Customer Reviews

The Last Will of Moira Leahy: A Novel

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're looking for mindless popcorn, this is probably not for you. If you're looking for high brow literature, this probably not for you either. But, if you're looking for a highly readable and extraordinarily well crafted story, this is definitely for you. The plot line has been adequately addressed in other posts - so I won't recap. The story is told in two parallel narratives - a present day story told from Maeve Leahy's point-of-view and an out-of-time story involving Maeve and her twin sister Moira Leahy as adolescents. These lines are so skillfully interwoven, it will send shivers through you.

This book should be savored like a really high quality piece of dark chocolate. Let it sit there on your tongue a while, soften-up, begin to melt. Anticipation is part of what makes the "Last Will" experience so wonderful and meaningful. Secrets of the story are revealed in brilliant measures, journeys of the characters are completed in graceful arcs, the prose is gorgeous and the story crescendoes in a series of scenes - one in particular - that will leave you, at minimum, misty - more likely with tears streaming. The main character, Maeve, emerges emotionally whole at the end, but this story is so emotionally engaging and satisfying that this reader is feeling a bit 'healed' as well. A very visceral experience and the mark of great writing.

This one has lingered with me and is still turning over in my mind. The richness of the characters, the story structure, the language. I wish I had someone to talk about it with. This would be a really good choice for book clubs.

Enough. Just light enough. Just dark enough. Just perfectly balanced and just enough.
Maeve and Moira were twin girls who lived with their family on the Penobscot. They lived
with loving parents, an adventuring grandfather and good friends and neighbors.

Like so many twins they shared a special closeness, and even a language between just the
two of them. For years they had all that they needed in just themselves in the security of their
family. Time passes. Things change. A mothers well meaning choices came back to haunt them all. One
day, a boy came into their lives and things changed forever.

The story of how Maeve lived after the changes, and what happened to this loving family..
is entrancing, magical at times and filled with sorrow and loneliness. Just for a while.. and
then as they do, things changed. They changed because Maeve found a strength in her she didn't know she had.
She was prodded by her father to step out, step forward and to live. A wise man, he was. He set both of his daughters free.

Read this book. Highly recommended.

Twenty-five-year-old Maeve Leahy is haunted by the tragic accident of her twin sister, Moira, nine years ago. Since then, Maeve, the vibrant twin and saxophone prodigy, has shut down her emotions and shut out the music, leading a lonely and sterile life as a professor of languages in upstate New York. But she can't resist the call of a keris, a Javanese dagger, that she buys at auction. The keris leads her to Rome, and to danger and romance and a confrontation with the past and the present.

The chapters alternate between the present in Maeve's voice and the past in Moira's voice. Walsh is an artist with words, using them exquisitely, painting pictures with a few strokes that evoke emotions. Yet the pace is quick, the scenes enchanting, compelling me to read on.

This is Walsh's debut book, and I'm thrilled to think she'll have many other books for me to read in the future. Soon, I hope!

"November always lingered, though, crackling under the foot of my memory like dead leaves."
~(from chapter one, Prodigy)

From the very beginning of Therese Walsh's debut novel, readers fall easily into a story of loss, discovery, and healing.

The story takes place in Castine, Maine and in Italy. For reasons I won't mention (no spoilers here; you'll have to read the story), twin sisters - Moira and Maeve Leahy - are torn apart. The loss of that relationship haunts Maeve and paralyzes her so that healing can only take place through a mysterious object - an antique keris. From the moment Maeve picks up the keris, she is pulled on a journey to learn more about its origins. As the history of the keris surfaces, so do memories of Maeve's sister. And, in turn, Maeve rediscovers herself.

Walsh's subtle, yet powerful language throughout the book sheds light on the mystery of memory and reminds us of the strong connection we find in a sense of place. This novel is a beautiful read, and Walsh is an author to watch.

While I was about half way through this book, I was asked what it was about and I found myself grasping at straws to explain the book. Well it was a novel but it was different. I'm so used to reading the newest and latest supposedly wonderful novels only to find them boring and depressing that I honestly had a hard time trying to pigeon hole this book. There was romance, magic, travel to foreign countries, mystery, suspense, family relationships, the closeness of twins, memories, etc. It seemed to have a bit of everything and as it held many of the fine points until near the end of the book, you tend to keep reading to find out why Maeve (Moira's twin sister) was having such a hard time with her mother, why she gave up her music, why she cut herself off from deep relationships. This book asks a lot of whys from us and eventually answers them, often in surprising ways.

If you are looking for a novel that is truly novel, this might be a book for you. Although at times it seemed to bog down a bit, it truly had some unique insights and ideas and should be able to hold you interest.

I was drawn into this book from the very first sentence. I loved the tension between Maeve and Noel and the dynamics between both the twins and among them and their childhood friend/neighbors. Most of all, I loved the writing style. The word choice, the descriptions and the flow were all spot on. Reading this book, I felt how I do when I eat my favorite comfort food. Overall, this was a great read and one that is perfect for this time of: it was the only book I wanted to curl up with in this cool, rainy weather! I look forward to more books by this author.

I enjoyed this book so much! I immediately sought out other books by this author as soon as I finished reading it and was led to her website and blog. The book was both moving and exciting. Maeve avoids her past while living a life that is haunted by it. I do not have a twin, but I imagine that the emotions evoked in this book must be pretty realistic as to how it must feel to lose a twin. Secrets and issues with her childhood have caused her to play it safe, and after being forced to "remember," everything changes. Writing this review makes me want to read the book again! Love it!

The Last Will of Moira Leahy: A Novel

Ultimate tale of twins. This book is well written and the characters are well developed and memorable. Add to that a good story and I did not want to put it down once I started reading. Definitely one I'll reread.

The Last Will of Moira Leahy is like no other story I've read. A mix of mysticism, suspense, human connections, a touch of romance. It was captivating and I absorbed every bit of it. Twins have always fascinated me, and this was such an interesting look at rivalry and reconciliation that come along with those we have deep connections with. Ms. Walsh writes so incredibly well, that you just want to keep immersing yourself in the words. The focus surrounding the keris may be considered strange by some, but the author masterfully wove in this mysterious element to enhance the intrigue of the story. If you want a refreshing alternative to the run-of-the-mill books you've been reading, then this one is for you.

The Last Will of Moira Leahy for me is quite a difficult read, in a good way. I was easily immersed in the story, intrigued and the whole summary really got me intrigued. It started quite slow though, with Maeve keep herself so tight and avoiding to tell us what's going on with her. She's mysterious, which made me don't understand her but it kind of weird when I think she's so connected with me as the story goes on. Walsh deserves credit for writing a character whose personality leaps off the page. There were so many times in this novel that I thought I knew exactly what action Maeve was going to make, and eventually twisting the book's journey. I got surprised a lot by Maeve, which always turned me down when I was wrong.

So when she got the keris, everything went back to her and she wants to discover the truth behind it. I don't think I ever read something like this before; a mix of mystical and mysteries in a contemporary fiction. I was fascinated by the keris itself, because I myself has Javanese blood (even my fiancee is Javanese). Keris for real has mystical power which holds thousands mysteries to the owner of one. As that being said, I kind of truly understand the connection of the keris and Maeve's past. If you don't know this, when you read the book, there will be the part where you will learn the truth of the keris function in the story. You maybe think it's nothing but I got the chill on my spine. So this book got me an impact.

There's some flash backs of Moira and Maeve that told us how close they were and how they became apart. It tells a lot even though it's less than two pages each time. The bond of twins fascinated me, which I truly adored their relationship, mostly when they can read or block their mind on each other. However, because of some tragedy, Maeve became the Maeve we know right now in the book; well-kept, mysterious, hurt, and pessimistic. I wish she could enjoy her life because she really deserves it. Not to waste it for nearly a decade after her sister's death.

And I love Noel! (thank God there's some romance in it!). I thought the book would be a heavy and depressing read after all. Noel is tender, gentle and a great guy. He waited for Maeve for as long as he knows her. And funny too. In this, I was glad for Maeve, Noel is someone who will complete her. Teenage Moira was the best. I don't know why, but I think I love her wittiness and how she wants to do what she wants despite of being so different from Maeve like their mother wants. I dislike her mother for separating their likeness into something so-called identities just because she can't tell which is which between the twin.

That being said, I like the book so much. Walsh really did an excellent job bringing the mysteries of keris and a woman's past that we keep pondering until Walsh ties the two threads together beautifully at the end of the book. There's a bit of suspense elements, but it kind of worked okay to me. But I cried when I learned the truth and how she and Moira let go the worst past in their life and forgave the person who come between them. This book was ultimately about healing from grief, siblings relationships, and about remembering past and yet letting it go forever. Highly recommended.