Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, two rookie cops in the NYPD, live next door to each other outside the city. What happens 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 explosive events to come.
Ask Again, Yes is a deeply affecting exploration of the lifelong friendship and love that blossoms between Francis and Lena’s daughter, Kate, and Brian and Anne’s son, Peter. Luminous, heartbreaking, and redemptive, Ask Again, Yes reveals the way childhood memories change when viewed from the distance of adulthood—villains lose their menace and those who appeared innocent seem less so. Kate and Peter’s love story, while tested by echoes from the past, is marked by tenderness, generosity, and grace. (Summary and pic from goodreads.com)
My Review: There are moments in every life where you are completely
aware—even right when it is happening—that this will change things forever.
Sometimes that’s true right before something happens as well. Those situations
are so interesting—because of the very nature of what they are, it gives them a
level of gravitas that is both appropriate but also sometimes unpredictable.
Even when a life-changing situation is happening (for example, something
obvious like marriage or death or childbirth), sometimes it is hard to see how
it will alter things, both for the good and for ill. This is true with both
good and bad events. Sometimes a bad event will lead to something good in the
end. Sometimes a good event will lead to something bad in the end. I think
that’s part of the apprehension when one of those Moments happens. Maybe we
just don’t know how it will actually change things.
If you think I’m waxing more philosophical than usual,
I’d have to say that this book gave me the opportunity to do so. This book
starts out with two families, both husbands are cops, and they are neighbors in
the suburbs. When tragedy strikes, it changes everything, and that change
extends through generations of both families.
Let’s stop there for now. This book has some seriously
tragic situations. There are always innocent victims, and this book had plenty
of them. There were lots of victims who weren’t necessarily innocent, either,
and yet they paid a steep price for mistakes they had made or actions they were
witness to. I think one of the things I really enjoyed about this book is how
real and raw it felt. There was serious difficulty encountered by all of the
characters, albeit to different levels. No one was immune. I felt like this was
a very realistic-feeling set-up. Too often in books it seems like just the main
character suffers while everyone else is excluded from the drama. This just
isn’t so. Even when a person isn’t necessarily personally involved in the
drama, they are affected, especially if they were witness to it or related to
those who were primarily involved. It’s so hard. Obviously this doesn’t mean
that all people face the same level of trials and difficulties. No. Some people
really have a hard time and it is disproportionate to what others have to face.
However, I think it’s important to remember that each person is fighting their
own fight.
This book had a lot of redemption in it, which I
appreciated, and I really appreciated that the redemption was not
all-encompassing. Some things just cannot be undone. However, how long does
someone have to pay for a past mistake, no matter how grievous? That was
certainly a question this book addressed, and as the reader you could feel
yourself understanding and also making your own judgments about people and the comeuppance
they received (or didn’t receive).
I enjoyed the writing in this book. The narrative style
was quiet and moving in that it kept the story going without being overly
flowery or excessive. I like books that just sweep you up into the world and
take you with them. Slice of life books, like this one, are particularly
well-done when you don’t feel like the writing is getting in the way of the
story.
I really enjoyed this book, and I think it would be a
good book club book because there is certainly a lot of discussion to be had.
It walks that thin but delicious line of making it seem like the answers should
be obvious, and yet they’re not. Keane does a great job of making us question
our pre-conceived notions about punishment and blame and forgiveness. I love
that. It’s one of the things that I love about reading—help me challenge what I
think. Help me understand how another person thinks. Let me walk a mile in
someone else’s shoes. Yes.
My Rating: 4 Stars
For the sensitive
reader: There is some language and an incident of violence. There are also some
mild discussions of sex. Overall I would say the content is pretty standard for the genre.
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