The Disenchanted Widow

Tailorstown #2

by Christina McKenna

It’s 1981 and Belfast is burning. So, too, is freshly widowed Bessie Halstone: she burns with a desire to break with her troubled past. With her feckless husband gone, she leaves home hurriedly with her naughty nine-year-old son, Herkie, and not much else. The Dentist, an IRA enforcer, is on her tail. He’s convinced that Bessie, with her “yella hair all puffed up like Merlin Monroe’s,” has absconded with the takings from a bank heist.

But car trouble strands mother and son in Tailorstown, a sleepy Ulster village. Bessie finds temporary work as housekeeper for the handsome and mysterious parish priest.

In the meantime, Lorcan Strong, an artist and a native of the village, is summoned home. He’s been shanghaied into forging paintings for the IRA. It’s work he cannot refuse; his mother and their business are under threat.

Yet things are not what they seem in quirky Tailorstown. There is a “sleeper” in the village. But who? Bizarrely, it is young Herkie, due to his childish curiosity, who unravels the mystery and saves the day.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Ireland, Book Club, Mystery, Irish Literature, Novels

399 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2013

Reviews

[Siv30 · Rating 2 out of 5]

השנה 1981, בסי היילסטון נמלטת בחופזה מבלפסט עם בנה הרקי (הרקולס, על שם הקעקוע רב הפאר שעיטר את בטן אביו ). הם עניים מרודים ונרדפים ע"י אדם המכונה דנטיסט, בשל גניבת כסף שביצע בעלה המת פאקי.

בסי ובנה הרקי נסמכים על טוב ליבם של זרים וכאשר הם נקלעים לעיירה מנומנמת, משהו טאון, בסי מקבלת על עצמה עבודה בנקיון ובישול בבית הכומר, שדומה לגרגורי פאק וכל הנשים לוטשות אליו עיניים.

באמצע הספר מצטרף לעלילה הבן החוזר לעיירה לורקן, צייר שנאלץ לשוב הביתה, והוא מתיידד עם האלמנה אבל בעיקר עם הרקי.

והכל באנגלית עם ביטויים אירים מתובלת בקיצורים מעצבנים שרק קריאה פונטית מבהירה למה כוונתם.

הדמויות בלתי נסבלות. העוני המרוד מוציא מהאירים את הצדדים הלא נעימים שלהם: שתיינות וצביעות עטופה בקתוליות מופרזת. נתקלתי בזה גם בספר "האפר של אנגלה" שלא סבלתי. פשוט כך.

בעיקר בסי שגם מעבירה את יום עבודתה בלגימות אלכוהול מהבקבוקים של הכומר להנאתה.

אם עוד פעם אקרא את השם הרקי אני תולשת לעצמי את השיערות.

השכנות הרכלניות והחטטניות שדוחפות את האף לכל מקום פשוט הגדישו את השאה. יש כאלה שיראו בספר משהו עממי אוטנטי וחינני בחברה ענייה שחלק מחבריה נרתמים לעזור אחד לשני באמת מתוך מניעים אנושיים. אני פשוט לא סובלת לקרוא ספרים מהסוג הזה.

להוסיף לכך את עלילת המתח שתופרת המחברת, מי גונב כספים בעיירה? רק הרקי יציל את המצב. נו שויין. לספר הבא בסידרה כבר לא אמשיך.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am torn between a 3 and a 4 for this one, but going to go with my initial instincts and give it a 4. In most ways I really enjoyed this return to Tailorstown, which we first visited in The Misremembered Man, although this read is less “gentle” than the first one. Tailorstown is a very sleepy backwater Irish village where nothing much happens but the troubles are now going to be brought right to the heart of the village, heralded by the arrival of Bessie Halstone. It is 1981 and Bessie is newly widowed and on the run from Belfast and the evil “Dentist” when she arrives on the doorstep in need of somewhere to lie low.

I loved Bessie. She is bright, brashy, a bit of a jaded Marilyn Monroe who speaks as she finds, but boy can she cook! Her son Herkie is a naughty little man and full of mischief but the pair are so much fun to read about.

There is a huge amount of very subtle humour in the story, usually coming out in the dialogue between the characters, who are all extremely colourful and great to follow. Gusty, in particular, certainly put a smile on my face, especially when his own little secret is revealed.

Having said that, I wasn’t 100% sure about the character of Rose, who appears to have gone through something of a personality change since the first book. She was no longer the loyal rock that we first met, but has turned into something of a gossiping, nosey, busybody. It didn’t feel quite right somehow.

It is a really nice, easy to read story, although at times it was easy to predict how it was all going to end. Nevertheless, I did like the ending and overall it is a good read with characters who are a pleasure to read about.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit laboured in parts but altogether a nice tale

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story. It's an easy read, has some delightful humorous moments which made me laugh, the characters are a lively, mixed bunch, some nice, some not so nice.
This is book 2 in the Tailorstown Trilogy, but it can definitely be read as a stand-alone since the main characters from book 1( The Misremembered Man) - Jamie and Lydia - are only mentioned in passing. It wasn't until late into this book that I realized that Rose is the same lovely Rose from the first book. Why the author chose to recreate her character is beyond me. It certainly hasn't been to Rose's advantage.
To sum up, the story was engaging, I like Christina McKenna's style of writing and she knows how to make her characters authentic. However, the story was slow in parts, the irrelevant gossip among the locals really didn't interest me whatsoever. Although it's not a continuation of the story in book 1, I couldn't help but compare the two books. I loved The Misremembered Man, and recall giving it a 5-star rating as it was a book that will stay with me. This is one that I can read, enjoy, put down and swiftly move onto another one.
I give it 4 stars but if I could give an exact rating, then I'd say 3.8 and I'm looking forward to book 3.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, fictional perspective of the possible effects of the political unrest within 80's Northern Ireland.

[Georgina Gane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book moves on in time to the first. It still encapsulate the idea of a naive, church dominated rural Ireland set against the harsh realities of the troubles that were and remain dominant there. They appear to coexist;they know they are there but the inhabitants in the main appear to ignore it, other than when outsiders appear to unbalance their day to day lives. A good read and one where I should have seen the ending coming.

[Candida · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Tailorstown resumes seven years later in THE DISENCHANTED WIDOW. Bombshell Bessie Lawless of Belfast is on the run with her nine-year-old son, Herkie. Prior to being killed in an automobile collision, her abusive thug of a husband, Packie, steals £10,000 from The Dentist, an IRA enforcer. No one knows where Packie hid the money, but The Dentist doesn’t care about that minor detail. He prefers his victims submit themselves to the luxury of a prolonged torture.

Bessie quickly devises an escape plan – hightail it out of Belfast and scrape together enough money to sail to a place even The Dentist can’t reach them: America. Unfortunately, her broken-down Morris Traveller only makes it as far as Tailorstown where she meets mechanic Gusty Grant and his piglet companion – Veronica. Finding the fetching woman stranded on the side of the road soon after leaving his garage – with little money, no car, and no place to stay – Gusty offers up his late aunt’s Rosehip Cottage for the bargain price of £5. Bessie gladly pays the dim-witted Grant with money from his own wallet, lifted by the crafty Herkie.

With the assumed name of Halstone, Bessie and Herkie become temporary residents of Tailorstown. Soon after, Bessie has the fortune of gaining employment as a housekeeper/cook for the local priest, Father Connor Cassidy.

Bessie in her red dress and exhibition cleavage, not unnoticed by even Father Cassidy, sticks out like a sore thumb in Tailorstown. Being from big-city, fast-laned Belfast, she looks down her nose at the citizens who don’t know what to make of her, including our beloved Rose McFadden.

Soon after Bessie’s arrival, Lorcan Strong sweeps into town. Lorcan is an artist from the Ulster Museum in Belfast and has been strong-armed into painting forgeries for the very same menace chasing after Bessie – The Dentist. Lorcan has returned to his hometown to help his mother with the business, following the death of his father. Having witnessed, first-hand, the enforcer’s methods of enforcement, Lorcan is glad to be away from Belfast and The Dentist for a spell,

While Bessie is at work, Herkie is left to his own mischievous devices, which includes the slingshotting of birds out of trees to Lorcan’s dismay. When the two meet under a tree near Rosehip Cottage – Lorcan’s childhood special place – they strike up a friendship. It’s through Herkie Lorcan learns of Bessie’s true identity and the danger of her situation.

Bessie and Herkie make their mark on Tailorstown, and in return, are forever changed themselves by the open-hearted citizens. With a more complicated plot than THE MISREMEMBERED MAN, several storylines are followed, including that of Peeping Tom Gusty Grant and the innocent Veronica; the mysterious comings and goings of Father Cassidy; the endearingly meddlesome Rose; and Lorcan’s budding friendship with the embittered and distrustful Bessie and Herkie. Used to making her way on looks alone, Bessie is astonished by the generosity and kindness of those who have nothing to gain for themselves in assisting her.

Where the ending of THE MISREMEMBERED MAN is emotionally-charged, THE DISENCHANTED WIDOW ends with a nail-biting climax which leaves you relieved and delighted.

[Clare · Rating 1 out of 5]

This second in McKenna's set lacked the charm of her first, The Misremembered Man.

The plot did not deliver and, more egregiously, the promise of its setting, that of Northern Ireland during the Troubles of the late 20th century, was completely ignored. The main antagonists easily could have been run of the mill ne'er-do-wells, there was no particular IRA-ness about them. No compelling discussion was offered on the very serious topics of the hunger strikes, the bombings, the corruption. All of that real, gritty, complex conflict right there on the page and McKenna completely forgoes the opportunities they present. Instead, we're offered too much unnecessary spelling-out of dialect. About half way through I had to give up on reading much of the dialogue and simply skip ahead. "Och, Ma," I get it: they're working class Irish. I have enough imagination to hold that in my head without constant phonetic reminders.

Also, the inclusion of Rose and other characters from the first book seemed tacked-on. So far removed was this iteration of Rose that she could have been an entirely new character, and perhaps she should have been. Rose, Gusty, and Ned were completely pointless. They didn't do or accomplish anything. I also felt cheated by Father Cassidy who, after a brief and promising introduction, received tortuously little development.

Finally, there was Lorcan. By the end of the book he's the only one I still cared about, and begrudgingly at that. It would be a spoiler to discuss my main problem with him, so I'll skip the details and just say that it seemed as though he was written at the onset in one way and then at some point McKenna realized she hadn't built up his character enough for us to care or understand on our own what was motivating his choices and feelings. But then instead of going back and developing him further she just added little statements about the clothes he wore and something that had happened while he was at college, and hoped we'd all go along with it in the end. This seems like lazy writing to me.

If I hadn't pledged to complete 52 books this year I may not have made it through the third act. I don't recommend this one.

[Sandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the run from the IRA and an "enforcer" called The Butcher, widow Bessie Lawless and her young son Herkie leave Belfast only to find themselves temporarily stranded in the town of Tailorstown awaiting repairs to her car. The town itself boasts an excessive number of odd ducks ranging from nosy gossips, to a closet drag queen, to an art restorer named Lorcan Strong, a man who also has more than a passing relationship with The Butcher. Short on money and with no where else to go Bessie accepts the invitation of a local man called Gusty Grant, whose acquaintance with soap and water is sadly lacking, and moves into the cottage once owned by his recently deceased Aunt Dora. In attempt to earn a few dollars she takes a job as a temporary replacement housekeeper to the local priest and from there, the plot slowly thickens into a look at life and times in rural Ireland, circa 1981.

Some readers may find the heavy Irish dialect of the written word in THE DISENCHANTED WIDOW a bit difficult to read and therefore off putting. I personally did not mind it at all and could almost hear the lilting cadence of conversations in my head. As with most novels, some of the characters are more interesting and likable than others. Bessie's nine year old son Herkie (Hercules) came across, at least to this reader, as a somewhat sneaky, undisciplined child whose entire life revolved around acts of vandalism, calculating ways getting a new Action Man toy and seeing how many sugar ladened foods he could consume. Not a very appealing child. Bessie is a bit of a tippler and uses alcohol as a means of coping with her situation.

This is one of those stories that, while built around a scenario of hunger strikes, IRA bombings and brutality, and a mother and child in peril, still comes off as something akin to a combination of a Keystone Cops vignette coupled with an old 1940's film noir complete with convenient coincidences and a neat, tidy ending.

While DISENCHANTED WIDOW is not the best book I ever read, it is mildly entertaining and worth the time invested in reading it. 3 1/2 stars

[Nae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this as a First Impressions book from BookBrowse. The first couple of pages took some getting used to, it is written in a rather frenetic fashion that sort of left me breathless at times, and I did not think I was going to like it. But for this book, once I got a little further into it, in this time period of early 1980's Belfast, Ireland, with all its political uncertainty varied with the outlying country settings of arcane silliness, that frantic feeling that one must gulp down the words as quickly as possible method of getting the plot lines out and jumping seemed an appropriate fit. Indeed, I read this book quickly (a must since it came to us late through a series of publisher errors that sort of mimic the pacing of the book itself) in just 3 days. By the end I was rather sad to leave the trials and tribulations of the quasiheroine of this story as she makes her way to America. Given what happened to her in her own country one can only imagine what America holds in store for her.

[Bud Mallar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I giggled. I giggled out loud, I even laughed out loud.

To suggest there are a few ludicrous situations, a kid who can't keep his nose out of trouble, and the fracturing of the 'English' language - accents or not - doesn't give the plot away, but you are warned.

You will end up liking these people, and their hopes and dreams, successes and failures. In many ways, they are us. You will feel good all under when you finish the book - in spite of how things get 'wrapped up'

Ms. McKenna writes simple stories (this is my second after "The Misremembered Man") in simple ways that take you along for the ride, throwing in a bit of not so pleasant history, and making you a bit happier with the way the human race can be when it wants to.

This isn't going to change the world, but it will make your world a bit happier for a few days while you read it, and maybe make you a nicer person - and we can use more of that.

What have you got to lose ???

[Amanda Ferrell]

A fluffy little book in which people get rewarded for doing the nice thing, although it doesn't seem like that at the outset. Set in a tiny town in Ireland in early 1980s, the 'Troubles' with bombings and hungerstrikes are the bleak backdrop. The town is seemingly insulated from the ugliness in Belfast and is picturesque, with hills and gardens. The two main characters are in Tailorstown to get away from a Belfast thug, the Dentist, who has a hold over each one. The widow of the title is a hard woman who has had a hard life and is looking for a fresh start and a way to make a living after her drunkard of an abusive husband dies after stealing money from the Dentist. Naturally, he thinks the wife has the money and will kill her to get it back. While fleeing Belfast, her car breaks down in Tailorstown where we meet the cast of (stereo)typical small town personalities. She is raw and conniving and you feel a little embarassed for her. But it all works out ok in the end.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had to read the name "Herkie" one more time, I was going to have to smash something! This is not a sequel to "The Misremembered Man", as the book cover claims. It is an entirely new story, with a tiny blurb about James 3/4 the way through. That was the first disappointment. The second disappointment is the Author's dismantling of the heroine Rose from the previous book to a crazy, twitchie stalker. Not only was it disheartening, but is direct self sabotage of her earlier work. Third, was the constant, and irrelevant, rambling in the book. If you think the first book had a fair amount if it, fasten your seat belts. It makes it seem that everyone in Northern Ireland us quite literally insane. If this Author wrote a third book to the series, I would probably buy it in hopes that it would be as brilliant as "The Misremembered Man' was, but this book was nothing like the quality.

[Bethany Wade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read several books set during the Troubles, mostly because of my Irish Literature and Film class in college. During this course, we explored many different styles authors use to talk about this time period.Some novels, such as Lamb were dark and gritty dramas. Others, including Cal were crime thrillers. Some authors even used satire to discuss the political and religious turmoil of the region. In my opion, The Disenchanted Widow falls into this category. This may not have been intentional on the part of the author, but the villians are flat characters, the use of bomb scares in the story is almost humorous, and the way the story wraps itself up so neatly and cleanly leaves the reader wondering if the author simply got tired of writing the story.

[Ava Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book because I love McKenna's previous book The Misremembered Man, and I expected a similar reading experience with this book. However, I am not ready to give up on this author because her pervious book proves that she is an excellent writer, and she does know how to connect with the reader, writing a book of substance. This plot is too predictable and trite, and the characters are too flat and even silly. If you are looking for an easy read for the beach, this might be a good book because it is a fluffy, feel good book.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I enjoy the way this author actually tells a story. I first enjoyed her writing when I read 'The Disremembered Man’ and look forward to other works by her.

This is the story of the recently widowed Bessie and her young son, Herkie, who escape terror and poverty in Belfast with only a few clothes and her beloved record player only to find more trouble along the way. I enjoyed all of the lovely and eccentric characters and the way the author makes you feel all of the emotions that Bessie is going through.

[Krista Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. McKenna's voice is delightful, the story fun and compelling. The situations that bring all the people together, all searching and hopng to find a better life are believable, funny, sad and moving. I laughed out loud several times, especially at the relationship of the widow with her young, very mischievous son, cringed at the cruelty of the ultimate bad guy, known as The Dentist, and all the while feeling the energy of the hard times of the 1980s in strife-torn Northern Ireland.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story, best read in short spurts.

I am rating this novel three stars because it is a good story. It reminds me of a more earthy version of the Jan Karon Mittford stories. In any case, I found myself engrossed for 15-20 minutes at a stretch, before getting bored. But I always wanted to return to the story by the next day.

[Yumiko Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

A big disappointment - I know, I expected too much after reading “The Misremembered Man” which I enjoyed so much and gave it five stars.
I just couldn't get past the crummy dialog and the fact that all the sentences were way too long, too many adjectives. I like a good description but this is over kill. It just becomes drivel and causes you to jump over stuff just to get beyond it.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book at all. It's one of a small number of books I could not finish. The characters are universally unlike able. Sometimes that's okay but if the characters are unlike able they should at the very least be I interesting. None were.

[Jacqueline Kawate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet, quirky, sometimes laugh out loud funny story by the author of The Misremembered Man. I hope to see more from her. Her odd but lovable writing makes me think of Alexander McCall Smith and The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I enjoyed this book.

[Marjorie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it's safe to say this one wasn't for me at all. Unfortunately this was my first book by this author and I already have another 2 purchased - if this book is representative of her work then I am rather regretting my rash purchase of 3 books by an untried author. I will be honest, the whole Irish thing swayed me - I have said it before, and will doubtless say it many times - there is something about Irish authors writing about their homeland that gets right to the heart of people and situations and drags me straight in. Maybe that meant I went in to this book with my expectations set way too high, maybe I just didn't like it.

Really this is the story of 4 separate people who are all thrown together by circumstance and set during The Troubles in early 1980s Northern Ireland. Bessie Lawless/Elizabeth Halstone on the run after her alcoholic husbands demise in a car accident, Gusty Grant the hapless mechanic with hidden proclivities, Father Cassidy moved to a small parish from a big city and Lorcan Strong artist and restorer who returns to his home town. Their stories mesh and twine around each other set against the back drop of radio and newspaper reports on the Hunger Strikes and the back drop of small town nosiness and gossip.

There is what could be a very good story here, unfortunately I just couldn't enjoy it.

The insistence of the author to put speech in to a faux Irish dialect really began to grate. Dialects are spoken, not written, and the constant manipulation of language to try and ineffectually replicate speech drive me to distraction. We know what an Irish accent sounds like, we understand the vagaries of vowel sounds and consonant combinations so allow the reader to hear the voice instead of foisting it on them. It is nowhere near as bad as Angela's Ashes which I found completely impenetrable due to the linguistics employed but I really found it annoying.

The characters themselves are pretty much one or two trick ponies. You get the sense there is something more to them than you are shown but it never gets revealed on the page. Our main character Bessie remains the hard-faced brassy woman throughout and never deviates from this role. She has moments of empathy with her son but they are rarely seen and she treats absolutely everyone with wariness or contempt. This is the one character everything hangs on so you can imagine how little exploration of the others we get.

Having lived through the time period this book is set in (albeit in England) I also didn't really feel a sense of the tension of the time. I was at an age to start being more aware of what was happening in the world around me and although I felt safe in my small home town any visit to a neighbouring city was fraught with worry - borne out after it was devastatingly bombed by the IRA. If I felt like that imagine how much worse it was anywhere in Northern Ireland - nowhere was safe and anybody could be a secret paramilitary. Very scary times that felt almost glossed over.

I will persevere with the other two books but they have slid a long way down my reading list now.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely Brilliant!

Audio Version - This is the second book in a series of four based in Tailorstown, a small farming community in Ireland. This book follows the antics of a widow, Bess, and her cheeky son Herkie who are on the run from The Dentist, a nasty criminal from Belfast. It is so well written and literally had me laughing hysterically in places. The only small criticism I have is the change in audio narration. The first book was narrated by an Irish person, but the second an English person who puts on a Irish accent. It is never the same and loses a bit of authenticity. It took a good few chapters for me to get used to the change so it did. Some may think this not important but when you listen to a series you want consistency. This is not enough for me to down grade the book though as it was just too good. I would highly recommend.

[lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As charming an Irish tale as can be manufactured from the "troubles". Witty and colloquial, I found myself speaking shanty Irish through the entire read! Engaging characters who are not always what they seem (and some who are painfully what they seem). The plot flows well and the ending did not disappoint. I suppose I now have to go pick up The Misremembered Man, as it seems to have loosely preceded this one, but trust me, I didn't know that, and thoroughly enjoyed it anyway!

[Judy M. Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this series!

A great sequel to The Dismembered Man. I am looking forward to the next book in this trilogy. The characters seem so authentic to this period in hospit

Love this trilogy. Look forward to the next one. The characters seem so authentic for the plot that she is weaving. Very entertaining and creative and seem perfect for this very real time in history. Highly recommend!

[Ramona Wetzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful Novel

I couldn't put this down after I began it. It's many wonderful and horrible characters, the humor, compassion and grit involved in the telling is worth every minute of ones attention. There ought to be more authors of this caliber; I plan on buying all of Ms. McKennas' works. They are outstanding. Much more than that, human compassion takes the field beneath her pen.

[Teresa Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in the writing

This book was written with delightful irony, which I loved. The main characters, Bessie and Herkie were not delightful people. But as the book progressed I came to care for them. Great side characters who were written up with great humor.

Why only a three? Often very foul language was used which I never enjoy. But...as the characters evolved the language improved.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually listened to this story twice over and read along when I couldn't listen.

I am not sure that this book is really a sequel to the first book. It really only takes place in the same little town. A few of the characters are carried over but this a completely different story and storyline.

[Jan Hawke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Tailorstown trilogy I have read and I think it is a big improvement on the first. Edgier and tighter plot, characters that you really cared about and set at a critical time in the history of Northern Ireland. Surprised myself by finding this book difficult to put down.

[Krystle Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loosely based on true events and scenarios, the author gives us a sneak peek into the history of Ireland in the 1980s. Aside from the occasional use of profanity, this was quite an enjoyable read! The characters were very well developed and the story line kept you on the edge of your seat from the very beginning.