Aisling Gayle

by Geraldine O'Neill

Cara Gayle is one of life's pleasers. A young, country school-teacher in 1960s Ireland, she spends her life looking after her philandering husband, Oliver, and her pious mother, Maggie. When Cara's seventh wedding anniversary reveals her husband's latest infidelity, Cara decides it's time to do something for herself. Offered the chance to escape her loveless marriage for a few weeks by accompanying her parents to a family wedding in Lake Savannah, upstate New York, she's only too keen to accept. The gorgeous scenery and the relaxed, American approach to life make Cara more aware than ever of how narrow and unfulfilling her life in Tullamore has become. When she meets Jameson Carroll, a reclusive artist who lives with his young son on the shores of the lake, Cara embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime passionate affair. Yet in the background, her return to Ireland and life with Oliver looms. Can Cara Gayle find the courage, at long last, to finally please herself?

518 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Sam Still Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book was originally published with the main character called Aisling, rather than Cara (I presume because Cara's a more familiar name to non-Irish readers). However, occasionally we still get references to Cara's 'unusual name' and she somehow manages to be referred to as 'Ash-leen' by another character who knows her well. There also seems to be a lack of full stops at the end of sentences and big breaks between words. Surely somebody proof read this?

Not as good as Tara Flynn or The Grace Girls, Cara's stuck in a marriage with a cheating husband and falls in love while on holiday. Cara's mother has to be one of the most annoying characters ever...and her strict Catholicism doesn't seem to translate to a modern day reader- divorce him, get over it.

Buy it from the bargain bin and use it as your third back up holiday book.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first encounter with this novel was around four years ago. I selected it from a stack of paperbacks left out for guests at a cottage we had rented for a few nights in Ireland. At the time the title was Aisling Gayle, and I only had the opportunity to read the first 80 pages or so before moving on to our next destination. Curious as to how it would turn out, I never forgot the title and vaguely regretted not taking it with me for the remainder of my trip. It has taken me forever to track it down again, partially because the title had changed (for greater familiarity and accessibility in North America?), and partially because interlibrary loans were forbidden during the COVID pandemic. (What a wild time that was.) None of Geraldine O'Neill's works can be found at my local Canadian library so I had to order it in.

Blog-y preamble aside, I am glad I got to satiate my curiosity, but the story really wasn't all that spectacular. Cara/Aisling Gayle takes place in rural Ireland in 1963. The story centers around an unhappy Irish housewife / Catholic school teacher who is run down by her charming, philandering husband Oliver's constantly cheating ways. She takes a trip to New York State in the good ol' US of A with her parents for a cousin's wedding (and to get some emotional and physical space), and falls in love with an artistic, rich American named Jameson who happens to be a divorced single father to a son with Down Syndrome.

Although this story had its heartwarming moments, I cringed at how deplorable everyone's behaviour was. The infamous and pervading Irish Catholic guilt was expected, but the juxtaposition of how "free" America and its apparently utopian society was in comparison to Ireland was comical. It made it seem like North Americans in the 1960s didn't struggle with notions of divorce, marital infidelity, alcohol and learning disabilities or mental health at all; like religion was never a consideration. Like they didn't/don't suffer from the same consequences of small town gossip that people from other places do. It was an interesting perspective, but all fantasy; the 1960s was notorious for social reform and revolution for a reason, and a small town is a small town no matter where you are in the world. If you don't make the "right" choices to fit in, you will be relentlessly persecuted by the community gossips and hung out to dry. It's the same in 2023 in Canada. That's humanity for you. 🙃

All that aside, Jameson as the lead romantic interest was actually really concerning. He was supposed to have a lone wolf vibe, but I didn't like how temperamental he was. He would snap at the most ridiculous things. Cara/Aisling was made out to be this calm, sweet, perfect angel who had the ability to save and change him (a problematic narrative in and of itself), but he was SO PUSHY and ANGRY. He would say that he understood her perspective and culture and would be patient with her, but his subsequent actions proved the opposite time and time again. It's great that he looked after his son, but even his dealings with his ex-wife were unnecessarily tetchy. He had to grace or compassion and seemed to be pretty self-centered overall. It didn't sit right with me. No one was really admirable, although I sympathized with their characters. Still. When you don't like the main man in a romance then the rest of the book tends to be hard going.

Alsoooo as a post-script: Did nobody proofread this novel prior to publishing it? There were so many punctuation and spacing errors, and too many random moments where Cara would suddenly be referred to as Aisling without explanation. It would have completely confused me had I not been aware of the previous title. Wild.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 1963, his is about a nice catholic Irish girl stuck in an unhappy marriage to an unfaithful husband, with a domineering mother, a weird brother and a sister who brought shame on the family by having an illegitimate child. When she travels to America for a cousins wedding with her parents, to get away from everything for a while, she meets a good-looking artist who lives nearby with his teenage son who has Down syndrome. They fall in love, and she has to decide if she can face the wrath of her mother and the church and leave her husband for him.
It's all fairly predictable, there are quite a lot of annoying little mistakes, the writing is pretty average (she describes every thing each character wears, eats or does in minute detail) and she could have fleshed out more of the supporting characters, but it was a gentle read for a quiet day if you like this sort of thing.

[Aileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cara is 29 years old she is married to Oliver. Cara is a school Teacher Oliver is a bit of a "ladies Man" Cara thought marriage would change him but hasn't, she feels trapped she doesn't love Oliver abd can't Divorce him as there Family are strong Catholics her Mother would never forgive her. Cara manages to escape with her Parents to Lake Savannah in America where they attend a wedding, Cara meets Single Dad Jameson Carroll he is an Artist with a son called Thomas but are they just Friends? I really enjoyed this book, I couldn't put it down it was very easy to read and follow it's a chunk of a book at 518 pages, I would definetely recommend.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - such a lovely story - Cara Gayle character is honest, loving, warm and courageos.
I recommend it. Similar to Maeve Binchey style.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book!

[Eloise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a good and engaging story.
The Mother shits me though.