Trouble the Living

by Francesca McDonnell Capossela

From Northern Ireland to Southern California and back—a mother and daughter confront the violence of the past in an enthralling novel about the possibility of love and redemption during the most transforming and unsettled times.

It’s the final years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and Bríd and her sister, Ina, try to maintain a stable life in a divided country. Pushed by her mother’s fanaticism and a family tragedy, Bríd joins the IRA and makes a devastating choice. Frightened and guilt ridden, she flees, leaving behind Ireland and her family for America.

Years later, her guilt and tragic history still buried, Bríd is an overprotective mother raising her sensitive daughter, Bernie, in Southern California. Growing up amid a different kind of social unrest, Bernie’s need for independence and her exploration of her sexuality drive a wedge into their already-fragile relationship. When mother and daughter are forced to return to Northern Ireland, they both must confront the past, the present, and the women they’ve become.

As they navigate their troubled legacies, mother and daughter untangle the threads of love, violence, and secrets that formed them—and that will stubbornly, beautifully, bind them forever.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Ireland, LGBT, Historical, Queer, Lesbian

294 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2023

About the author

Francesca grew up in Brooklyn and holds a Master's from Trinity College Dublin. Her debut novel, Trouble the Living, came out in 2023. In her free time, Francesca hosts literary trivia nights at bookstores across New York City.

Reviews

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. Author's kind of weird.

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a fantastic read this was. I devoured this in hours. Definitely get this one on your list.

The book covers the difficult time period in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles. When Catholics and Protestants were mortal emeries and the paramilitary group, the IRA was on a warpath both in the country and in the UK with bombings, murder and retribution. In return Loyalist (Protestants loyal to the British Kingdom) doled it back. It was a horrific time to be alive.

We meet Ida and her younger sister Brid, both extremely different in their views on life. Ida, the eldest is coveted by Brid for her looks, boyfriend and carefree ways. Ida wants nothing to do with the war, the beliefs behind it and even refuses to attend Mass at Church (a great sin for Catholics back then). Brid has been influenced by her Ma, a hard woman who wanted to be a soldier for the IRA but pregnancy at a young age put stop to that. She wants to live out the life she could not via young Brid.

The characters and atmosphere of the times is done brilliantly. I loved both sisters. There are 2 brothers also, they play less of a starring role and their Da is drunk most of the time and loaths everything to do with the IRA, much to his wife’s disgust.

A terrible tragedy occurs which devastates and fractures them all. Sadly it’s not so much fiction but a true reflection of events of the times. Everything changes. Innocence is lost and life altering decisions are made. I could not get enough. I lived in Ireland (in the South) so understand the times, the anger that Northern Ireland was “owned” by the UK and not a united country. I read a lot of books on The Troubles back then.

The book then flows forward in time to a new life established and a sister now a Mother herself. Her torment at events gone by impact her own daughter Bernie deeply. Why is her Mum so secretive about her past? Why so many lies? She doesn’t know where she came from. Bernie experiences her own struggles and also makes decisions that will change her life forever. It’s really heartbreaking at times. It will certainly challenge your own belief systems and moral standing as you read.

The book barrels to a brilliant finish, characters that shine in their own way, raw, damaged and very realistic. This isn’t a book so much about killing and bombs but about a family and it’s long term impact on them all. If you are worried about anything gory or graphic it’s not here.

Historical events that occurred over the many years are intertwined really well. Events almost everyone is aware of. Whilst the book tackles history and its impact on people what it shines at is the brilliantly portrayed characters. I loved each one in their own way. In a nutshell I loved this book, loved its honesty and the way it tackles many tough issues without flinching.

::~~~~~~:::::~~~~~:::::~~~~~:::::~~~~~~::~~

Thanks so much for reading my review!
I hope you enjoyed it, if you did I’d be delighted if you leave me a “like” and I love to read your comments. If you’d like to connect you can follow me or please send me a friend request.

You can also find me on Amazon U.K. where I am a Top 500 Reviewer.

If you are an Author or Publisher and you’d like me to consider reading and reviewing your book(s) please just message me.

[Liralen · Rating 4 out of 5]

1997, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland: For Bríd, home and country are everything—but hers is a country divided. She is her mother's daughter, both determined to have a free and united Ireland at any cost. But she is not the apple of her mother's eye, and as the clock ticks forward they both say, and do, things that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

2016, Los Angeles County, California, United States: Life with her mother is all Bernie has ever known—her mother, who asks repeatedly for promises that Bernie will come home, and who wants Bernie to need no one else, and who sometimes stays in bed for days. Bernie knows nothing about her mother's life before her, and between Bríd's secrets and Bernie's occasional recklessness—and as the two timelines converge—things come to a head.

Passive myself, I'd been shaped by others until I became potent, frightening, with the potential for disaster. (loc. 675)

Unusually for a dual-timeline story, I was fully invested in both plots and storylines. I'm reluctant to give too many details about the plot, as I think it's better to let the story unfold without knowing all of the themes straight away, but I will say that there are heavy themes of family, mother-daughter relationships, history (sort of) repeating itself (but also not really), and independence/choice. Every time I read about the Troubles, too, I'm reminded of how little I really know about that time and place, and I appreciate the way the Troubles are woven into the fabric of Bríd's life in Ireland, neither the intense focus of the story nor pushed to the background.

I will say that this isn't going to be a book to everyone's tastes: there are some hot-button topics in here, and even with that aside, both Bríd and Bernie make decisions that are...influenced by the rashness of youth, let's say. But I'm less interested in what decisions characters make (although: also, on board with certain decisions Bernie makes later in the book) and more interested in how they make those decisions, and what happens in terms of character development as a result. I love that romance is only barely a blip in the book and that not everything can be tied up with a bow by the end.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

[♡ retrovvitches ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow! unexpectedly a fantastic read. this has a huge focus on the decisions you make and what it means to be a sister/daughter/mother. maybe read up on irish history as it took me a minute because i wasn’t very familiar, but honestly this was a book that made you feel so much and all the characters were flawed in a very human way

[Amy Hagstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love dual-timeline novels, and Francesca McDonnell Capossela's did not disappoint! Poignant, haunting, and captivating from the first pages, this story set during The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the '90s (and in the US in the mid-2010s) was nuanced, carefully delivered, and taut. Thank you for the advanced read!

[Maja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but ultimately I think it was trying to do too much too fast. It touches upon several interesting topics, the exploration of sexuality of the MC, the enmeshed dependant relationship the MC has with her mother and how it affects her, the mother’s past and how the violence she grew up surrounded by in Ireland during The Troubles affected her, the juxtaposition of that violence with the violence the MC grows up around in California, the topic of abortion, they were all interesting threads to pick on. But ultimately I just don’t think the author balanced them all out that well. I do think as well that the ending of this book was slightly… off. I can’t help but wish for more from all of it to be honest, and I’m not convinced if the dual flashback historical POV + modern POV was the most effective way to tell this story. Ultimately perhaps I would’ve liked to see more of the focus on modern POV + longer page time of them returning back to Ireland. Idk, then again the historical POV gives you a more direct look at The Troubles sooo you know.

I’m just trying to pinpoint what exactly is it that I would like to change up about this book and I can’t quite say, I mean there are a few spoiler things but there’s also just sth about the structure of this story that doesn’t quite click with me and I can’t put a finger on the reason

[ana (ananascanread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would describe 'Trouble the Living' as part thriller, part introspective family saga, delivering a poignant exploration of love, redemption, and the intricate ties that bind us all—it's entirely captivating.

Things I loved:

- Dual Timelines Done Right: Capossela effortlessly flips between Northern Ireland's Troubles and Southern California, offering a dynamic emotional journey. This is what I call time travel done right — no, not the sci-fi kind, but the emotional kind.
- Compelling Characters: Bríd and Bernie are more than just characters; they're a study in contrasts, with layers that unravel as you delve deeper into their intertwined histories.
- Themes That Hit Home: Beyond the historical backdrop, the novel explores universal themes of identity, family dynamics, and the lasting impact of choices across generations.
- Balance of Depth and Pace: While tackling weighty subjects, the pacing keeps you engaged without feeling overwhelmed, striking a perfect balance between introspection and action. And, just when you think you've got it all figured out, the narrative throws in some unexpected twists, because why not?
- The writting style: The prose is lyrical and introspective, making it hard to believe this is a debut novel. It's rich, complex, and showcases Capossela's undeniable talent.

In summary, this outstanding debut novel is rich and complex, leaving me eager to read more from Francesca. If you're seeking a light beach read, this might not be your top pick. However, if you're up for a thought-provoking journey sprinkled with moments that tug at your heartstrings and even tickle your funny bone, "Trouble the Living" deserves a prominent place on your reading list."

[lauraღ · Rating 3 out of 5]

She worshipped mothers; she worshipped children. The former remade by the innocence of the latter.

2.5 stars. A moving, incisively-written novel that takes place across timelines, across continents, exploring the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship. It was... fine. Very, very much a case of 'great book, wrong reader'. I did not really enjoy my time with this, but I'm still glad to have read it, because it was an interesting experience in narrowing down what I do and don't like in books. Because that's all it came down to, really. There are some things I like reading about, and there are some things I really don't like reading about, and this book had some of the latter. If I'd known this book dealt with pregnancy and abortion, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. Pregnancy is just one of those things I very seldom want to encounter in any kind of book. Meanwhile, I'm totally fine reading about abortions, but not in the way this did it. This was a really sad and exhausting experience. Sometimes reading sad books can be cathartic, a big unburdening, but this was the opposite. I felt heavier with every page.

I liked the dual timelines, the narratives as told by Bríd and Bernie, until the past caught up with the present. Motherhood is another thing I'm pretty picky about reading, but I did like the way this delved into those complicated relationships, between Aoife and Bríd, then Bríd and Bernie. The writing was really lovely, and if there's one thing I'd recommend the book for, it's that. The quality of the writing is doing a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to my rating of the book. It was musical, and did a great job of capturing the characters. And that's it for the things I like. As for the rest of it, I'll try to keep it short, but I'll still put it under a cut, because I'm probably gonna spoil the book. And it's all 100% subjective anyway.

All of the things I'm about to say are not flaws, and I want to make it clear I don't think they're flaws. I'm trying to map this out in my head before I type it down, and I feel like it's going to SOUND like I think it's objectively bad, but that's not what I think. Just wanted to make that clear. I'm just talking about my feelings. Anyway, the book sometimes felt bleak and sad in a way that made me feel sick. There's something about watching a character make a mistake, or do something that you know they're going to regret, that just feels so bad, because you can't stop them. That sex scene with Avery, that Bernie didn't want, wasn't interested in, was just doing to hurt her mother, and also because of her hurt and confusion and feelings about Mia... wow, that felt awful to read. As it was supposed to! Clearly! Kudos to the author for capturing those feelings so well, but it made me sick to my stomach. Wow did I not want to read a depressed probably lesbian force herself through sex with a man just to punish herself and her mother. It's very much the kind of thing I could see a teen doing, but god, it felt awful just being an observer in that moment. And like I said, I hadn't known that the book would deal with pregnancy, or else I wouldn't have read it. And she even mentions thinking about telling him to get a condom, but then she just disassociates right out of the moment. And I remember thinking, 'okay, because the book brought up the possibility of pregnancy, she won't actually get pregnant.' And I remember at that point rechecking the blurb, just to make sure, just to ensure I wasn't gonna get jumpscared. No mention of pregnancy! Aaaaaand then it happened anyway. Wow, did I feel upset.

Then the abortion saga began. Bernie has sex around 40%, realises she's pregnant and decides to get an abortion around halfway through, but the actual abortion doesn't happen until like 95% in. That, to me, was torture. I was hoping that we would axe the foetus ASAP and then we could get back to actually interesting convos about burgeoning lesbianism, Irish nationalism, the way mothers fuck up their daughters. But alas! The back and forth with the abortion lasted until the very end, so we could have that dramatic scene of the three generations of women wiping up the blood and whatever. This all left me very cold. I just didn't like it. Partially because the way it all got stretched out to the end seemed very artificial. Bernie would be about to tell Brid about the pregnancy, but then something would come up on the news. There would be a moment where you thought she might tell Kaleb, but then she'd change her mind. Mia pointedly asked her if she was okay, when she was clearly not okay, and Bernie lied because she didn't want to put anything else on Mia's plate. There's a moment where she literally makes up her mind to tell Bríd, but Bríd just says 'I don't wanna hear it' and walks away! What! I know it came at a fraught moment and they just had a fight, and Bríd has some really avoidant tendencies. But the way she's obsessed with her daughter, for her to just write her off in that moment where Bernie is clearly hurting... it seemed so weird and abrupt. Like it said, it just felt like a way to artificially stretch out the plot, so that Bernie wouldn't take the abortion pills until Ireland, and we could have that big dramatic scene. And I'm not saying it's unrealistic to have Bernie waffling about what to do, wondering whether the foetus has eyelashes or whatever, taking really long to make this decision. She's a teenager doing all this on her own. But it did feel very much like manufactured angst, how very alone and isolated she was in this decision. I don't think it was meant to be trauma porn (that's a strong phrase for things that are bigger than this) but it kinda felt like that. It reminded me of how I felt when reading Cantoras, and Malena was absolutely going through it, and no one around her realised it. I felt the same kind of frustration.

Again, nothing I've talked about is a flaw! It probably feels like I'm concentrating on the wrong things. I definitely haven't talked enough about the major themes of the book, the sisterhood, the grief, the way depression manifests and warps your world. But it's just because these other things, the pregnancy and abortion, took up way too much page time (IMO) and overtook the rest of the story (IMO) and made it less enjoyable (IMO). It exhausted me. I didn't get the queer coming of age I wanted. I didn't get (enough of) the critique of British colonialism that I wanted. But I did get a lot of pregnancy and abortion angst, which I did not want. I am staunchly pro choice until I die, but I didn't really want to read a book about it. And I was honestly really annoyed that nothing that I saw in the blurb or whatever hinted that that would be a prevailing subject. 

There's definitely more to complain about, and there's most definitely more to praise, but I don't want to talk about this anymore. I feel a little bad that most of my review about a book that's objectively good is just me saying 'I don't like X, and alas, X was in the book.' But, ah well! Reviews are subjective, I'm not going to pretend that those things DIDN'T bum me out and affect my rating.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Alana Kerr Collins and Jesse Vilinsky and it was wonderful. Really great narration and accents. It felt seamless. In some books that have two narrators and they have different accents, it can sometimes be jarring when one narrator does the other's accent. But not in this case; this was perfect, IMO. When Bernie's narrator spoke for Bríd, it sounded really natural IMO, and vice versa. So that was great. Writing-wise alone, I could definitely be convinced to read from this author again. Fingers crossed that it'll be a better experience. And hey, now I know more about myself and my reading likes and dislikes. 

[Mallory Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I loved her then, my sister, in a way that held my whole body captive, a straitjacket embrace. Her being beautiful had nothing to do with it; I loved her when she was least beautiful. Her eyebrows grown wild and her face bare of makeup. She would look at me like a child, like the girl I had taught to walk, holding her wet hand as she tried to find her footing, again and again, until she could do it on her own.”

i’m sick after a bender of joyful weekend-into-week events, so i decided to spend a dreary day devouring this debut masterpiece. i’m glad i saved it for restful downtime because there was no way on earth i could have put it down after starting—Trouble the Living is a sweeping, harrowing, tender, violent, adoring work of art that feels like being told a piece of your history by a family member after begging to know where they came from, and being awed by what you uncover.

Trouble the Living is told from two perspectives: Bríd is a teenage girl growing up in 90s Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and Bernie is her teenage daughter living in LA and exploring her burgeoning sexuality. the two of them are coming to terms with different but aligned struggles—their codependent relationship, the effects of violence in their communities, and the war of motherhood. what unfolds is a story of mothers, daughters, and sisters that brought me to tears and had me texting my sister about it within the first 20 pages.

i feel so lucky to have a talented friend that wrote an incredible book because now i get to gush about it to her (and to all of you) forever! ❤️‍🔥 if you don’t pick up this one up, you are doing yourself a disservice. it’s a moving novel pack with love that deserves to be held close.

“Swans mate for life,” she said. “You never see one without the other.”
“We weren’t swans, Ma,” I said finally. “We were girls.”

[William Rockwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book of complex love, secrets and trust. Evocative of other Irish literature about the Troubles such as 'Milkman' and 'One by One in the Darkness,' but with a decidedly modern voice, it is undoubtedly the work of a writer in complete control of her words. The characters leap off the page with their complexity, their secrets and their desires they do not know how to achieve. A tense book you will not want to put down--I was annoyed when my train reached my stop more than once--it is worth reading, enjoying and thinking about.

[Felicia Pursner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! That was beautiful. Truly a testament to all female familial relationships. It moves slow to start but I powered through. 🦢🦢 (read to understand about the swans)

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put it down 🥹 so fecking good

[Casey Noller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read another book about the Troubles, a nice follow-up to Close to Home. This one, Trouble The Living follows women's issues more than men's. This fictional novel also touches on themes of escape, family tragedy, generational trauma, migration, mistakes, and legacy. Big trigger warning for abortion here.

In Trouble the Living, we follow two storylines until they connect with each other at the end. One is Bríd, a one-time IRA volunteer deadset on escaping her past by moving to America. The other is Bernie, her daughter who is deeply affected by her mother's trauma. They're forced to finally return to the Emerald Isle when Bríd's horrible father dies. At last, Bernie learns (nearly) all of her mother's secrets while going through a personal hell of her own.

This novel is strongest in its deep analysis of the intensity of mother-daughter relationships-especially when mental illness and generational secrets are at the forefront. Bríd and Bernie's relationship is exceptional and develops beautifully, which can be a challenge with multiple timelines and POVs. 

This may sound idiotic… but I thought Bríd's IRA involvement was pretty lightweight for how much it was magnified in the story. It was a case of "oh, I did something once, it might've had some domino effect, but it's not something I could ever actually be held accountable for". Therefore, the stakes didn't seem as big as they could've been.

Read more of my book, movie, television, and podcast reviews at Content Consumed!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This is a great debut from an Irish American author. As a single mother of a teenage daughter, I loved the shifting perspectives between Brid and Bernie, and the way that the past is its own character clouding the space between them. The novel beautifully captures both N Ireland and Los Angeles, and keenly observes how The Troubles felt all-encompassing to those that lived through it. The analogies between American and Irish violence and their impact are deftly portrayed. I will look forward to her future novels.

[Theresa Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an exceptionally good novel. For me, it already had a formula tipped for reading success: Irish fiction, in particular a Northern Ireland setting within the years of 'The Troubles', grief, family, obligation and retribution - just to name a few key themes. It more than lived up to my expectations.

'Though I had not thought of him much over the years, though it was to my mother and not my father that all my thoughts led, I could still feel the loss of him somewhere underneath my skin. Another piece of my home gone forever. Another person I couldn't say goodbye to.'

Initially, I enjoyed Brid's sections more than that of her daughter Bernie, but as the novel progressed, I began to enjoy it all equally. There was a lot within this story, it is not light in any way, shape or form. It deals with serious mental health issues, inter-generational PTS, terrorism, fanaticism, grief, retribution, religion, identity and sexuality. I appreciated the no holds barred approach the author took. While at a glance at this list, it might seem loaded, all of this was woven into the story with such a precise attention to balance and detail.

'I tried to recall how I'd been taught to cope in the old days. The process of compartmentalising, stowing fear in your gums and carrying on. You don't say anything, don't answer even the most banal of questions. If you give them none of yourself, they cannot take more.'

Above all though, this is a story about healing. About family. About the things that bind women within the one family, about siblings, about the way we can miss so much of what is right in front of us, and about the way we can wound as well as love in equal measure.

'It was what we all wanted. To choose our own freedom, to choose our own pain.'

I liked the timing of when the earlier part of this novel was set, at the end of the Troubles, when peace was within reach, but not unification; I appreciated the insight into how this might feel for those who had been fighting for so long - for generations. It was really well done. Highly recommended reading, particularly for those who like their stories infused with politics and history.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

[Siobhán♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

**TW**
bombings, violence, guns, grief, guilt, death, death of a child/parent, abortion, s*icide, alcohol abuse, overdose, mental health, homophobia

Raw. That's what this book is. Its story is pure and raw with the ability to move its readers to tears.

From finding a way to get past your trauma to self discovery, this book is an emotional read. We follow the story of two characters, Bríd and Bernie, mother and daughter, as each fight their own secret battles. Bríd's story starts in 1997 in County Tyrone, a time in which Ireland was facing its own struggles with its colonisation by the Brits. Bernie's story begins much later, in 2016, in the United States where she takes care of her mother while trying to figure out who she is.

The switch from past to present was really well done and the way everything clicked into place towards the end was so beautifully written. Capossela has such a way with words that I felt deeply moved by Bernie and Bríd's stories.

The subplot of Bernie figuring out her sexuality amongst everything else was quite relatable. It can be difficult to admit to yourself your true feelings, but to admit them to others? That's brave. It was great to see this "process" while reading.

Reading this book also gave me a sense of home, having been born and bred in Ireland, the language, the history was all familiar to me and to read about it in the way that Capossela wrote it...it was just powerful and emotional, it was raw.

[Annabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trouble the Living is a good book. For some reason, I can't seem to add much after this sentence because it's just true. It is a good book. There is no but, and I can't think of a better word to describe it.

Some of my thoughts while/after reading:

- Writing style. This was perfect for me. The chapters weren't too long, and there wasn't too much description, but enough to get a clear image of what was happening.

- Dual timeline. At first, I liked the present more than the past, but later on, I enjoyed both as much.

- Characters. I didn’t have a favorite, but I enjoyed reading about both women. They made some questionable decisions (some I would have made myself under the circumstances, others probably not), but I could understand where they were coming from most of the time.

- History. I learned quite a bit about the historical events. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know much about the events in Ireland at all when I started reading, and it's always good to learn.

Many thanks to Pride Book Tours and the author for the paperback in exchange for an honest review ✨

[Pancha Mantilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t even know where to begin. This book was a lot more emotional than I expected. The story and the characters are powerful and leave strong images.
I loved the dual POV separated in time. To be able to see the mother and the daughter in a similar age was a great choice. The comparison of how their lives move and the decisions they take is incredible. And when Bernie narrates and you gat to see and adult Brid the evolution is something else.
The story is addictive from the very beginning. Both timelines leave you wanting answers in each chapter. The characters manage to evolve with every page. Their relationships with each-other and their environment are amazing. I truly enjoyed every second I spent reading. The mother daughter relationship is incredibly well written. And how it’s intertwined with trauma is simple impressive. The strength each of the women in the tale had is something to admire.

An amazing book that will easily stay with you for a long time.

Thank you so much to the author and @pridebooktours for giving me a copy of the book in exchange for a review.

[Trey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Told in dual timelines, Trouble the Living follows the stories of Brid and Bernie. Swipe for a synopsis 👉🏽. Both ladies struggle with fighting to find their own way and purpose in the world while desiring to hold those that they love as close as possible. At times devastating, both stories have glimpses of hope and you can’t help but root for them both.

Wow, what a debut! This one not only tackles the final years of The Troubles in Northern Island, but also addresses social issues we’re faced with today. I think sometimes it can be hard to seemlessly weave two different timelines and multiple issues together, but the author did that beautifully. I didn’t want to put this down, but I also wanted to savor its brilliance and importance.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. It started a little slow, but by page 40 I was hooked. I personally don't know a lot about Northern Ireland in the late 90s, but I feel like the author painted a good picture. I thought the family dynamic was what you would expect from a family that struggles with mental health issues. Many times throughout the book, I wondered where the author got their inspiration. As someone who has a mother that struggled with depression as a child/teen, I related to the daughter more than I was expecting. All in all, I would say this is a great book. The story sucked me in and held me there and I was up until 130am finishing it.

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

loving historical fiction lately, and this was so well written.

[Julia Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not disappointed by this book! Complexity of mother daughter relationships, teen pregnancy, acts of terrorism, starting over, and hiding in plain sight. Such a complicated and beautiful story.

[Abi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me truly by surprise. Not something I would ever normally pick up but 3 pages in and I was enamoured. It was so raw, painful and beautifully written that I’ll be thinking about it for a long time to come.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine for some

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Her writing style is good but the subject matter was not to my liking. I find that the older I get, the less I want to read about miserable fictional characters. Others will probably enjoy this book.

[Carol Scheherazade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the year for great books and this one was amazing. Gritty. Visceral. And really beautiful in a heart wrenching way. Debut novelist but you’d not know it. Irish to a fault. Great descriptions of the troubles. Author thanked Claire Keegan, and I could def see her influence. Looking forward to more from this author!!!!

[Molly McNally · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely stunning debut. The pieces of this book knit together in ways that twist your heart, expertly weaving the lives of mothers and daughters and all the unseen weight that sometimes unwittingly must be shouldered to the next generation. I adored it.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh, gosh, i loved this book so much. i am literally writing a thesis on the female gaze & the northern irish troubles at the moment, and this is just a stellar addition to the literature on the matter. mcdonnell’s style is impeccable, as is her reflection on violence, motherhood, nation, and displacement; i even found myself tearing up a little a couple of times. plus the entire storyline kept me hooked the whole time! this is truly one of the best books that i have read as of lately — i cannot wait for it to come out!

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Adrian at Bookshelfdiscovery · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Trouble the living’ by Francesca McDonnell Capossela begins in Co Tyrone in 1997 (Coalisland to be precise), where we find Bríd and Ina Kane doing the normal things that teenage sisters do, whilst a conflict rumbles on in the background. Bríd is a bit more politicised than her younger sister, encouraged by a mother who feels she missed out on contributing to the ‘struggle’ because she got pregnant and married young.

The story then moves to Southern California in 2016, where we meet Bernie, during an active shooter drill in school (a character wearing a balaclava means we don’t feel too far from the north). Bernie’s a teenager who is exploring her sexuality whilst dealing with an over protective mother, and both are about to face challenges that will either bring them closer together or further fracture their fragile relationship. The chapters alternate between the two settings and I'm not going to say anymore on how they are connected - as usual when I start a book, I knew just the general jist of the story, and I think you should do the same. (Is it old fashioned to ignore as much of the blurb as possible?)

I was a bit concerned at the beginning of this book, with mention of a 'Station wagon' and 'candy' but I needed haven't worried because the author did a pretty good job of recreating the nineties in the north of Ireland. It also helped that I’m familiar with places such as the cathedral in Armagh and family life from that period. The Irish chapters in particular have a strong sense of place.

I was born in the seventies in South Armagh and brought up during the worst of the troubles, so I'm always looking for authenticity in books that describe those times. It's an era that is soaked into the pores of my skin. This is a very different book from ‘Tresspasses' but I think Francesca McDonnell Capossela does a lot of research, has obviously spent time here and gets a lot of the difficult stuff right.

For example, there’s a part where the family are stopped in their car by a police and army patrol. It really brought back to me that fear, that dread in the pit of your stomach, as my da would slow down and tell us all to be quiet in the back. Looking at the uniforms and insignia to see who it was, some regiments more feared. Trying to spot the young English boys hiding in the hedgerows, fingers on the triggers of machine guns.

Difficult stuff like trauma, such as losing loved ones and taking that hurt and channeling it into revenge. It takes that to fuel a conflict, that never ending loop, but then there's the guilt that comes with that - can you live with what you have done? Falling into cavernous depressions that force you to take to the bed for days. And sometimes you just run out of road.

I’ve often felt that the English should have been required to employ about a thousand counsellors and trauma therapists to deal with the mess they left, as part of the Good Friday agreement. There are so many people still suffering from PTSD.

A few years ago I sat with a man in a bar, who recalled the night he pulled people from the rubble of a non warning car bomb that exploded outside a pub. He was a nurse, and just went into autopilot. When he went home later, washing the blood of his friends and neighbours from his hands, he just broke. More than forty years later with me at the bar, and he was still standing at that sink. (For anyone interested in that period, Lethal Allies by Anne Cadwallader is the book you’re after.)

Back to the book. Guilt at leaving people behind, because you’re worried about being swallowed whole by a place. You also get a sense of the decisions that lead to people feeling they have to protect their community, and I think the author brings this across really well. The pain of being away from home, because there’s a huge part of you still there and you are constantly being pulled back towards it. Reading about events like Brexit, and knowing how disastrous it could be for a peace as delicate as a spiders web.

The relationship between mothers and daughters form the beating heart of the book - dealing with the expectations of the mother, whilst asserting your own independence. The deep bond between the two sisters also felt very real and moving. I also really liked how family life was captured in the home in Coalisand, that was familiar to me. The different personalities squeezed under one roof, the shifting dynamics. The small, innocent decisions that people took during that period that end up having devastating consequences.

The dual timelines worked really well in telling the story and allowing the author to shift the pace when needed. It was also helped by Bríd, Ina and Bernie being likeable, complicated people that I was fully invested in. The writing itself was evocative, tender when it needed to be and I’m a sucker for incisive and realistic dialogue, which ‘trouble the living’ excelled at.

Really enjoyed this, some difficult themes explored and I cared for these characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and Leilani Fitzpatrick for getting in touch and recommending ‘Trouble the living’ - I’ll be doing the same.

Review taken from bookshelfdiscovery

[Dienta Rochani · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Trouble the Living," Francesca gently navigates a narrative across continents and generations, evoking the tenderness of flipping through a family album where each photograph tells a tale. The lyrical prose captivated me from the start, accompanying the narrative like a soft melody, and enriching my reading experience. The journey of Bríd and Bernie mirrors my transnational upbringing and the intricate relationship I share with my mother - it felt like Francesca was narrating fragments of my own life, the words on the pages bridging the geographical and emotional distances I’ve navigated.

Francesca roots the narrative in the aftermath of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, drawing a parallel to the tumultuous Orde Baru era of Indonesia that shaped my mother's youth. Interestingly, both periods ended in 1998, which intertwined the narrative and my personal history. It seemed as though the book was destined to be penned, and I, in turn, was fated to travel through its narratives, finding reflections of familial portrayals interwoven with historical transitions.

The storytelling was simply captivating. Francesca’s adeptness in character development had me deeply invested in Bríd and Bernie’s lives. It was as if I was living alongside them, feeling the weight of their past and the passion for a liberating future. The nuanced depiction of their characters made them feel real, especially her portrayal of Bríd’s and Bernie's decisions. Their struggles evoked a whirlpool of emotions, making them feel real, especially when it came to their critical decisions. I especially loved the dichotomy of parental overprotection and the quest for personal identity, which really resonated with my upbringing in a household where emotional investment could manifest as both a nurturing embrace and a stifling grip.

Francesca’s storytelling technique, which seamlessly blends the past and present, created a rich tapestry that held me spellbound. Her exploration of love, violence, and the inescapable shadows of the past provided a lens through which I reflected on my familial entanglements. I especially loved her poignant lines offering profound insights long after I set the book down. One such line, "Fear is another form of desire," encapsulated the dynamic of my upbringing where parental overprotection, stemming from love, morphed into overwhelming concern, inciting rebellion. The observation that "love could drown you just as well as neglect could" rendered a moment of epiphany, encapsulating the essence of many complex familial relationships, mirroring my own experiences.

"Trouble the Living" transcends fiction, embarking on a nuanced exploration through the intricacies of family, history, and the multifaceted nature of love that molds us. Through the lens of Bríd and Bernie’s lives, I discovered a narrative reflection that illuminated not only their struggles but also my endeavor to navigate familial relationships laden with historical echoes. To me, it’s not just a book - it’s a mirror reflecting the complex dance of love, fear, and hope that defines the mother-daughter bond.

Each page echoed the untold stories of many like me, whose pasts intertwine with historical tapestries far beyond their control. Francesca’s storytelling leaves a lasting impression, much like the historical echoes within our family stories, urging a reevaluation of love, identity, and the burdens from our past. This novel, a tribute to the unspoken trials of mothers and daughters, is a compelling read that stays with you long after you’ve turned the final page.

[Jackie McMillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"'That's because it isn't real,' she said. 'They drew a line on a map, and they want us to live by it.'" I picked up Francesca McDonnell Capossela's book, Trouble the Living, right after reading Songs for the Dead and the Living and it's pretty much about the same thing: the impacts of dispossession on subsequent generations of women. Set in Northern Ireland and California, the book maps the story of Bríd Kane and Ina Evans, and the way The Troubles (1868–1998) has impacted their lives.

Capossela lays bare the way that intergenerational trauma of war shapes the women's lives, and through them, shapes the lives of their daughters, and their daughter's daughters. Aiofe Kane inducts her daughter into the Irish Republican Army (IRA) by making it her job to hand over the household's empty bottles, giving "something secret to my motherland. The song of the empty bottles. A kiss for my country." Bríd takes forward Aiofe's anger and desire for retribution and pays a life-long consequence for it, one that she transmits to her own daughter, Bernie: "turning me into something dangerous."

"It's about them coming into our country and taking our language and our land and our houses and our jobs and our food and making us second-class citizens." What is interesting is the way this historic subjugation plays into the lives of future generations and their bodily experiences as women: "Like I was a car the IRA had stolen, explosives tied to my soft belly." The Troubles colours all the mother–daughter relationships in the book: "The past had sprouted into me, into my mother as I knew her, into our life together." For Bernie this leads to an unpleasant first sexual encounter and teen pregnancy, and it is through this event that the women in the book finally come together: "I wondered how she could abet an act of terrorism but condemn an abortion." This book constructs war as something not only relevant to women, but in fact carried by them: "I knew, I'd always known, that war was a woman's thing." I enjoyed reading this book, and thinking about the intersections between Northern Ireland and Palestine.

With thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending me a copy to read.