The Birthday Party by Roisin Meaney

3.5 Stars

We've been to the idyllic Island of Roone several times now but I found it odd that I really didn't recognise many of the characters.  What should have felt like coming home actually felt like I was starting a whole new series but somewhere in the middle so all these characters that should have felt familiar to me were strangers.  It wasn't until Laura graced the pages that I started to get a handle on the whole thing again and even then it was tentative to say the least.

My biggest issue with the book was what on earth happened to Roone?

It used to be such a happy little island.  Sure people had real world problems but somehow there was always a sense of optimism surrounding them and you knew that no matter what tragedy befell them somehow their sheer pluck and vivacity would pull them through - Laura's bounceback from Breast Cancer, the great storm, etc..  This time it genuinely felt like a different, doomladen place.  Talk of suicides off the cliff edge, ostracism within the community, friendships dramatically going off the rails.

The only little glimmers of hope were the wonderful Italian gentleman (whose name I am struggling to remember how to spell so lets just refer to him as Walter).  He embodied the joie de vivre that the island used to have and has now lost.  His delight in the simple things was a real tonic and whenever we got to visit with him it lifted the whole book - even if we only ever got his tale second hand.  Everything else is just grim, including the eponymous Birthday Party.

Roisin Meaney certainly understands people though and although this novel kind of ruined the whole Roone ethos nobody acts in a way which is unbelievable.  Maybe that is the problem, it shows people at their worst and because the author is so good at people it makes it uncomfortable to read.  Whichever, I found that although I appreciated the vignettes it didn't make me happy and when I pick up a Roone book I expect some joy and there was little of that be found here.