, in reading about them there is a sense of familiarity, like catching a glimpse of an old friend just for a moment. Doreen is every wise old neighbour and every second mum in the world all at once, Declan is every cheeky student we have taught, or gone to school with, dated or even been ourselves at some point in our lives. Despite the heart-breaking beginning, the novel as a whole is an uplifting release from the emotions that burden us all.

 

 

On it’s most basic level however, this novel is about the inherent tension between the opposing emotions we experience in the acceptance of loss, the crippling sense of missing someone who isn’t coming back; the tension between needing to be alone and being lonely – the lines between what we want to indulge in and the basic need to proceed. The author translates the reconciliation between emotions into a language which any reader can understand and apply within their own lives. Ultimately this serves to provide a sense of healing, which is perhaps what I liked best about this book. There is real happiness, real sorrow, drama, disappointment, and hope but above all a sense of learning to live life. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry – but you’ll close it’s covers feeling satisfied and at peace with the difficult subject matter presented in it’s pages; with tears in your eyes but a smile on your face.

 

 

9/10

Edited November 16, 2009 by Nollaig
Grammar error - there's always one that escapes!!

[chrysalis_stage]

I noticed this book in ASDA the other day, it looked like a more interesting chick lit, more than many others I have seen anyway.

 

Your review sells it well!

Edited June 4, 2009 by chrysalis_stage

[Nollaig]

Well, I think the whole world knows I'm not into chick lit at ALL, what drew my attention to this book when Michelle listed it for review was the exact theme that defines the novel - the need to get over the death of a loved one. It's mostly due to personal experiences that I wanted to read it, because I thought I could relate to it - and I did. I thoroughly enjoyed it because it leaves you with a sense of sincere happiness despite the loss, and now I'm ranting like a thirteen year old emo.

[Nollaig]

I recently read Anna's latest novel, So What If I'm Broken, and thought it was superb.

 

It's unusually inspired by the songs of a musician friend of hers, Jack Lukeman. It follows the lives of four fictional Jack L fans who rally together in an attempt to find a missing woman, the wife of one of their group, and explores how they end up facing their own demons along the way.

 

It's an absolutely superb book. It follows four main characters and a few secondary characters in a cleverly interwoven sequence of plots. Elle Moore, the impulsive and carefree artist minded by her older sister Jane whose life fell apart with a teenage pregnancy, Tom Kavanagh whose wife Alexandra got off the tube one day and disappeard, and the socially detached Leslie, who is dealing with a family history of cancer.

 

The characters are, like in her first novel, the driving force behind the story and they will all, at one point or another, make you both laugh and cry. For all the extremities faced in the novel - alcoholism, depression, self-abuse etc, I think everyone will find a little bit of themselves in one or more of the characters. McPartlin just has a natural talent for drawing the very essence of universal human experiences and emotions and locking them away in solid words, and I would defy ANYONE not to get utterly attached to these people.

 

Each chapter title is the name of a Jack L song and contains a few lines from the song - as well as there being two songs available for download free for readers to get a tast of the inspiration. The 'soundtrack' to the book is fantastic, and really adds an extra dimension to the experience if you can get your hands on the book.

 

Seriously, if this is your genre, go check this lady out.

[Julia]

I will check her out, because I like the covers

And as I like chick lit...

[Nollaig]

An interview with Anna has been added to our blog here, if anyone is interested

[shirleyz]

sounds like an interesting author... will add her to my tbr list

[chesilbeach]

I bought Pack Up The Moon today purely because it was recommended here (perhaps you should ask for a commission fee, Nollaig ), and once I've finished my current book, have decided this will be the first book off my TBR shelf.

[Nollaig]

Awesome! I'm delighted to hear it Chesil - and I really hope you enjoy it!

 

I can't wait to hear your thoughts

[chesilbeach]

I finished it today. I've just gone back and read your review, Nollaig, and you've got it spot on.

 

What I'd add is that I loved how she made the predictable unpredictable. Just when I think I know how the story is going to pan out, she throws something else into the mix, or I arrive at what I thought was going to be the end of the story and find I've still got 100 pages left. This is one of the things that elevates this above the usual chick lit novel.

 

I cried when John died (as has been mentioned above, this is not a spoiler as it's on the cover blurb and happens right at the beginning), I laughed along with

Clo and Emma at the hospital reception which was an understandable reaction to the relief they felt

and then I cried again for

Se

[Nollaig]

Which cover did you get? I have the one I showed above, but she has photographic covers too.

 

I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I'm going buying the two I haven't read A.S.A.P.

[chesilbeach]

I got the same one as above, but I felt quite angry about it by the end of the book, as it just seemed completely unsuitable. I might have preferred one of the photographic ones, I think.

 

I'll also be buying the others at some point - maybe I'll treat myself after Christmas

[bethany725]

I'm going to add her to my list of authors to check out this year... I haven't been reading quite as much chick-lit lately, but it sounds like this could fit right in nicely amongst the other things I've been sifting through.

Thanks for the time to post the reviews, Nollaig, and for your input too, Chesil.. I'll definitely be picking up one of hers if I can locate it in the library here.

[chesilbeach]

I'm going to add her to my list of authors to check out this year... I haven't been reading quite as much chick-lit lately, but it sounds like this could fit right in nicely amongst the other things I've been sifting through.

Thanks for the time to post the reviews, Nollaig, and for your input too, Chesil.. I'll definitely be picking up one of hers if I can locate it in the library here.

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy it - knowing some of the books we've both read in the past and had similar opinions on, I think it's one you're going to like

[bethany725]

I hope so, too! It sounds really good

[Nollaig]

Oh awesome - I really hope you enjoy it Beth! If you can find her books in a library - I don't know how common they'd be in the US.

[bethany725]

That worried me a bit too, and my worry was confirmed when you mentioned it just now, Noll! I just checked to be sure, and they DO have them here.. yey!! The benefit of having the New York Public Library system carry so many int'l authors has really paid off for me already.

[Nollaig]

That's fantastic - did they say which titles they have? I've only read two of her four so far (her first and latest) and thought they were both great. The only thing I would say about the latest one is it's inspired by the work of an Irish singer that there is no way you could ever have heard, as 90% of Irish people don't even know him. (He's incredible though.)

[bethany725]

They have 3:

The Truth Will Out

Pack Up the Moon

Apart from the Crowd

[Nollaig]

Awesome! They're all safe ones. Not that I'd complain if you wanted to read the last one and consequently check out Jack's music

 

I have only read Pack Up The Moon out of those three, but I imagine they're all great. One of them is set just up the road from me in Kenmare, where the author grew up I think that's 'The Truth Will Out'. I really must get the two I haven't read.

[bethany725]

I was so pleased to see they had a few of hers. You just never know until you check; I was already dreading coming up empty, but I came out lucky! I'll be sure to let you know when I get to her in the wishlist.. Let me know if you read any of her others, too!

[Nollaig]

Will do!

[Nollaig]

Just popping in to say that I just finished 'No Way To Say Goodbye' (which is the UK title for 'Apart From The Crowd' - same book).

 

Synopsis:

Five lost souls in search of redemption . . . To outsiders it looks as if Mary was born unlucky, but deep down she believes in a happy ending. She just needs someone to remind her. And Sam looks like a waster and a disappointment – the man who had it all and then threw it all away. He needs a fresh start. Penny is the life and soul of every party. She’s also a drunk and some would say a home wrecker. She needs someone to understand her. Ivan’s a sucker – a man who still cares about the woman who broke his heart and took his children from him. He needs to be brave. And Adam is in a loveless marriage and cheating on his wife, though only he knows why he married the wrong woman. He needs a wake-up call. For these five souls change is going to come, and, when it does, they all get more than they bargained for.

 

I will be writing a proper review but until then some thoughts -

 

I really loved the characters in this book. Probably more than in So What If I'm Broken, which is my favourite just because it was inspired by Jack Lukeman. But there wasn't a character in this book that I didn't love. As per usual, every character has a story - and in this case, they all have very big, very complex stories, which I loved. They're so big and complex that it does require the suspension of disbelief, specially if you're me and you know how quite a place Kenmare is!

 

(It was even more weird than reading a typical Irish book, because it's set in Kenmare, Co. Kerry - only a short drive from where I was born and raised! References to places I know made it strangely realistic to me.)

 

All that said, this book has the usual McPartlin touch - rich characters, raw emotion, blunt, often sarcastic humor and weepy scenes, sometimes so wonderfully placed that you'll be laughing through your tears. As always, she knows how to hit you where it counts, and whichever element (or elements) of the story you relate to (and you will), the resolution, happy or sad, will have you in tears. It really, really does capture the spirit of a small (gossipy) Irish town and it's community, throwing in just a hint of a potential fairytale.

 

I thought the ending was almost perfect - I would personally have ommitted the epilogue, but even with it I think it all plays out exactly as it should.

 

I would rate this on a par with her first novel, Pack Up The Moon.

[chesilbeach]

I bought this last week, and I need a new book for tomorrow, so it might well have just made it into my bag ready for the morning

[Nollaig]

If it does I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! It takes a short while to get your head around all the characters at the start, there being 5 all mixed up in one expansive story, but I just referred to the back cover's brief synopis of their issues any time I needed to!