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An Unravelling
Molly is now in her eighties and she helps her grand-daughters Cara and Freya bring up their young children with unstinting care. Hers has been a life of unselfpitying service, from her working class Dublin girlhood to her current status as the wealthy widow of a famous artist.
But her own children, particularly her daughter Eileen, are her life's great failure: unhappy, self-indulgent women who resent the younger generation's apparent freedom from guilt and their unconventional family arrangements. This intricate web of female relationships comes under terrible strain when Molly, her health sapped by her constant efforts on behalf of others, decides to consult the family solicitor about changing her will.
This is a novel of great tenderness in its depiction of the small pleasures of family life and ruthless in its portrayal of the dangerous power of money.
But her own children, particularly her daughter Eileen, are her life's great failure: unhappy, self-indulgent women who resent the younger generation's apparent freedom from guilt and their unconventional family arrangements. This intricate web of female relationships comes under terrible strain when Molly, her health sapped by her constant efforts on behalf of others, decides to consult the family solicitor about changing her will.
This is a novel of great tenderness in its depiction of the small pleasures of family life and ruthless in its portrayal of the dangerous power of money.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published June 13, 2019
6 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
About the author
Elske Rahill
8 books13 followersELSKE RAHILL grew up in Dublin and lives in Burgundy, France, with her partner and children. Her first novel. She is the author of Between Dog and Wolf, published by The Lilliput Press in 2013 and the collection of short stories In White Ink, published by Head of Zeus in 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 15, 2019
Elske Rahill is a genius. She held my heart in her expert hands for almost 500 pages, and I never wanted to say goodbye to these characters. I'm so confused and actually quite annoyed that I'm not seeing more buzz about this online considering it is already out, but hopefully it will get the recognition it deserves. This is the most beautifully written yet horribly sad story of an older woman called Molly who, in an effort to put right and the wrongs of her selfish daughters and the mistakes she made with them, cares so generously for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She creates such a warm feeling home and life for them, but everything starts to change when her daughters realise Molly plans to change her will before her mind starts to deteriorate. No one in the novel is who they seem; the evil daughters do believe they have reason for their actions, and Molly wasn't always as perfect as her grandchildren think. Instead Rahill creates a harsh and realistic portrayal of a family and a life unravelling.
August 24, 2020
3.5 stars
An Unravelling is a novel that very much echoes its title. Its characters unravel, come apart--as do their families. But this unravelling is itself echoed in Rahill's narrative form, the way she chooses to, little by little, unravel her characters to the reader, delving deeper into their histories and relationships. And Rahill's writing is beautiful--measured and particular, invested especially in details of characters' sensory awareness:
Aside from her sharp but quiet writing, Rahill excels at inhabiting the voices of each of her characters--and "inhabit" is exactly the word to use, here. An Unravelling is a polyphonic novel, replete with idiosyncratic, intergenerational voices, and in Rahill's hands, those voices speak clearly and distinctively.
These aspects of the novel come together to form an exploration of various intersecting themes, namely motherhood and aging, all from female POVs. The women of An Unravelling are young and old, with and without children, financially secure and insecure. The POVs run the gamut from Molly, who is in her eighties and having to come to terms with the traumas of her past as well as to make decisions about the future; to Freya, who is a student and a single mom dependent on her family to keep her and her son afloat whilst also attending university; to Aoife, who is now in her sixties and struggling to accept the fact that she has aged; even to Megan, who is the two-year-old daughter of Cara, Freya's older sister and mother of three.
An Unravelling is, like Megan Hunter's The Harpy, a novel about how domestic spaces are all but safe and comforting. They are spaces that are subject to turmoil, whether small or monumental, spaces on the verge of being unsettled, or else already unsettled. Rahill's novel was perhaps a little too long for my liking, with too many unresolved plot threads, but still, it is a compelling read with fine characterization that is well worth your time.
Thanks so much to Independent Publishers Group for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!
An Unravelling is a novel that very much echoes its title. Its characters unravel, come apart--as do their families. But this unravelling is itself echoed in Rahill's narrative form, the way she chooses to, little by little, unravel her characters to the reader, delving deeper into their histories and relationships. And Rahill's writing is beautiful--measured and particular, invested especially in details of characters' sensory awareness:
"All down those years she's been handling her time like portions she could measure out and weigh--but that's not the nature of the thing at all. It moves in gushes, washing ove rhere with its great crash and spill before she has a chance to draw breath and look at things and say goodbye to any of it."
Aside from her sharp but quiet writing, Rahill excels at inhabiting the voices of each of her characters--and "inhabit" is exactly the word to use, here. An Unravelling is a polyphonic novel, replete with idiosyncratic, intergenerational voices, and in Rahill's hands, those voices speak clearly and distinctively.
These aspects of the novel come together to form an exploration of various intersecting themes, namely motherhood and aging, all from female POVs. The women of An Unravelling are young and old, with and without children, financially secure and insecure. The POVs run the gamut from Molly, who is in her eighties and having to come to terms with the traumas of her past as well as to make decisions about the future; to Freya, who is a student and a single mom dependent on her family to keep her and her son afloat whilst also attending university; to Aoife, who is now in her sixties and struggling to accept the fact that she has aged; even to Megan, who is the two-year-old daughter of Cara, Freya's older sister and mother of three.
An Unravelling is, like Megan Hunter's The Harpy, a novel about how domestic spaces are all but safe and comforting. They are spaces that are subject to turmoil, whether small or monumental, spaces on the verge of being unsettled, or else already unsettled. Rahill's novel was perhaps a little too long for my liking, with too many unresolved plot threads, but still, it is a compelling read with fine characterization that is well worth your time.
Thanks so much to Independent Publishers Group for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!
August 25, 2019
I kept seeing this book in the bookshops of Dublin, signed by the author, and kept wanting to read it. I hadn’t read anything by Rahill before and there was no excuse to buy a heavy book to carry along on our 3 -week journey, when I’d had hundreds of unread books on my Kindle. But I kept wanting this book. So I got it.
If not for the Travels, I would have read it in a couple of days. The language is poetic, the characters are alive, and the problems they are facing are so real, many a time I stopped with a heaviness in my heart, asking: and what would I do? And how would I react?
An absolutely beautiful book about motherhood, family, control, relations, and grief, both for what you did and for what you missed. And about loneliness, inside a family, or inside a crowd, or inside your own self.
I highly recommend this thoughtful, heartfelt read.
If not for the Travels, I would have read it in a couple of days. The language is poetic, the characters are alive, and the problems they are facing are so real, many a time I stopped with a heaviness in my heart, asking: and what would I do? And how would I react?
An absolutely beautiful book about motherhood, family, control, relations, and grief, both for what you did and for what you missed. And about loneliness, inside a family, or inside a crowd, or inside your own self.
I highly recommend this thoughtful, heartfelt read.
August 22, 2019
I loved this book from beginning to end. The writing is poetic but I was fully engrossed in the story and there are little bursts of dark humour. Even when the characters aren’t sympathetic you want to spend time in their company. It’s incredibly ambitious trying to show us the perspective of such a big cast of characters but it’s pulled off with ease, and you also get a real sense of compassion from the author even when the character are behaving at their worst. I loved this book and I can’t wait for her next one.
December 27, 2020
Well written but the characters got on my nerves at best and flat out annoyed me at worst.
June 29, 2019
It was exceptional just marvelous
September 25, 2020
Portrays good vs evil within a family. I felt very angry at parts of this book and was left hoping for the best. Beautifully written and you get a chance to get in each characters head with brutally honest thoughts. Typical Irish background with social class and money being the main topic of the story. Made me think about what's really important in the end of it all.
November 27, 2020
A remarkable novel that centres around Molly the matriarch of the family. The author has the ability to get inside the head of every character both old and young. I enjoyed the strength of the female characters in this book and the interaction between siblings and grandchildren. A wonderful family saga.
August 25, 2019
Complicated, rich, poetic and a true portrait of the human condition. I particularly enjoyed the fact that many events did not result in an effect, they simply happened, and were part of the tapestry of happenings. A beautiful, if sad, book.
December 22, 2019
One of the most difficult books to finish that I’ve ever read. I found myself gaping in horror at the absolute selfishness of the characters, and especially at the way they seemed so real. Obviously phenomenally done and written, but definitely not a happy read.
February 9, 2022
This took me so long to read. Mainly because I hated most of the characters and because it was about a horrible situation that just frustrated me. Not much happened overall really (which I know is the point), but it was still an interesting read.
June 29, 2019
Really enjoyed this book, couldn't put it down!
June 29, 2019
Good good
June 29, 2019
Great great
October 9, 2019
Beautiful
January 25, 2020
Well written but didn't hit the mark for me, unfortunately.
January 1, 2021
This dark, ruthlessly familiar story broke my heart into a million pieces. I had to remember to take a deep breath every now and then.
May 18, 2024
Beautiful and disturbing
October 2, 2019
Marked brilliance in this book, how deeply the grandmother's conventions are that render her with the idea change will, yes I am at the same phase, the generations of the grandchildren are so unexplainable all flick and now, clever this plot and full of reasoning and explanations and also the in-depth look at generations .
Money oh yes taken place of the care the generosity and the principals
Money oh yes taken place of the care the generosity and the principals
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews