The Liberation of Brigid Dunne: A Novel

Having read all her previous books , I was looking forward to this. But I found it very disappointing. It struck me as the author using her position to push her church bashing, pro abortion beliefs . I found myself skimming whole chapters as I found no point in them , other than to relive an extremely contentious period in irish history , something I have no desire to do when reading fiction as a form of escapism . If I could get a refund on a kindle book I would.

I would agree with a previous review I normally love Patricia scanlan books but not this one. Thought it was more a rant at the Catholic Church and Ireland as a whole. I know that the church has a terrible past which I don't condone but I like to read a book t lift me out of every day life especially at this horrible time not to read the author's rant and her political views also her Mary Magdalene views was a bit OTT. Sorry Patricia wont be recommending this book to anyone and won't be in a hurray to purchase any more of your books.

I usually love Patricia Scanlan books but my goodness this was hard going. I’m three quarters ways through and I’m not sure if I will bother to continue with the rest. I actually agree with most of her beliefs but I have no interest in receiving a lecture about them. I read for relaxation at night but this dreadful tirade about the Catholic Church is boring. What was her editor thinking?

Patricia Scanlan is one of my all time favourite authors. When I first read her books, in the late 1980s, I felt for the first time that here was an author writing about a world that I could relate easily to. So I've been a long time fan, and her writing style has altered over the years, but what hasn't altered is that I can still readily relate and empathise with her characters.This is a book about a nun. Not what I was expecting! But I fell in love with the characters, and watching them make mistakes, learn from them, grow and muddle through life as best they can really warmed my heart. The family dynamics jump from troubled to happy families and back to troubled. Which I feel really imitates life.Thinking hard about the characters now, I can't even choose a favourite character, I really appreciated the depth of them all. I do have a very soft spot for Imelda (sister of Brigid), even though she seems obnoxious at first glance, but I totally get her and understand why she is so prickly.I also loved the background of religion in the book, going from blindly following the catholic faith to everything woo woo. I thought it was handled with sensitivity and truth and it made for a refreshing theme.I think the biggest compliment I can pay this book is that it diverted my attention from Covid19, giving my head and heart a welcome time out. No small feat.If you want a moving book that tracks multi-generational family life with humour and sorrow, and enjoy watching strong women on a journey of self discovery, then I'd highly recommend this book to you. (

I gave this book 4 stars because I did generally enjoy reading it. I liked the characters and clearly the author is not afraid to confront some difficult issues surrounding the past scandals and abuses perpetrated by some members of the Catholic church. I agree what happened was truly appalling, but the issues are eventually pushed and forced on us so hard, it totally dominates the plot and becomes a rant. I found the last few chapters tedious as you plod through views about Mary Magdalene and I somehow lost my empathy and connection to the characters. Scanlan's attempts to write "young and modern" annoy me. The story is far better when it is in the past (50s-80s). Please stop all the "you go girl" and "it's like so this and like so that"!Overall though a very good read.