Title: Ask Again, Yes
Author: Mary Beth Keane
Published: May 2019, Scribner
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Source: Publisher
Summary:
A profoundly moving
novel about two neighboring families in a suburban town, the friendship
between their children, a tragedy that reverberates over four decades,
and the power of forgiveness.
Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope
are two NYPD rookies assigned to the same Bronx precinct in 1973. They
aren’t close friends on the job, but end up living next door to each
other outside the city. What goes on behind closed doors in both
houses—the loneliness of Francis’s wife, Lena, and the instability of
Brian’s wife, Anne, sets the stage for the stunning events to come.
Ask
Again, Yes by award-winning author Mary Beth Keane, is a beautifully
moving exploration of the friendship and love that blossoms between
Francis’s youngest daughter, Kate, and Brian’s son, Peter, who are born
six months apart. In the spring of Kate and Peter’s eighth grade year a
violent event divides the neighbors, the Stanhopes are forced to move
away, and the children are forbidden to have any further contact.
But
Kate and Peter find a way back to each other, and their relationship is
tested by the echoes from their past. Ask Again, Yes reveals how the
events of childhood look different when reexamined from the distance of
adulthood—villains lose their menace, and those who appeared innocent
seem less so. Kate and Peter’s love story is marked by tenderness,
generosity, and grace.
My thoughts: I picked up this gem at BookExpo this past Spring and I was so excited to get to meet the author, albeit very briefly, while getting this book signed. I love family sagas and knew I had to pick this one up!
I absolutely loved this book! I loved the story, I loved the writing and I loved the characters and that is definitely what this book is all about – the characters. This book is very much character driven and I was all for it. That’s not to say that there aren’t some incidents that drive the plot forward, because there are, but to me, this book was all about the characters and their actions.
This story just pulls you in right from the start and you become utterly consumed with the Stanhope and Gleeson families. I found myself at times cheering them on and then questioning their decisions. I felt like I was right there alongside them as they went through all the trials and tribulations of their lives, and believe me, there are some tough times they go through. I liked how the story started in the 1970’s and we got to know Francis and Brian when they were rookie cops as they were just starting out in their careers, and then we see them as they start their families and move onto the same street. While they are not what you would consider to be “best” buds, their children, Kate and Peter, end up being so until a tragic event changes everything.
I loved the different family dynamics that this book tackles. It’s relatable, complex, messy and real. This definitely comes into play after “the event” and you really see it impact Kate and Peter the most.
This book is an emotional read for sure, but one that sparks so many different thoughts and feelings. It’s both heartbreaking and hopeful. And it inspires you to think what it really means to forgive. I highly recommend picking this one up…it’s a must-read in my book!
