The farm family in backward, twentieth century Donegal didn't value daughters. So Ruby who didn't suit hotel work, laboured on the farm next to her father, hoping not to be packed off to a convent. When her father dies she's in her thirties, and her mother sells the cattle, pleased to keep Ruby as a housemaid. Will THE GODFORSAKEN DAUGHTER ever come into her own?
Henry Shevlin is a psychologist, who has relocated following the disappearance of his wife in 1983. In one of life's strange twists, he may never understand why she went for a walk and took her passport, choosing to vanish. He joins a small practice, based in Derry. His patients are on drink or drugs to help them cope with life. As usual, he gets far too wrapped up in his work. Is this a clue as to why his wife vanished?
Ruby unearths a case of her grandmother's fortune telling equipment in the cluttered attic. She starts to understand that the time has come for the worm to turn. But she's unpaid and uneducated, unvalued by anyone. Who would be interested in her? And will her worldly sisters spoil all her new plans?
There are scenes of earthy comedy and more of touching drama in THE GODFORSAKEN DAUGHTER which demonstrates how at one time women had no individual identity. Contrasts abound, between people from rural areas and Belfast City, the unquestioning devotion to Church and the new idols of John Lennon and footballer George Best. Christina McKenna is a Northern Irish writer who tries to portray some realities of the past as well as hope for the future. Those interested in women's fiction or an unusual tale of country living in Ireland will enjoy the read.
When Ruby Clare's father was alive, they toiled together
happily on their dairy farm in Northern Ireland. Since his
death, Rubyβthirty-three, plump but comelyβhas been forced
indoors and made a domestic drudge for Martha, her
endlessly critical mother, and her prettier younger
sisters, May and June.
But everything changes when Ruby finds her late
grandmother's old case in the attic. Among its strange
contents: a curious, handmade volume called The Book of
Light.
As Ruby delves into its mysterious pages, she's enticed
into a most beguiling world, whose allure and magnetic
power she finds irresistible.
Martha, convinced that her newly empowered daughter is
going crazy, enlists the help of the kindly parish priest,
and then psychiatrist Henry Shevlin. Henry appears
imperturbable, yet is inwardly reeling from his wife's
unexplained disappearance the previous year.
As Ruby undergoes therapy, she meets local bachelor farmer
Jamie McCloone. Through their shared loneliness and
isolation the two find the courage to connect. But will
Ruby's mother allow her daughter the happiness she so
richly deserves?
The Godforsaken Daughter is an unforgettable peek into
small-town life in Ireland's recent past. It's a glorious
successor to McKenna's first two βTailorstownβ novels, The
Misremembered Man and The Disenchanted Widow.
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