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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very touching and even suspenseful,
By Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Singing Bird: A Novel (Hardcover)
When Lena Malloy receives a mysterious phone call from the nun who arranged the adoption of her daughter some 27 years ago, Lena decides to find out just who were the parents of little Mary were. With her husband on an extended business trip, the timing seems perfect. However, what Lena slowly unfolds is a mystery far more troubling than she had ever expected. Indeed, she ends up learning to, "Be care what you ask, it might not turn out the way you intended." This is a touching story about gain and loss, about learning things you didn't want to know, and how you go on.I would like to say something profound at this point, but I really can't think of anything to say. Ms. McAuley writes with a power and emotion that is a little hard to describe in pithy little comments. Suffice it to say that this is a very touching and even suspenseful story, as you strive to unravel the mystery with Lena. I loved this book, and highly recommend it to you.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"You don't keep secrets. Secrets keep you.",
By
This review is from: Singing Bird: A Novel (Hardcover)
Roisin McAuley's affecting and poignant first novel, "Singing Bird," is an engrossing story of a mother and daughter who were both adopted as babies. The mother, Lena Molloy, waited until adulthood to inquire about her birth parents, but she was unable to learn who they were. Mary, the daughter whom Lena adopted in Ireland, seems content with the idea that she may never know who gave her up for adoption. At twenty-seven, Mary is now a talented and beautiful singer who is a rising star in the opera world.Lena and her husband Jack are about to move into a new home, and they are looking forward to retirement in a few years. They are financially successful and have a second home in France. Lena and Jack have had a good marriage and they are bursting with pride at their daughter's success in the music world. Suddenly, Lena gets a phone call from the nun who gave Mary to her so many years ago. This phone call turns Lena's life upside down. She makes the fateful decision to take a vacation in Ireland with her friend, Alma. While in Ireland, Lena plans to spend some time searching for the names of Mary's birth parents. Lena has no idea that by doing so, she may be playing with fire. "Singing Bird" is filled with vivid and intriguing characters. Lena is an adoring wife and mother who has a hole in her heart because she longs to know the names of her natural parents. Her curiosity about her own origins drives her to learn about her daughter's birth parents, as well. Other memorable characters are Sister Monica, the crusty nun who contacts Lena after twenty-seven years of silence, and Alma, Mary's intelligent and often sarcastic best friend, who is unhappily involved in a dead-end affair with a married man. McAuley is a natural storyteller. Her writing flows effortlessly, and she uses foreshadowing very cleverly to give the reader small clues about what is to come. "Singing Bird" has romance, gentle humor, beautiful descriptive writing about Ireland, and heart-tugging suspense. As Lena gets closer to the truth, the book is impossible to put down. The biggest weaknesses in "Singing Bird" are the author's use of coincidence and her slightly pat ending. However, these small flaws do not detract from the warmth and compassion of this compelling story that will touch many readers, whether they are adopted or not. "Singing Bird" is a wonderful achievement by a very gifted writer.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging first novel about the need to uncover one's roots,
This review is from: Singing Bird: A Novel (Hardcover)
When we first meet Lena Malloy, we see a woman who appears completely content with her life, including her marriage to a wonderful, faithful husband, Jack, and her relationship to her beautiful 27-year old adopted daughter, Mary, an up-and-coming opera singer. However, a single phone call changes all that--Sister Monica, the Irish nun who arranged Mary's adoption, contacts Lena, supposedly just to "catch up," but the call leaves Lena feeling anxious and unsettled. When Mary suddenly announces a change in schedule that will involve a performance in Ireland, Lena makes an impulsive decision to travel to Ireland on holiday, seek out Sister Monica, and find Mary's birth parents as a "gift" to her daughter.The story which follows is interesting and engaging, although it involves quite a few coicidences. In fact, one character even points out that she herself has been searching for years to find her adopted daughter whereas it has taken Lena only a few days to track down the information she seeks. Furthermore, the author is a bit heavy-handed in her foreshadowing style: the book's conclusion offers several surprising twists, but I (along with virtually every character other than Lena) was able to accurately predict these with more than half the story to go. Still, this is a mostly entertaining novel that is likely to particularly appeal to Irish fiction enthusiasts and/or those with their own adoption experiences.
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