Book of the Month: Ask Again, Yes By Mary Beth Keane

Welcome to the Book of the Month! I asked last time about whether to talk about a few in one post or just one book per BOM post and it looks like the vote goes for a combination of both approaches. So, let's try that. I feel like knowing me there are some books I will feel so strongly about as to want to dedicate one post too, anyway. So this format works. And today's book feels like one of those books. 


Ask again, Yes starts with two NYPD cops, Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhorpe. They eventually become neighbors in the suburbs and the peculiarities of what happens in each home one night sets the stage for explosive events that will ripple through generations. 





What makes it even more complicated is that the son (Peter) of Brian and the  daughter (Kate) of Francis and Brian become best friends and after the worst nights of their lives, they  have to figure whether and how to climb back from that to rebuild their destined fate. So though it starts with Francis and Brian, we come to realize that this really is a story about Kate and Peter, and we will come to admire Peter's fortitude, his temperament, and his generosity. We will come to love Kate's stubbornness, her brilliance, and her doggedness. 


This is quite a beautiful book. Slowly peeling off layers, page after page of each of the characters. The main themes are mental health, love, family, friendship. But for me, the biggest theme of this book is forgiveness. Throughout reading this book, I found myself asking [of that pairing] why. Why?  Forgiveness does not mean reconciliation, necessarily. So, why? But I was proven wrong. It turns out that so much is within our power. It turns out we can choose peace, we can choose joy, we can choose perspective even after the worst has happened to us. And that in fact, after the worst has happened is often the best time to choose perspective. 


Funny thing, that forgiveness. It's almost as if it sets you, the forgiver, freer than even the forgiven. I took away from this book the impact of not caring what people think. For good and for bad. In that, you have to be willing to live with the consequence of your actions. I also weirdly took away how crucial it is to be willing to adapt, to accept our new normal. Sometimes, the perfectly planned life we lay out for ourselves falls by the way side. And that willingness to accept and welcome the life that is waiting for us is almost what sets apart those who thrive from those who don't. I, for one, am a person who loves to have control so I struggle with this.


Although not as clear as the other themes, time feels like a main character in this book. Time just almost always makes everything better.  I mean that in the sense we all know. But I also mean that as in with the passage and gift of time, medical science has advanced so that we are all the better for it. So that mental health problems that used be passed from one generation to another and to another, wrecking havoc in its way, can be disrupted with one prescription. How beautiful? 


What a heartfelt book. Mary Beth Keane wrote this book that draws you in so much you could swear you live on the same block as the Gleesons and the Stanhorpes. You are angry. You root for them. Your heart swells for them. You know them. Almost every little detail she gave mattered. A multifaceted story that brings together multiple parts. 


I don't really have any criticism of this book. I have some thoughts on the technicalities of the writing but that's honestly no fun as this is not a writing class. Mary Beth Keane draws pictures that are vivid. She wields language powerfully. So who cares about some minor nonsense. She earned it.


If you have a book club, this would be a great pick! There are too many facets to dissect. And if you don't have a book club, the comments here are open! Just like on Instagram too. 


As an aside: Y'all, it is a CRAZY world out there. I should talk about but I almost don't even have the strength to. And I also don't want to be dismissive of it. So here is one piece of reasonable news amidst this fiasco: when Trump tries to tell us he is the king,  Ezra Klein tells us not to believe him (paywall free here). In the meantime, let me invite you to this corner of the cyberspace for some break from everything.


Love,


I

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