The Gathering by Anne Enright

Actual Tagline of book: A moving, evocative portrait of a large Irish Family haunted by the past.

My (way more realistic) tagline: If you'd like to know what's motivating your actions, then why don't you ask your penis and/or vagina?

Honestly, I got so sick of every action of this book centering on sex. If someone had the urge to do the dishes, it was because of some burning desire in their loins. When one character meets another for the first time, not only do they picture the other naked, but the desired knows she's being pictured naked and loves it. And may I add that most of the sexual stuff was about the main character's grandmother? A direct quote, "When I was in college, I decided that Ada (her grandmother) had been a prostitute-the way you do." No, Veronica, I don't actually. Because NOBODY spends time imagining their grandma as a prostitute. But, I suppose I am getting ahead of myself, without further ado i present The Gathering: A review by Allison Noelle Sanchez:

This novel centers around Veronica, a middle-aged Irish woman from a very large family, whose brother has recently killed himself. As Veronica deals with her grief and guilt over the coming months she stops sleeping, becomes alienated from her children and husband and spends a great deal of time focusing on an obsession with her past. Namely, a past that revolves around her grandmother, Ada. Memories float through the narrative in non-linear fashion, some real (her childhood memories at her grandparents house) and many imagined (like her grandparents having sex on their wedding night).

I am torn about my feelings toward this novel. There were revelations about family behavior that I found brilliant and reread several times. Like the passage,

"Sitting on the Brighton train I am trying to put a timetable on my brother's drinking. Drink was not his problem, but it did become his problem, eventually, which was a relief to everyone concerned. 'I'm a bit worried about his drinking,'-so after awhile, no one could hear a thing he said, anymore."

And yet, there were also lot's of parts that i just found repetitive and boring. I found her sexual musings about her grandmother odd and ridiculous. When Veronica talks about memories or imaginings she breaks into this omniscent narrator voice and describes in detail events that she could not have witnessed personally, let alone get close enough to hear characters' thoughts. The author plays alot with memory and is constantly shifting her thoughts mid-sentance. I found this tool interesting at first. For instance, she starts describing she and her brother seeing her grandfathers body at a wake. Then suddenly she realizes it couldn't have been just the two of them there, another sister must have been there. And then she adds the sister into the narrative revising the earlier memory. While I enjoy the play on percieved versus real memory. This device was used so many times, that I started to get annoyed. This happened with lot's of things in the novel, the author does bring up an interesting point or idea, and then it's like if you don't get the point that is clearly spelled out the first few times? Don't worry the author will push that point home a few hundred more times to make sure you get it.

If you do decide to read this novel I will summarize the final 50 pages to save you some time:

So maybe none of that stuff that I remember happened. But it probably did. Except not most of it, I mean some memories have to be true. Or maybe not. I mean they probably happened. Unless they didn't. Maybe Ill go to spain. No i wont. Im gonna go home and have a baby with my husband. I hate him. but i love him. no i dont. Maybe ill go to scotland. On second thought, none of my memories are true. Yes, they are. No they aren't. They could be. Maybe they couldnt be. LIFE IS A BEUTIFUL MESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. (maybe not?) so just ignore everything i said. WAIT fooled you again, it was all true. haha no most of it wasn't. but some of it was......

Verdict: This novel felt like a great short story or novella that tried to stetch itself into an entire novel. It was tedious to get though and way too freudian for my tastes.