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The Dazzling Truth
One Irish family. Three decades. One dazzling story.
In the courtyards of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1978, aspiring actress Maeve meets pottery student Murtagh Moone. As their relationship progresses, marriage and motherhood come in quick succession, but for Maeve, with the joy of children also comes the struggle to hold on to the truest parts of herself.
Decades later, on a small Irish island, the Moone family are poised for celebration but instead are struck by tragedy. Each family member must find solace in their own separate way, until one dazzling truth brings them back together. But as the Moone family confront the past, they also journey toward a future that none of them could have predicted. Except perhaps Maeve herself.
In the courtyards of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1978, aspiring actress Maeve meets pottery student Murtagh Moone. As their relationship progresses, marriage and motherhood come in quick succession, but for Maeve, with the joy of children also comes the struggle to hold on to the truest parts of herself.
Decades later, on a small Irish island, the Moone family are poised for celebration but instead are struck by tragedy. Each family member must find solace in their own separate way, until one dazzling truth brings them back together. But as the Moone family confront the past, they also journey toward a future that none of them could have predicted. Except perhaps Maeve herself.
325 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2020
128 people are currently reading
6030 people want to read
About the author
Helen Cullen
2 books209 followersHelen Cullen is an Irish writer living in London. She has published two novels to date: The Lost Letters of William Woolf and The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
August 20, 2020
3.5 stars
The Dazzling Truth is a family saga that spans over 37 years that explores love, grief, hope and healing. It tells us the story of Maeve, an American aspiring actress now living in Ireland and her husband, Murtagh, and their four children. It explores Motherhood through depression and its impact on the family when it is not seen or talked about.
Helen Cullen writes with compassion and sensitivity as she explores the uncomfortable personal truths not seen or spoken within the family. She takes her time developing the story and characters and at times I did struggle to stay focus. The themes here are powerful and the writing is beautiful. The plot and the characters are well developed and I loved the heartwarming dynamics between the family.
Did I think the truth, in the end, was so dazzling and how it all came together, well I am still thinking about it and I think I will be questioning it for a while! There is some power in that!
I received a copy from the publisher for a blog tour.
The Dazzling Truth is a family saga that spans over 37 years that explores love, grief, hope and healing. It tells us the story of Maeve, an American aspiring actress now living in Ireland and her husband, Murtagh, and their four children. It explores Motherhood through depression and its impact on the family when it is not seen or talked about.
Helen Cullen writes with compassion and sensitivity as she explores the uncomfortable personal truths not seen or spoken within the family. She takes her time developing the story and characters and at times I did struggle to stay focus. The themes here are powerful and the writing is beautiful. The plot and the characters are well developed and I loved the heartwarming dynamics between the family.
Did I think the truth, in the end, was so dazzling and how it all came together, well I am still thinking about it and I think I will be questioning it for a while! There is some power in that!
I received a copy from the publisher for a blog tour.
August 26, 2020
3.5 Murtagh meets Maeve at Trinity College. He is entranced by her quirky personality, her zest for life, her creativity and in short order asks her to marry him. Murtagh is a potter, and when he is offered the chance of a lifetime, he takes it. They settle on the island of Inis Og, far from the theater that Maeve loves. Four children follow and soon it is apparent that Maeve has a darker side to her quirkiness. The price she pays is a tragedy but one she sees as love.
Beautiful, lyrical prose. Outstanding descriptions of place, definitely can imagine this place, this life. It is a heartbreaking, chilling narrative of depression and its insidious impact on family. Children who grow, but struggle with acceptance. They grow apart, come together, each one changed in different ways.
The ending was a bit of a shocker, unexpected, but looking back I could see clues, clues that didn't seem to mean much at the time. A bittersweet novel of love, loss and second chances.
ARC from Netgalley.
Beautiful, lyrical prose. Outstanding descriptions of place, definitely can imagine this place, this life. It is a heartbreaking, chilling narrative of depression and its insidious impact on family. Children who grow, but struggle with acceptance. They grow apart, come together, each one changed in different ways.
The ending was a bit of a shocker, unexpected, but looking back I could see clues, clues that didn't seem to mean much at the time. A bittersweet novel of love, loss and second chances.
ARC from Netgalley.
May 30, 2020
Meave and Murtagh Moone live on a isolated island just west of the Irish mainland. They have four children. Murtagh is a potter and is devoted to Meave. We learn of how the couple met thirty years ago, right up to the present day. When tragedy strikes, it's up to Murtagh to hold his family together.
This is a beautifully written story that will play with your emotions. The ending was covered sensitively. I liked all the characters, they were true to life and believable. The descriptions of Ireland were spot on. This is a thought provoking story that will stay with you long after you've finished it. I do recommend this book.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author Henen Cullen for my ARC in exchange for an honest review
This is a beautifully written story that will play with your emotions. The ending was covered sensitively. I liked all the characters, they were true to life and believable. The descriptions of Ireland were spot on. This is a thought provoking story that will stay with you long after you've finished it. I do recommend this book.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author Henen Cullen for my ARC in exchange for an honest review
June 18, 2023
3.5 stars. Mostly loved this book, but some parts felt a little jarring.
February 18, 2022
3.5 Stars 🌟
Originally published as The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually.
It was a well written book. A story of a couple and the life they create from Uni to an isolated island in Ireland. Maeve, an american running from a troubled past and Murtagh, the sweet endearing would be potter. The story runs from 1978 through to 2015. Themes of mental illness, family, motherhood, love and sexuality run deep through it. It's just that somehow I couldn't connect to the characters all the way through. The second half got properly boring for me and I struggled. The ending was "inclusive" (keeping in mind Ireland's 2015 vote) but I just didn't agree that it went with the storyline nor the character.
This book came highly recommended and many have loved it. I just wish I was as dazzled by it as the name suggests.
Originally published as The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually.
It was a well written book. A story of a couple and the life they create from Uni to an isolated island in Ireland. Maeve, an american running from a troubled past and Murtagh, the sweet endearing would be potter. The story runs from 1978 through to 2015. Themes of mental illness, family, motherhood, love and sexuality run deep through it. It's just that somehow I couldn't connect to the characters all the way through. The second half got properly boring for me and I struggled. The ending was "inclusive" (keeping in mind Ireland's 2015 vote) but I just didn't agree that it went with the storyline nor the character.
This book came highly recommended and many have loved it. I just wish I was as dazzled by it as the name suggests.
October 8, 2022
This is almost good. It’s by a young Irish woman, set in Ireland, and about family. And there were parts of it that I liked.
it was extremely cheesy at times. Take the meet-cute between the two characters. She’s lying behind a statue in Trinity College, so he can only see her legs. Moments later, he’s stung by a bee and ends up lying with his head in her lap. When they take their burgeoning love affair to a cafe, a waiter drops a tray when he sees her legs.
Apart from moments like these, there are too many characters, and so there’s no centre to the book.
I also found the writer’s treatment of suicide irresponsible, depicting it as an act of love, and attributing no regret to the character in her final moments. Most people who try to kill themselves and survive almost instantly regret it. Maybe this character was one of the exceptions, but the book almost romanaticised the act.
Structurally, the ending consisted of two cathartic homecomings, one after the other, and some LGBTQ themes tacked on.
And, perhaps most importantly of all, I just wasn’t very interested in what was happening.
it was extremely cheesy at times. Take the meet-cute between the two characters. She’s lying behind a statue in Trinity College, so he can only see her legs. Moments later, he’s stung by a bee and ends up lying with his head in her lap. When they take their burgeoning love affair to a cafe, a waiter drops a tray when he sees her legs.
Apart from moments like these, there are too many characters, and so there’s no centre to the book.
I also found the writer’s treatment of suicide irresponsible, depicting it as an act of love, and attributing no regret to the character in her final moments. Most people who try to kill themselves and survive almost instantly regret it. Maybe this character was one of the exceptions, but the book almost romanaticised the act.
Structurally, the ending consisted of two cathartic homecomings, one after the other, and some LGBTQ themes tacked on.
And, perhaps most importantly of all, I just wasn’t very interested in what was happening.
December 15, 2022
When I read Helen Cullen’s debut novel The Lost Letters of William Woolf back in 2018 I commented that the real achievement of the book was the way she explored the dynamics of the relationship between William and his wife, Clare. It was a portrait of a marriage that had gone slightly astray because they had lost the ability to communicate openly and honestly about their feelings, hopes and ambitions.
The author repeats that feat – in fact, with even greater skill – in The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually. The book depicts the relationship between Maeve and Murtagh and, in particular, Maeve’s struggles with being the sort of mother to her four children she would like to be. In fact, to be the sort of person she would like to be.
Following the tragic events of the opening chapter, the reader is taken back in time to witness Maeve and Murtagh’s first meeting and the blossoming of their relationship. It’s not hard to understand what attracts Murtagh to the beautiful, spirited but mercurial Maeve, a budding actor. In reality though Maeve’s life is something of a performance. As she observes, ‘Here people see the theatre student, the vinyl collector, the poet, Murtagh’s girlfriend, the American, the actress; so many different things, and none of them are the sick girl, or the other far worse things we know some folks called me’.
When Murtagh is given the opportunity to pursue his career as a potter on Inis Óg, a small island off the coast of Galway in Ireland, it means Maeve giving up her own aspirations. It’s just one of the things that creates the first small fissures in Maeve’s mental state. Those fissures will gradually expand until the whole edifice comes crashing down. As the book progresses, we witness heartbreaking moments such as Maeve recording in her journal her ‘good’ days and ‘bad’ days and finding the second have become more numerous than the first. She worries about the impact the days when despair overwhelms her is having on her children, and on Murtagh in particular. ‘Murtagh is so loyal, he would never leave me. He would endure the challenge of living with me and my moods and my difficulties until the end of time if I let him.’
It leads her to take a decision born out of love but which won’t appear that way to her family. Just the opposite in fact. It’s only years later that some kind of understanding dawns, bringing together a family which has become fractured, resentful and distant from one another. I absolutely fell in love with Murtagh who is the most wonderful character. I felt I shared with him every moment of joy, every moment of grief and silently cheered when he reflected, ‘There was room in his life for one more dream, maybe.’
If this is making it sound like a story of interminable sadness, I can reassure you it is not. There are moments of humour too and the book ends on the most wonderfully uplifting note. I’m not ashamed to admit I shed a few tears at some of the sadder moments but also got slightly misty-eyed at the end. I thought The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually was wonderful and I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it.
The author repeats that feat – in fact, with even greater skill – in The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually. The book depicts the relationship between Maeve and Murtagh and, in particular, Maeve’s struggles with being the sort of mother to her four children she would like to be. In fact, to be the sort of person she would like to be.
Following the tragic events of the opening chapter, the reader is taken back in time to witness Maeve and Murtagh’s first meeting and the blossoming of their relationship. It’s not hard to understand what attracts Murtagh to the beautiful, spirited but mercurial Maeve, a budding actor. In reality though Maeve’s life is something of a performance. As she observes, ‘Here people see the theatre student, the vinyl collector, the poet, Murtagh’s girlfriend, the American, the actress; so many different things, and none of them are the sick girl, or the other far worse things we know some folks called me’.
When Murtagh is given the opportunity to pursue his career as a potter on Inis Óg, a small island off the coast of Galway in Ireland, it means Maeve giving up her own aspirations. It’s just one of the things that creates the first small fissures in Maeve’s mental state. Those fissures will gradually expand until the whole edifice comes crashing down. As the book progresses, we witness heartbreaking moments such as Maeve recording in her journal her ‘good’ days and ‘bad’ days and finding the second have become more numerous than the first. She worries about the impact the days when despair overwhelms her is having on her children, and on Murtagh in particular. ‘Murtagh is so loyal, he would never leave me. He would endure the challenge of living with me and my moods and my difficulties until the end of time if I let him.’
It leads her to take a decision born out of love but which won’t appear that way to her family. Just the opposite in fact. It’s only years later that some kind of understanding dawns, bringing together a family which has become fractured, resentful and distant from one another. I absolutely fell in love with Murtagh who is the most wonderful character. I felt I shared with him every moment of joy, every moment of grief and silently cheered when he reflected, ‘There was room in his life for one more dream, maybe.’
If this is making it sound like a story of interminable sadness, I can reassure you it is not. There are moments of humour too and the book ends on the most wonderfully uplifting note. I’m not ashamed to admit I shed a few tears at some of the sadder moments but also got slightly misty-eyed at the end. I thought The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually was wonderful and I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it.
July 31, 2020
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually by Helen Cullen will be published with Michael Joseph August 20th. Described as ‘a celebration of the complex, flawed and stubbornly optimistic human heart’ I can honestly say that half way through my heart was shattered.
Set primarily on Inis Óg, an island off the west coast of Ireland, The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is the story of the Moone family. Twenty-seven years ago Murtagh Moone from Sligo met Maeve Morelli from Willamsburg, Brooklyn, New York outside Trinity College in Dublin. Maeve had just arrived, after winning a scholarship, to spend a summer at the Trinity Drama School and Murtagh was studying ceramics at the National College of Art and Design. The attraction was instant and that day a spark was ignited, one that would glow bright, but also be shadowed by a darkness.
‘The pieces of the Maeve puzzle were intriguing and unnerving in equal measure. He felt so grey in the shadow of her Technicolor. If he were to hold her interest, he knew he would have to shake off the ennui that so often dogged him, that he’d need to achieve more than just getting by. Mediocrity would not the heart of Maeve Morelli win’
When summer came to an end, a decision was made, Maeve had found her peace. Staying in Ireland with Murtagh was the calmness she needed. Maeve struggled with her moods and revealed to Murtagh how sometimes her mind travelled elsewhere. With a history of hospitalisation behind her in the States, Maeve felt that being with Murtagh was the ballast that kept her afloat and with the decision made, their fate was sealed.
Murtagh was a very talented potter but had difficulty in achieving an apprenticeship. When an opportunity arrived for him to take over the business of a famed ceramics master on Inis Óg, the Moones decided to take a chance. It would be a big move, especially for Maeve, as she was leaving her beloved stage behind but it was a decision she willingly made for Murtagh. After a wedding back in Brooklyn, they moved to the small island to start a new life together but Maeve had a caveat, almost a premonition…
“I’m in. I promise you. I know that there is more than one reason to go. But please can we be honest about how hard it’s going to be? You don’t have to always pretend you’re fearless about it, that it’s all going to be wonderful. I’d be much happier if we could admit it whenever we think it was all a terrible idea, which we will, without that having to mean we’re not going to stick it out. Do you get it? Let’s just be real about it. Otherwise, I know I’ll lose it altogether.”
The pottery was a great success and Murtagh’s reputation was cemented well beyond the borders of the small island they now called home. With four children, life was very busy for the Moones but as wonderful as the highs were, there were also some heart-breaking lows. Maeve suffered. Her mental health deteriorated over the years. She had her really good days and then the darkness came. Her children knew their mother was different from the other school gate mums. They knew something was amiss but Murtagh always stepped up and protected them from the times Maeve took to the bed or her mind travelled elsewhere. Maeve was a very creative soul. She was a wonderful mother, when present, with an excitable and positive approach to life that made her children believe anything was possible but the dark load that weighed her down sometimes took over and Maeve was no longer emotionally present.
When tragedy struck, the Moone family was ripped apart. The portrayal of this time is very vivid. The pain raw. The anguish pure heart-break. Helen Cullen’s writing, her descriptions, are truly breath-taking. It is a very emotional experience reading these pages as the descriptions create a very strong visual. I put down the book. I took a few deep breaths and I thought of everyone I love. A very affecting passage of the book.
Murtagh Moone struggles through the next few years. His inability to move on, his feelings of inadequacy as a father capable of raising a young family are palpable off the pages. His children rebel and go their different ways in the world, apart from Nollaig, the eldest. Nollaig comes home from Galway and stays with her father, looking after him. But Nollaig has her own difficulties and being home helps her to keep busy and to push them away.
As the years pass, a gentle light begins to shine and a sense of hope is unearthed in the most unexpected of places.
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually was a novel that took me completely by surprise. I knew I would be impacted by the story of Maeve and Murtagh but the scale of that impact was powerful. I devoured this book. My heart was battered on completion. I am Irish so I understood completely all the Irish references and it was very easy for me to visualise the island setting. The Currach boat was a powerful image on both the cover and within the story as was the weather, the islanders and the church.
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually deals with many difficult themes, which Helen Cullen sensitively handles. It is a deeply affecting read and the tragedy of this family is powerfully depicted. Motherhood is a challenge. Parenthood is a challenge. Mental health is a difficult issue to write about. Helen Cullen expertly weaves the threads of the Moone family together creating an almost overwhelming tale, one that will sit with me for quite some time.
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is a beautiful, enthralling and stunning piece of work, written with a very exquisite pen.
I wish Murtagh well and hope that his new found optimism for life remains with him forever, along with his memories of the wonderful Maeve Morelli from Brooklyn, New York.
“Here, people see the theatre student, the vinyl collector, the poet, Murtagh’s girlfriend, the American, the actress; so many different things, and none of them are the sick girl, or the far worse things we know some folk call me.
I can’t express how free that makes me feel. My body now is a vehicle for me to live and be happy in; not something I inhabit resentfully, judging it based on how I see others judge it”
Set primarily on Inis Óg, an island off the west coast of Ireland, The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is the story of the Moone family. Twenty-seven years ago Murtagh Moone from Sligo met Maeve Morelli from Willamsburg, Brooklyn, New York outside Trinity College in Dublin. Maeve had just arrived, after winning a scholarship, to spend a summer at the Trinity Drama School and Murtagh was studying ceramics at the National College of Art and Design. The attraction was instant and that day a spark was ignited, one that would glow bright, but also be shadowed by a darkness.
‘The pieces of the Maeve puzzle were intriguing and unnerving in equal measure. He felt so grey in the shadow of her Technicolor. If he were to hold her interest, he knew he would have to shake off the ennui that so often dogged him, that he’d need to achieve more than just getting by. Mediocrity would not the heart of Maeve Morelli win’
When summer came to an end, a decision was made, Maeve had found her peace. Staying in Ireland with Murtagh was the calmness she needed. Maeve struggled with her moods and revealed to Murtagh how sometimes her mind travelled elsewhere. With a history of hospitalisation behind her in the States, Maeve felt that being with Murtagh was the ballast that kept her afloat and with the decision made, their fate was sealed.
Murtagh was a very talented potter but had difficulty in achieving an apprenticeship. When an opportunity arrived for him to take over the business of a famed ceramics master on Inis Óg, the Moones decided to take a chance. It would be a big move, especially for Maeve, as she was leaving her beloved stage behind but it was a decision she willingly made for Murtagh. After a wedding back in Brooklyn, they moved to the small island to start a new life together but Maeve had a caveat, almost a premonition…
“I’m in. I promise you. I know that there is more than one reason to go. But please can we be honest about how hard it’s going to be? You don’t have to always pretend you’re fearless about it, that it’s all going to be wonderful. I’d be much happier if we could admit it whenever we think it was all a terrible idea, which we will, without that having to mean we’re not going to stick it out. Do you get it? Let’s just be real about it. Otherwise, I know I’ll lose it altogether.”
The pottery was a great success and Murtagh’s reputation was cemented well beyond the borders of the small island they now called home. With four children, life was very busy for the Moones but as wonderful as the highs were, there were also some heart-breaking lows. Maeve suffered. Her mental health deteriorated over the years. She had her really good days and then the darkness came. Her children knew their mother was different from the other school gate mums. They knew something was amiss but Murtagh always stepped up and protected them from the times Maeve took to the bed or her mind travelled elsewhere. Maeve was a very creative soul. She was a wonderful mother, when present, with an excitable and positive approach to life that made her children believe anything was possible but the dark load that weighed her down sometimes took over and Maeve was no longer emotionally present.
When tragedy struck, the Moone family was ripped apart. The portrayal of this time is very vivid. The pain raw. The anguish pure heart-break. Helen Cullen’s writing, her descriptions, are truly breath-taking. It is a very emotional experience reading these pages as the descriptions create a very strong visual. I put down the book. I took a few deep breaths and I thought of everyone I love. A very affecting passage of the book.
Murtagh Moone struggles through the next few years. His inability to move on, his feelings of inadequacy as a father capable of raising a young family are palpable off the pages. His children rebel and go their different ways in the world, apart from Nollaig, the eldest. Nollaig comes home from Galway and stays with her father, looking after him. But Nollaig has her own difficulties and being home helps her to keep busy and to push them away.
As the years pass, a gentle light begins to shine and a sense of hope is unearthed in the most unexpected of places.
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually was a novel that took me completely by surprise. I knew I would be impacted by the story of Maeve and Murtagh but the scale of that impact was powerful. I devoured this book. My heart was battered on completion. I am Irish so I understood completely all the Irish references and it was very easy for me to visualise the island setting. The Currach boat was a powerful image on both the cover and within the story as was the weather, the islanders and the church.
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually deals with many difficult themes, which Helen Cullen sensitively handles. It is a deeply affecting read and the tragedy of this family is powerfully depicted. Motherhood is a challenge. Parenthood is a challenge. Mental health is a difficult issue to write about. Helen Cullen expertly weaves the threads of the Moone family together creating an almost overwhelming tale, one that will sit with me for quite some time.
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is a beautiful, enthralling and stunning piece of work, written with a very exquisite pen.
I wish Murtagh well and hope that his new found optimism for life remains with him forever, along with his memories of the wonderful Maeve Morelli from Brooklyn, New York.
“Here, people see the theatre student, the vinyl collector, the poet, Murtagh’s girlfriend, the American, the actress; so many different things, and none of them are the sick girl, or the far worse things we know some folk call me.
I can’t express how free that makes me feel. My body now is a vehicle for me to live and be happy in; not something I inhabit resentfully, judging it based on how I see others judge it”
May 5, 2021
CW: Suicide, death of parent, mental illness, depression, suicide ideation, homophobia
On Christmas Eve, Maeve Moone disappears and it's not long before her worried friends and family find her - and discover something awful. The story flips back to the start of Maeve's relationship with her husband Murtagh, their marriage and children, as well as how her death affect her husband and children after she's gone.
This is a book I couldn't really make my mind up about. From the start, the story deals very heavily with mental illness and you know the character of Maeve does take her own life - leaving a devastated family behind. Which means as you're reading the past storyline, you're doing it with a heavy heart, knowing what's coming for everyone, and the torture and pain Maeve is going to go through as her depression takes hold.
While I appreciate books shining a light on mental illness, and the terrible things it can do to a family, there was something about this story that made me feel uncomfortable. It may be because it seemed that Maeve (despite being treated as a teenager in the US) never seemed to seek help or her family never encouraged her to see someone and receive therapy or medication for her dark down days. And when you get Maeve's POV, her thoughts are very painful to read ("It's better to love a dead mother than a mad one" - no, on so many levels).
The LGBT storyline was one I did not see coming at all, and it did shock me a nit when I realised things were going that way but it was also lovely. I really liked seeing this type of storyline for a character who is older and coming into their own identity in a way that may have been impossible or even harder when they were younger. There was a sad scene of homophobia in the book near the end but it was made better by a rather wonderful lecture from the parish priest (who would have thought?) and a showing out of the village in support that brought a lump to my throat.
There were certainly elements of this book I liked but there were too many bits that made me feel weird and sad that I don't think I can articulate properly so it can't be higher than a 3-star for me.
I listened to this on audiobook narrated by Gerry O'Brien and wouldn't rate it highly either. The female voices, and American accents were a bit silly and painful.
On Christmas Eve, Maeve Moone disappears and it's not long before her worried friends and family find her - and discover something awful. The story flips back to the start of Maeve's relationship with her husband Murtagh, their marriage and children, as well as how her death affect her husband and children after she's gone.
This is a book I couldn't really make my mind up about. From the start, the story deals very heavily with mental illness and you know the character of Maeve does take her own life - leaving a devastated family behind. Which means as you're reading the past storyline, you're doing it with a heavy heart, knowing what's coming for everyone, and the torture and pain Maeve is going to go through as her depression takes hold.
While I appreciate books shining a light on mental illness, and the terrible things it can do to a family, there was something about this story that made me feel uncomfortable. It may be because it seemed that Maeve (despite being treated as a teenager in the US) never seemed to seek help or her family never encouraged her to see someone and receive therapy or medication for her dark down days. And when you get Maeve's POV, her thoughts are very painful to read ("It's better to love a dead mother than a mad one" - no, on so many levels).
The LGBT storyline was one I did not see coming at all, and it did shock me a nit when I realised things were going that way but it was also lovely. I really liked seeing this type of storyline for a character who is older and coming into their own identity in a way that may have been impossible or even harder when they were younger. There was a sad scene of homophobia in the book near the end but it was made better by a rather wonderful lecture from the parish priest (who would have thought?) and a showing out of the village in support that brought a lump to my throat.
There were certainly elements of this book I liked but there were too many bits that made me feel weird and sad that I don't think I can articulate properly so it can't be higher than a 3-star for me.
I listened to this on audiobook narrated by Gerry O'Brien and wouldn't rate it highly either. The female voices, and American accents were a bit silly and painful.
August 21, 2020
Although the story begins in the present day it feels like it is much further back in time. Murtagh, his wife Maeve and their four children live on a small island off the Irish coast, where life is pretty basic and the elements feel extreme. It seems more like the end of the story but tragedy is re-setting their lives in a new direction.
The story drops back to how the couple met thirty years before, the obvious differences between them and the choices that take them to the island and their lives together. You know early on that things are not normal in this household but there is a stigma that makes the family battle on turning a blind eye to gossip and accepting what life has thrown at them.
Maeve’s thoughts and feeling pour out from the chapters, her battles that exhaust her mentally and physically. The author captures how the lives of this not so normal family are affected. It is beautifully written, it is raw, heartbreaking, full of love and moving on. It is fear of having what you have and fear of losing it. It is life.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.
The story drops back to how the couple met thirty years before, the obvious differences between them and the choices that take them to the island and their lives together. You know early on that things are not normal in this household but there is a stigma that makes the family battle on turning a blind eye to gossip and accepting what life has thrown at them.
Maeve’s thoughts and feeling pour out from the chapters, her battles that exhaust her mentally and physically. The author captures how the lives of this not so normal family are affected. It is beautifully written, it is raw, heartbreaking, full of love and moving on. It is fear of having what you have and fear of losing it. It is life.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.
July 14, 2020
Murtaugh and Maeve meet as students in Dublin, where he is studying ceramics and she has come from the US to do a course in drama. So begins an epic love story with a dark undercurrent, for Maeve suffers from debilitating periods of deep depression when she completely shuts down. They take a risk and marry, she giving up her potential career as an actress to move with him to a wild island off the coast of Galway, where he can pursue his dream of becoming a successful potter. Here they raise four children, and Maeve struggles to keep a hold on everyday life, but tragedy awaits and the family must find a way to move forward.
The first part of the book was very engaging as the couple’s relationship develops and they struggle to hold their new life together. The effect of Maeve’s devastating illness and her terrible struggle with it is well portrayed and deeply moving, and the happier times shine out from the pages. The beautiful, simpler lifestyle of the small Irish community really comes alive. The second half of the book looks at the four children grown up and the aftermath of their mother’s decline, and here I felt it lost its edge, skimming over the lifestyle choices of the younger generation and giving Murtaugh a new beginning that I found rather jarring. A well-written and moving story that lost its way a little towards the end.
The first part of the book was very engaging as the couple’s relationship develops and they struggle to hold their new life together. The effect of Maeve’s devastating illness and her terrible struggle with it is well portrayed and deeply moving, and the happier times shine out from the pages. The beautiful, simpler lifestyle of the small Irish community really comes alive. The second half of the book looks at the four children grown up and the aftermath of their mother’s decline, and here I felt it lost its edge, skimming over the lifestyle choices of the younger generation and giving Murtaugh a new beginning that I found rather jarring. A well-written and moving story that lost its way a little towards the end.
August 6, 2021
I don't know why my library suddenly has a influx of family sagas that span 40 years and are set in Ireland and America but Im loving them all. Think I've found a new niche genre that just brings me comfort and a perfect to read on a rainy day.
June 25, 2024
at loss for words (4.5)
January 6, 2022
This terrific book by Irish author Helen Cullen felt like a very appropriate book for the day that’s in it (Nollaig na mBan) and for the time of year (Christmas and post-Christmas) - an emotional, gut punch of a read, a compassionate insight into mental illness, a brilliant story, it brought me to tears several times and I found it very hard to put it down. I loved it.
This book was published in 2020 and has flown somewhat under the radar I think? The title of the book is taken from an Emily Dickinson poem called “Tell all the truth but tell it slant”.
It is first and foremost a love story spanning five decades. Murtagh Moone, an artist and potter, meets aspiring actress Maeve Morelli, an American studying at Trinity College (not another Trinity novel 😅) in the late 1970s and they fall in love. Maeve has suffered all her life with chronic depression and despite her best efforts to keep it in check, it continues to plague her and its insidious effects spill over into family life and the lives of their four children, Nollaig, Dillon, Mossy and Sive.
Despite the heavy subject matter (and it comes with lots of TW), the book manages to juxtapose moments of devastating sadness with slivers of pure love and joy, which only serves to intensify the emotional impact of the story.
I loved the use of music and art peppered throughout the book, and the symbolism of kintsugi - the Japanese art of repairing pottery with powdered gold, silver and platinum, so that the cracks remain visible to show the history of an object rather than something to be disguised, giving it an enhanced beauty.
There are imperfections here and there, things that took me out of the story a little (i won’t say what for fear of spoilers), but clumsily borrowing the metaphor above, the imperfections and flaws form part of the beauty of this novel. The love contained within it makes it soar. Dazzling. 5/5 ⭐️
I knew nothing about the book going into it, and I would suggest going into it blind and letting yourself fall in love with the writing and the characters.
This book was published in 2020 and has flown somewhat under the radar I think? The title of the book is taken from an Emily Dickinson poem called “Tell all the truth but tell it slant”.
It is first and foremost a love story spanning five decades. Murtagh Moone, an artist and potter, meets aspiring actress Maeve Morelli, an American studying at Trinity College (not another Trinity novel 😅) in the late 1970s and they fall in love. Maeve has suffered all her life with chronic depression and despite her best efforts to keep it in check, it continues to plague her and its insidious effects spill over into family life and the lives of their four children, Nollaig, Dillon, Mossy and Sive.
Despite the heavy subject matter (and it comes with lots of TW), the book manages to juxtapose moments of devastating sadness with slivers of pure love and joy, which only serves to intensify the emotional impact of the story.
I loved the use of music and art peppered throughout the book, and the symbolism of kintsugi - the Japanese art of repairing pottery with powdered gold, silver and platinum, so that the cracks remain visible to show the history of an object rather than something to be disguised, giving it an enhanced beauty.
There are imperfections here and there, things that took me out of the story a little (i won’t say what for fear of spoilers), but clumsily borrowing the metaphor above, the imperfections and flaws form part of the beauty of this novel. The love contained within it makes it soar. Dazzling. 5/5 ⭐️
I knew nothing about the book going into it, and I would suggest going into it blind and letting yourself fall in love with the writing and the characters.
August 17, 2020
I loved this poignant character driven story. The writing is beautiful and the characters are well developed. We follow the lives of Maeve and Murtagh as they meet at University, marry, and have children. Maeve is American and is doing a semester at an Irish University when she falls in love with Murtagh and remains in Ireland rather than returning home. We are aware that there are some problems with Maeves’s mental health early on but she feels it is under control. Once they relocate to a small Irish island Maeve’s emotions and thoughts start to take over. She realizes that her dreams of being an actress will not happen and this is further reinforced when they have four children in a short span of time. When Maeve is unable to function Murtagh steps in and handles things for her. The love between Maeve and Murtagh is so well written and touching. As the years go by Maeve has good times and bad and she realizes what a toll this is taking on her family. Maeve makes a decision which completely rocks and changes the foundation of the family. The story spans three decades so we really get a sense of the dynamics of the family. The writing is very descriptive and atmospheric. As more years pass another decision is made by a family member that will either bring the family together or tear it apart. This book brings some important issues forward and I think they were told with great care. If you love family drama and slower character driven stories this one is for you. I really enjoyed this book and getting to know the Moone family.
April 12, 2022
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is the second book from Irish author Helen Cullen.
It tells the story of Murtagh and Maeve, a young couple from two different worlds who meet in Dublin in the 70’s and forge their lives together.
We join them as they move to an island off the west coast of Ireland to kickstart Murtagh’s career as a potter, have four children, struggle with Maeve’s lifelong depression, and intermittent feelings of loss at leaving her acting career behind to put her family first.
Firstly, this is a beautifully written book, with sumptuous prose throughout. I devoured it.
I love stories of families that span decades, and this was no different. I appreciated the setting, which changed through the years as the island slowly modernised with the times.
And most of all, I loved the gentle exploration of the trials and tribulations of everyday life for a couple and then a family, dealing with what was often a crippling health condition, especially in the times they lived through.
Obviously there’s a major content warning here for mental illness, but also suicide, so definitely one to approach with caution.
I think this would be a great choice for a book club, as it’s such a multi-layered read, with so many topics to discuss.
As I mentioned, there are certainly darker elements to the storyline but overwhelmingly, I think its main themes are that of hope, acceptance, and love.
Recommend!
It tells the story of Murtagh and Maeve, a young couple from two different worlds who meet in Dublin in the 70’s and forge their lives together.
We join them as they move to an island off the west coast of Ireland to kickstart Murtagh’s career as a potter, have four children, struggle with Maeve’s lifelong depression, and intermittent feelings of loss at leaving her acting career behind to put her family first.
Firstly, this is a beautifully written book, with sumptuous prose throughout. I devoured it.
I love stories of families that span decades, and this was no different. I appreciated the setting, which changed through the years as the island slowly modernised with the times.
And most of all, I loved the gentle exploration of the trials and tribulations of everyday life for a couple and then a family, dealing with what was often a crippling health condition, especially in the times they lived through.
Obviously there’s a major content warning here for mental illness, but also suicide, so definitely one to approach with caution.
I think this would be a great choice for a book club, as it’s such a multi-layered read, with so many topics to discuss.
As I mentioned, there are certainly darker elements to the storyline but overwhelmingly, I think its main themes are that of hope, acceptance, and love.
Recommend!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2020
Sometimes you read a book and know that it will stay with you for a lifetime. This is one of those books. It is profoundly moving about the complexities of the human heart and family dynamics and, on a personal level, it particularly made me feel differently about the difficult relationship I have with my mother.
Helen Cullen is an incredible writer and this is such a beautiful, thought provoking novel that I can't wait to discuss with other readers. The story really evolves in an unexpected ways but at the same time feel so perfectly right for the characters that I don't know why I was so surprised.
I LOVED IT - I CANNOT RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH!
Helen Cullen is an incredible writer and this is such a beautiful, thought provoking novel that I can't wait to discuss with other readers. The story really evolves in an unexpected ways but at the same time feel so perfectly right for the characters that I don't know why I was so surprised.
I LOVED IT - I CANNOT RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH!
December 13, 2020
A book that had tears flowing down my face when I finished.
June 24, 2020
Although the story begins in the present day it feels like it is much further back in time. Murtagh, his wife Maeve and their four children live on a small island off the Irish coast, where life is pretty basic and the elements feel extreme. It seems more like the end of the story but tragedy is re-setting their lives in a new direction.
The story drops back to how the couple met thirty years before, the obvious differences between them and the choices that take them to the island and their lives together. You know early on that things are not normal in this household but there is a stigma that makes the family battle on turning a blind eye to gossip and accepting what life has thrown at them.
Maeve’s thoughts and feeling pour out from the chapters, her battles that exhaust her mentally and physically. The author captures how the lives of this not so normal family are affected. It is beautifully written, it is raw, heartbreaking, full of love and moving on. It is fear of having what you have and fear of losing it. It is life.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.
The story drops back to how the couple met thirty years before, the obvious differences between them and the choices that take them to the island and their lives together. You know early on that things are not normal in this household but there is a stigma that makes the family battle on turning a blind eye to gossip and accepting what life has thrown at them.
Maeve’s thoughts and feeling pour out from the chapters, her battles that exhaust her mentally and physically. The author captures how the lives of this not so normal family are affected. It is beautifully written, it is raw, heartbreaking, full of love and moving on. It is fear of having what you have and fear of losing it. It is life.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.
June 17, 2021
Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Books & Helen Cullen for a copy of this novel exchange for an honest review.
This story follows Maeve and Murtagh Moone over 37 years. They first meet in Dublin at Trinity College where they quickly fall in love, get married and have children. You follow them and their stories to 2005 where tragedy strikes their family. You aren’t sure what’s happening until you start to see what’s been going on in their lives throughout this entire timeline.
I found the beginning to be a little slow. Stories that take place decades ago are very much not my cup of tea, and for that I thought it might’ve just been me. However, after we started to get closer to the reason why the tragedy happened the way it did, it really picked up well.
This story was very original. I loved learning about Maeve and Murtagh. Their stories were separate but together at the same time. Helen Cullen wrote hard hitting topics very well. There were a lot of mental health references that were able to be related to and that was very important for this type of story.
The feelings that this book has is sad, but also hopeful. It’s very sad to see how mental health can affect so much in one’s life, but it’s hopeful to see the potential of getting through these things and watching family come together.
This book reminded me of the movie Across the Universe which is the movie about the Beatles songs written in. It goes through the years, watching the characters, seeing their stories and where they end up all those years later. Sad, but hopeful. This was my first Helen Cullen novel, and even though it is something I normally wouldn’t go for, I’d definitely read another book of hers. The writing was done very well and I’d recommend this book those who really enjoy fiction stories with hard hitting topics.
This story follows Maeve and Murtagh Moone over 37 years. They first meet in Dublin at Trinity College where they quickly fall in love, get married and have children. You follow them and their stories to 2005 where tragedy strikes their family. You aren’t sure what’s happening until you start to see what’s been going on in their lives throughout this entire timeline.
I found the beginning to be a little slow. Stories that take place decades ago are very much not my cup of tea, and for that I thought it might’ve just been me. However, after we started to get closer to the reason why the tragedy happened the way it did, it really picked up well.
This story was very original. I loved learning about Maeve and Murtagh. Their stories were separate but together at the same time. Helen Cullen wrote hard hitting topics very well. There were a lot of mental health references that were able to be related to and that was very important for this type of story.
The feelings that this book has is sad, but also hopeful. It’s very sad to see how mental health can affect so much in one’s life, but it’s hopeful to see the potential of getting through these things and watching family come together.
This book reminded me of the movie Across the Universe which is the movie about the Beatles songs written in. It goes through the years, watching the characters, seeing their stories and where they end up all those years later. Sad, but hopeful. This was my first Helen Cullen novel, and even though it is something I normally wouldn’t go for, I’d definitely read another book of hers. The writing was done very well and I’d recommend this book those who really enjoy fiction stories with hard hitting topics.
November 6, 2025
Setting: Galway, Irish Republic; 1978-2015.
This is the story of the Moone family - Murtagh and Maeve and their four children Nollaig, Tomas (Mossy), Dillon and Sive - who live on a small island off the Irish coast near Galway.
The tale starts in 2005 when Maeve goes missing on Christmas Eve - and is later found drowned. The story then loops back to 1968, when Maeve and Murtagh first meet, and traces their growing relationship, eventual marriage and the move to the island, where Murtagh takes on a pottery studio and they have four children. Largely, their life is happy but always lurking in the background is the depression that has haunted Maeve for the whole of her life...
This was another excellent example of Irish fiction - great characters and descriptions of family life, centred around the Irish 'mammy', in this case Maeve, and several great story threads which stretch beyond Maeve's death and demonstrate the impact that her life (and death) have on the other members of the family. Superbly heartfelt prose, as I have come to expect from Irish fiction - 9.5/10.
This is the story of the Moone family - Murtagh and Maeve and their four children Nollaig, Tomas (Mossy), Dillon and Sive - who live on a small island off the Irish coast near Galway.
The tale starts in 2005 when Maeve goes missing on Christmas Eve - and is later found drowned. The story then loops back to 1968, when Maeve and Murtagh first meet, and traces their growing relationship, eventual marriage and the move to the island, where Murtagh takes on a pottery studio and they have four children. Largely, their life is happy but always lurking in the background is the depression that has haunted Maeve for the whole of her life...
This was another excellent example of Irish fiction - great characters and descriptions of family life, centred around the Irish 'mammy', in this case Maeve, and several great story threads which stretch beyond Maeve's death and demonstrate the impact that her life (and death) have on the other members of the family. Superbly heartfelt prose, as I have come to expect from Irish fiction - 9.5/10.
November 26, 2025
A beautiful and sensitively written novel. I was completely drawn into the world of the Moons, from the devastating opening chapter, through the joyful chapters about Murtagh and Maeve meeting, falling in love, marrying and bringing up a family. The theme of mental health running through their lives is however heartbreaking.
I did feel the middle part of the book was a little weaker - wondering if it was going anywhere and how long it would take, however the later 'twist' I didn't see coming, but loved and retrospectively appreciated earlier unappreciated chapters. Themes of mental health, sexuality, family dynamics, parenting are all covered sensitively, delicately and with warmth.
I did feel the middle part of the book was a little weaker - wondering if it was going anywhere and how long it would take, however the later 'twist' I didn't see coming, but loved and retrospectively appreciated earlier unappreciated chapters. Themes of mental health, sexuality, family dynamics, parenting are all covered sensitively, delicately and with warmth.
April 5, 2021
I think it's more 3 and 1/2 than just a 3! But not quite a 4! A sad read but I couldn't put it down. A little bit cheesy in parts but at the same time some very real characters going through their own mental challenges.
September 10, 2020
Helen Cullen’s second novel is a family drama unlike any I have read before. Although it opens with a shocking, tragic event, the main action of the story unfurls slowly and beautifully, with stunning attention to detail. The author carefully builds up a picture of the protagonists Murtagh and Maeve Moone, from their student days in Dublin to their family life on the small island of Inis Óg.
As we move back in time to Murtagh and Maeve’s first meeting and watch their blossoming relationship, it is clear that these are characters we can root for. There is a tendency in contemporary fiction to create deeply problematic, unlikeable protagonists-as-antagonists, and I have to admit, it was a refreshing change to find myself falling deeply in love with the characters right from the start. Murtagh and Maeve are not perfect by any means, but they are self-aware enough to own up to their shortcomings, and they are both empathetic, compassionate people. To read about such characters at this specific time is a balm. (I will add that by this point I was already sufficiently enamoured with Cullen’s writing to immediately order her first novel, The Lost Letters of William Woolf, which I am very much looking forward to.)
I was particularly struck with the young Maeve’s level of understanding of her mental illness. For me, it worked well that at the point we meet Maeve, alongside Murtagh, she already has a series of strategies to cope with her anxiety and depression, the “crow” that settles on her shoulder and which takes on increasing importance in the novel. That she initially hides it from Murtagh adds credibility; she has accepted her illness, but is unsure whether others will be able to. Murtagh’s reaction when he finally learns the truth is depicted with outstanding sensitivity and accuracy: he is sympathetic, of course, but he cannot fully comprehend what he is being told, and he is sure that it can be ‘fixed’. As someone who has had to attempt to explain my own depression and anxiety to well-meaning friends and family, my heart broke for Maeve on many occasions in this book. There is no universal experience, of course, something Maeve herself expresses much more eloquently than I could, but for me, her struggles resonated as deeply authentic.
The move to Inis Óg allows Cullen to fully stretch her descriptive wings, painting achingly beautiful word-portraits of the island and the house that Murtagh and Maeve move into, so that Murtagh can take up his apprenticeship under the island’s resident potter. Cullen’s prose sings, and both the island’s rugged beauty and the cottage’s transformation under the Moones’ stewardship give ample opportunity to display the very best of her poetic sentences.
This book is packed with the tender ephemera of life, the objects surrounding us which we imbue with meaning, from the records Maeve, an American, has her mother ship over, to the pots Murtagh lovingly creates, to the beloved leopard print coat of their youngest daughter. The importance of things, not as materialistic symbols but as deeply sentimental items, is something Cullen captures better than any novelist I have read in recent times. Sitting now in our homes, with our belongings linking us to memories of happier times, this feels all the more profound.
As their family grows, the cloud that Maeve’s mental fragility casts over them all is explored with exquisitely painful realism. Holidays and days out are put in jeopardy; the teenage children endure taunts about their “mad Ma” and Murtagh steadfastly believes that better days are ahead, that the strength of their love and their family bond will save everything. Alongside this, other characters come into their lives, inhabitants of and visitors to the island, and each one adds another layer of meaning to the story. The children, Nollaig, Mossy, Dillon and Sive, are each nuanced and well-developed characters, their distinct personalities carrying echoes of their parents, but newly-shaped. The Moone family is utterly absorbing, and I was sad to say goodbye to them at the end of the novel.
Several times in the book, the Japanese art of kintsugi – the process in which broken ceramics are repaired with gold or silver lacquer – is referenced, and I was completely overjoyed to see that Cullen seems to have the same association of this work with the perfect Leonard Cohen lyric that pictures of kintsugi always call to my mind: There is a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in. I don’t think the author could have hit upon a more beautiful metaphor for what this book expresses. Indeed, Cullen’s novel is in itself a form of kintsugi – it broke my heart into pieces several times, but always made it whole again. The scars and cracks are where we find the beauty, and the dazzling truth.
As we move back in time to Murtagh and Maeve’s first meeting and watch their blossoming relationship, it is clear that these are characters we can root for. There is a tendency in contemporary fiction to create deeply problematic, unlikeable protagonists-as-antagonists, and I have to admit, it was a refreshing change to find myself falling deeply in love with the characters right from the start. Murtagh and Maeve are not perfect by any means, but they are self-aware enough to own up to their shortcomings, and they are both empathetic, compassionate people. To read about such characters at this specific time is a balm. (I will add that by this point I was already sufficiently enamoured with Cullen’s writing to immediately order her first novel, The Lost Letters of William Woolf, which I am very much looking forward to.)
I was particularly struck with the young Maeve’s level of understanding of her mental illness. For me, it worked well that at the point we meet Maeve, alongside Murtagh, she already has a series of strategies to cope with her anxiety and depression, the “crow” that settles on her shoulder and which takes on increasing importance in the novel. That she initially hides it from Murtagh adds credibility; she has accepted her illness, but is unsure whether others will be able to. Murtagh’s reaction when he finally learns the truth is depicted with outstanding sensitivity and accuracy: he is sympathetic, of course, but he cannot fully comprehend what he is being told, and he is sure that it can be ‘fixed’. As someone who has had to attempt to explain my own depression and anxiety to well-meaning friends and family, my heart broke for Maeve on many occasions in this book. There is no universal experience, of course, something Maeve herself expresses much more eloquently than I could, but for me, her struggles resonated as deeply authentic.
The move to Inis Óg allows Cullen to fully stretch her descriptive wings, painting achingly beautiful word-portraits of the island and the house that Murtagh and Maeve move into, so that Murtagh can take up his apprenticeship under the island’s resident potter. Cullen’s prose sings, and both the island’s rugged beauty and the cottage’s transformation under the Moones’ stewardship give ample opportunity to display the very best of her poetic sentences.
This book is packed with the tender ephemera of life, the objects surrounding us which we imbue with meaning, from the records Maeve, an American, has her mother ship over, to the pots Murtagh lovingly creates, to the beloved leopard print coat of their youngest daughter. The importance of things, not as materialistic symbols but as deeply sentimental items, is something Cullen captures better than any novelist I have read in recent times. Sitting now in our homes, with our belongings linking us to memories of happier times, this feels all the more profound.
As their family grows, the cloud that Maeve’s mental fragility casts over them all is explored with exquisitely painful realism. Holidays and days out are put in jeopardy; the teenage children endure taunts about their “mad Ma” and Murtagh steadfastly believes that better days are ahead, that the strength of their love and their family bond will save everything. Alongside this, other characters come into their lives, inhabitants of and visitors to the island, and each one adds another layer of meaning to the story. The children, Nollaig, Mossy, Dillon and Sive, are each nuanced and well-developed characters, their distinct personalities carrying echoes of their parents, but newly-shaped. The Moone family is utterly absorbing, and I was sad to say goodbye to them at the end of the novel.
Several times in the book, the Japanese art of kintsugi – the process in which broken ceramics are repaired with gold or silver lacquer – is referenced, and I was completely overjoyed to see that Cullen seems to have the same association of this work with the perfect Leonard Cohen lyric that pictures of kintsugi always call to my mind: There is a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in. I don’t think the author could have hit upon a more beautiful metaphor for what this book expresses. Indeed, Cullen’s novel is in itself a form of kintsugi – it broke my heart into pieces several times, but always made it whole again. The scars and cracks are where we find the beauty, and the dazzling truth.
June 22, 2020
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
'𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒, '𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑, '𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚.'
The Moone’s first meet in 1978 when both are students at Trinity College in Dublin. The thing Murtagh notices initially is Maeve’s tomato-red suede platforms, her beauty, her low pitched whine and her American accent. He doesn’t realize it yet, but this woman from Brooklyn is fated to be his wife. An actress on scholarship for the summer is about to fall for Murtagh, future potter studying ceramics, and her future husband. Something about the man softens her rough edges, and he has no idea how much she has endured just to get to where she is now standing. In short time, Maeve decides not to return to America, to make a go of schooling at Trinity for her final year and to invest her heart in Murtagh. It is the first time she has been free of her former self, here she can become something other than the troubled girl.
Murtagh would have her even if she were a complex puzzle missing all the vital pieces. He is besotted, even if she seems to push him away, mysteriously. He is going to learn how to love her, he won’t be put off, and it will be trial. Her truth will bond them closer, they will both be better for it.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.
They make a decision to move to a cottage on the island of Inis Óg, a chance Murtagh would be crazy to pass up. Even if it means Maeve has to alter her plans, so he can have a thriving pottery business. Through it all she sees her dream of the stage fading away, but from the first this cottage feels like home. She refuses to indulge her sorrows, but they do return. The island itself lends a moody atmosphere. She finds an outlet for her creativity, her love of the acting, but will it be enough? Of course Murtagh feels it’s important for her to have something of her own. Years pass…
2005 It’s Christmas Eve and Queen Maeve, as as Murtagh affectionately calls his wife, overseas their family’s many activities and traditions. Their children Nollaig and Siv (girls) and their twin boys Mossy and Dillon, are well tended by their mother who reigns supreme. Maybe it isn’t perfect, but it is a home of love, warmth. This morning as everyone awakens, Murtagh’s wife isn’t on her side of the bed. Surely if she slipped out for a walk, she’d be back by now. His nerves begin to rise as they look for her.
We start at the beginning of their love, and the many trials in between. The family crashes into a wall of grief, but Murtagh’s journey must continue on and his heart alters them all in unpredictable ways. Shaking the foundations of the island and his grown children’s world, his affections give rise to many torments. Maeve may well have had many periods when ‘the crow came to sit on her shoulder’ (I can’t think of a more fitting symbolism for depression) times that stole her focus away from everything in her life, but she knew her family better than they knew themselves, her beloved Murtagh in particular. The children suffer, through no fault of Maeve nor Murtagh’s, how can you lay blame on a disease that most of us don’t understand. It’s the illness, there are times it overtakes despite her best efforts to remain on an even keel. There are good times, there are bad times. ‘These thoughts run relay races in my mind’, and Maeve can’t always master them. Pills aren’t always the answer, so she attempts to expunge these thoughts through her own methods. Sadly, some ‘spells’ last longer than others, and it’s exhausting for her. It’s so exhausting pretending she is fine, hurting those she loves. It’s nothing new, it’s always been a part of her life, the very darkness that worried her parents when she first traveled to Dublin as a young woman.
Other strained relationships make more sense as the novel goes along. The beauty of the story is the hope of love, the refusal to abandon it. Loving people even when darkness descends, selfless love. We can’t cure all that ails us, anymore than we can save those we love from themselves, from their afflictions. But we truly never have to lose people if we can accept them, broken, lost, confused as they may be. Murtagh’s love for Maeve is never in doubt, not even at the end when it changes direction with the wind. It’s heartbreaking, Maeve’s dark crow times, how it affects the entire family and the struggles Murtagh confronts in trying to hold them all together. How he doesn’t always see what is in front of his eyes. It’s not about pity, it’s about one family’s journey. A story of loving differently, and how that challenges us all.
Publication Date: August 18, 2020
Harlequin
Graydon House
'𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒, '𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑, '𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚.'
The Moone’s first meet in 1978 when both are students at Trinity College in Dublin. The thing Murtagh notices initially is Maeve’s tomato-red suede platforms, her beauty, her low pitched whine and her American accent. He doesn’t realize it yet, but this woman from Brooklyn is fated to be his wife. An actress on scholarship for the summer is about to fall for Murtagh, future potter studying ceramics, and her future husband. Something about the man softens her rough edges, and he has no idea how much she has endured just to get to where she is now standing. In short time, Maeve decides not to return to America, to make a go of schooling at Trinity for her final year and to invest her heart in Murtagh. It is the first time she has been free of her former self, here she can become something other than the troubled girl.
Murtagh would have her even if she were a complex puzzle missing all the vital pieces. He is besotted, even if she seems to push him away, mysteriously. He is going to learn how to love her, he won’t be put off, and it will be trial. Her truth will bond them closer, they will both be better for it.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.
They make a decision to move to a cottage on the island of Inis Óg, a chance Murtagh would be crazy to pass up. Even if it means Maeve has to alter her plans, so he can have a thriving pottery business. Through it all she sees her dream of the stage fading away, but from the first this cottage feels like home. She refuses to indulge her sorrows, but they do return. The island itself lends a moody atmosphere. She finds an outlet for her creativity, her love of the acting, but will it be enough? Of course Murtagh feels it’s important for her to have something of her own. Years pass…
2005 It’s Christmas Eve and Queen Maeve, as as Murtagh affectionately calls his wife, overseas their family’s many activities and traditions. Their children Nollaig and Siv (girls) and their twin boys Mossy and Dillon, are well tended by their mother who reigns supreme. Maybe it isn’t perfect, but it is a home of love, warmth. This morning as everyone awakens, Murtagh’s wife isn’t on her side of the bed. Surely if she slipped out for a walk, she’d be back by now. His nerves begin to rise as they look for her.
We start at the beginning of their love, and the many trials in between. The family crashes into a wall of grief, but Murtagh’s journey must continue on and his heart alters them all in unpredictable ways. Shaking the foundations of the island and his grown children’s world, his affections give rise to many torments. Maeve may well have had many periods when ‘the crow came to sit on her shoulder’ (I can’t think of a more fitting symbolism for depression) times that stole her focus away from everything in her life, but she knew her family better than they knew themselves, her beloved Murtagh in particular. The children suffer, through no fault of Maeve nor Murtagh’s, how can you lay blame on a disease that most of us don’t understand. It’s the illness, there are times it overtakes despite her best efforts to remain on an even keel. There are good times, there are bad times. ‘These thoughts run relay races in my mind’, and Maeve can’t always master them. Pills aren’t always the answer, so she attempts to expunge these thoughts through her own methods. Sadly, some ‘spells’ last longer than others, and it’s exhausting for her. It’s so exhausting pretending she is fine, hurting those she loves. It’s nothing new, it’s always been a part of her life, the very darkness that worried her parents when she first traveled to Dublin as a young woman.
Other strained relationships make more sense as the novel goes along. The beauty of the story is the hope of love, the refusal to abandon it. Loving people even when darkness descends, selfless love. We can’t cure all that ails us, anymore than we can save those we love from themselves, from their afflictions. But we truly never have to lose people if we can accept them, broken, lost, confused as they may be. Murtagh’s love for Maeve is never in doubt, not even at the end when it changes direction with the wind. It’s heartbreaking, Maeve’s dark crow times, how it affects the entire family and the struggles Murtagh confronts in trying to hold them all together. How he doesn’t always see what is in front of his eyes. It’s not about pity, it’s about one family’s journey. A story of loving differently, and how that challenges us all.
Publication Date: August 18, 2020
Harlequin
Graydon House
May 27, 2023
Ganz große Liebe
August 26, 2020
The Dazzling Truth: A Novel by Helen Cullen is a new book set in Ireland. The setting sounds beautiful on a small island in Ireland. Especially during this pandemic, it is nice to still be able to travel through stories. I enjoyed that one of the main characters was a potter and that is not a profession which is mentioned in a lot of books. This story spans over several years to tell about a young couple and their growing family. This fictional book gives a very real portrayal of mental illness. It shows the effects on a young woman and then how her decisions shape the lives of her family. I personally did not enjoy this book. After reading 80% of the book, the storyline completely changed directions. The summary felt misleading for this book and its content. Thanks to Graydon House via Netgalley for this review copy.
October 18, 2020
Big themes here: love and grief and acceptance. Too many probably for a shortish book, and implausible in places, unexplained in others. But for all that it’s incredibly moving occasionally. Probably 3.5 stars
June 19, 2021
I found this overwritten and mawkish. It never really came alive for me. I never quite believed it.
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