Cure

by Rachel Genn

Escaping heartbreak, a raw and humble Eugene Mahon leaves small town Ireland for London. His horizons expand as he meets and befriends men from all over the world on the Shoreditch building site where he works. The good times roll, but the shadows of the past loom over him as he lodges in the pub his late father Seamus lived in when he worked in the city years before. The pub is run by the same landlady, Della, and her daughter Julia, and Eugene's appearance bring Della's own memories of his father flooding to the surface, revealing secrets that she'd hoped to keep hidden forever.

Eugene's initiation into the brotherhood of the building site is shattered when he wakes one morning in a police cell, beaten and bruised, with no memory of how or why he got there. In the midst of accusation and hostility, Eugene must uncover truths that will change his life, and the lives of those around him forever.

"*"" ""The Cure (alt. def.) the concrete hardening process; time it takes for concrete to reach absolute strength"

Paperback

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[Lisabell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beauitufl, elegant, poetic, clever, truthful. Far superior to most first novels, loved it.

[Rachael Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. I found it confusing and paced in a really odd, jumpy way. I could appreciate what the author was trying to do but for me it fell a bit flat.

[Luci · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young Irish man comes to work on London’s building sites. He has left behind the disappointment of a failed love affair in Galway, but he is also following in his father’s footsteps, even going to lodge at the pub where his late father Seamus once lived, and asking Jack, his dad’s old boss, for work.

I liked Rachel Genn’s writing style, and was impressed by the range of characters she develops in this novel. As well as Eugene, there is Della the pub landlady and her daughter Julia, and the boss, Jack. Then Eugene works on the building site with colleagues from all kinds of backgrounds. He seems to be making a new life for himself.

However, the storyline is too slight to sustain a novel of nearly 300 pages, and many of the detailed descriptions of everything feel a bit like padding.

This said, I will probably look out for more books by this author.

[For Books' Sake · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Not going to lie, this book confused the hell out of me. I know nothing about the building trade, but if half of what goes on in this book goes on in real life, it’s a wonder that anything ever gets erected in the first place. However, if you are a fan of literary novels, you would enjoy this. I’m sure there are acres of symbolism and substance that me and my populist genre-loving eyes will have missed."
(Excerpt from full review of The Cure at For Books' Sake)

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to own up to a bias regarding this one. However, knowing the author in no way takes away the quality of the prose and the delightful way that, by the end of the book, you are left with more story than you actually think you've read.
Great writing. Poetic, funny, cutting, emotional - all the good stuff. It would not be inappropriate to compare this to Danny Boyle.
Great read, and it's not all about concrete!