When Light Is Like Water By Molly McCloskey

[amazon_link id=”1844883884″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’When Light Is Like Water’ is the latest book by Molly McCloskey.

Alice, a young American on her travels, arrives in the West of Ireland with no plans and no strong attachments – except to her beloved mother, who raised her on her own. She falls in love with an Irishman, marries him, and settles down in a place whose codes she struggles to crack. And then, in the course of a single hot summer, she embarks on an affair that breaks her marriage and sets her life on a new course. After years working in war zones around the world, and in the immediate aftermath of her mother’s death, Alice finds herself back in Ireland and contemplating the forces that led her to put down roots and then tear them up again. What drew her to her husband, and what pulled her away? Was her husband strangely complicit in the affair? Was she always under surveillance by friends and neighbours who knew more than they let on?

This book is written in the first person and is seen through the narrative of Alice, a young American who travels to Ireland, intending to stay there for a short time, but she ends up staying for a number of years, marrying an Irish man and settling down.

The story is written in a reflective style as Alice has returned to Ireland after many years away and she looks back on what she has done with her life and how she has got to where she is.

The story is written in the past and present tense and gives the reader a great insight into her life, as she reflects on her failings in relationship as both a wife and daughter.

After many years away from Ireland, Alice has left Nairobi and returned to the place that she thought of as home. After her mothers death, Alice finds herself unhappy and trying to properly find herself in Ireland but it’s packed with so many memories, her failed marriage and her affair. But where she went wrong in Ireland, she reconciled in Africa helping people who were less well off.

I really enjoyed this book, it’s deep and honest that really did make for insightful reading. Set against the bleak background of Ireland, the story is about a young woman trying and failing to find her place whilst trying to deal with the complications and pressures of relationships.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”1844883884″ target=”_blank” ]When Light Is Like Water from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.