The Brightest Day, the Darkest Night

Ellen O'Malley #3

by Brendan Graham

From the author of the highly acclaimed 'The Whitest Flower' and its sequel 'The Element of Fire' comes a new novel just as vast in scope and powerful storytelling as its predecessors. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, the powerful new novel from the author of the acclaimed The Whitest Flower and The Element of Fire poignantly explores forgiveness, longing, and the changing role of women set free by war from the protection of their men. Ellen O'Malley, together with her natural daughter Mary and adopted daughter Louisa, helps tend the wounds of the soldiers who have fallen in battle. In the killing fields of Virginia she toils, not realising that her estranged son, Patrick, and Lavelle, the husband she desperately seeks, are on opposing sides of the terrible conflict. Meanwhile, Lavelle and Ellen's former lover, Stephen joyce, likewise seek her out -- and each other -- with tragic repercussions. The inspiring story of Ellen's race against the ravages of war is a tale of great loves, impossible choices and the triumph of the human spirit against all odds.

Genres: Historical Fiction

544 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2005

Reviews

[Lyndal Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third instalment in the series following on from ‘The Whitest Flower’ and ‘The Element of Fire’, this book is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a harrowing tale, full to the brim with tragedy, violence and heartbreaking loss. It’s heavy stuff and the bright days are very thin on the ground.
I was champing at the bit to read this instalment. The ending of ‘The Element of Fire’ was amazing and I could hardly wait to pick this one up and find out what happened next. I was slightly disappointed in the way that ‘The Brightest Day, the Darkest Night’ picked up the story. It backtracked and filled in some gaps before it continued on and I feel that in doing so it somehow broke the spell I was under. Not in a huge way, but there was a level of anti-climax there.
I really enjoyed the multi-character point of view used this time around. The previous two books were entirely from Ellen’s POV so this was great. I’d felt slightly detached from Patrick in the first two and it was fantastic to gain an insight into how he viewed things, ditto with Lavelle.
The entire Labiche family I despised, but I’m sure that was the author’s intent. A nest of vipers, the lot of them. Whenever the action returned to their Louisiana plantation I just wanted it to move away again as swiftly as possible. It was relevant to the historical setting of the civil war and a representation of a way of life that was about to die, but I hated the place intensely.
Emmeline was a hateful, vacuous waste of space and it irritated me no end that Patrick loved her. I suppose she represented the polar opposite version of womanhood to his mother whom he was so at odds with. Emmeline was all feminine frailty, frills and delicacy – a traditional southern belle. Ellen was a modern woman who paved her own way. Emmeline redeemed herself slightly at the end, but I still loathed her.
I was a bit confused by Stephen siding with the Confederates and the reasoning for this was never fully explained. It seemed a tad odd to me given that he was highly educated and had strong humanitarian leanings. I wanted to know why, but this was never revealed.
Oxy was a great character. Thoroughly likeable and with more sensitivity than the masses around him. That whole storyline was a good one – albeit involving more tragedy.
I shed many tears reading Chapters 62-64. It was a very upsetting part of the book. I found myself annoyed by Mary’s dogged belief in god’s greater purpose amidst all the devastation and destruction of war. Everyone seemed to think this her greatest virtue, but to me her blind faith was frustrating.
The description of the war was so vivid that I really felt it. It was brutal and gruelling and the author did a great job in conveying both how horrific and yet futile it all was. The ordinary man merely cannon fodder. Those in power never risking life or limb and enjoying the profits of war safe in their grand houses. It did become quite hard to read, though. It was well-written, realistic and told the tale of the savagery of war, but it became so depressing that I just wanted to step away from it.
At times I thought that the book was needlessly gratuitous simply for shock value – the Mother of Sorrows, Mick Liddy part was too much and not needed. Over the top and gross.
My edition of the book (Harper Collins 2016) was littered with spelling errors, missing punctuation, and on one page a paragraph was printed twice. ‘Louisa’ was also referred to as ‘Louise’ at one point and the surname ‘Labiche’ became ‘Lebiche’ then ‘Labiche’ then ‘Lebiche’ again within the space of two pages! On page 455 the text was horribly disjointed with an array of missing text and punctuation. None of this was the author’s fault, but displayed very poor proof reading.
Overall, the book left its mark on me. It was moving and insightful and well-written. However I can’t help but feel a sense of disappointment. For me it was all too tragic. Too depressing. The level of misery just went further than I could bear. To travel with these characters for 3 books and have it all end the way it did was so disappointing. I felt cheated by the ending. It was a step too far for me. Too much loss. I needed some shining light there, but there was none. Bleak stuff and I don’t feel that it had to be. It was all dark days and dark nights. If there was any brightness I missed it.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Brightest Day, The Darkest Night is an excellent name for this novel, as it swings from romances and friendship to horrors and grief. A very readable story, made up of bite-sized chapters, about an Irish family lost and found amongst the carnage of the American Civil War.