by Charleen Hurtubise
Sarah Walsh is on the run. The threat to her life is so intense that she steals the identity of another woman and flees to Ireland. On her flight, she meets Paul, a man who takes an uncomfortable interest in her, but Sarah has no one, so she accepts Paul’s help navigating a new country, even agreeing to stay with him and his family upon arrival. However, just like Sarah, Paul isn’t everything he appears to be. Soon, Sarah starts finding her own people and making friends, which is a huge relief after dealing with Paul and his oppressive family. The one exception? Paul’s dad is a kindly doctor who actually recognizes Sarah’s vulnerability and notices and encourages her artistic talent.
Her new friends anoint her with the name Saoirse (meaning ‘freedom’-an appropriate christening, as we shall soon see).
The novel alternates between Sarah’s time in Ireland as Saoirse, where she begins to reinvent herself and build her life anew, and Sarah’s past in Michigan, where we learn of the trauma she endures and her need to flee. The catalyst for the main conflict of the story (I’m not spoiling it because it happens at the beginning of the novel) is Saoirse’s public recognition as an artist, where she wins a prestigious award and is compelled to hold a public exhibit of her work.
The novel is one of resilience, heartbreak, love, found family and the importance of art in healing and recovery. I found it romantic (although at times frustrating with regard to Saoirse’s choices and rationale), infuriating in its themes of the archaic nature of the lack of a woman’s right to choose, and intriguing in its discussion of art. The chapters are organized and titled according to various artworks produced by Saoirse that seem to reflect, in both subject matter and medium, various periods of her life.
I both read and listened to this novel. If you are so inclined to listen to the audiobook, the narrator is wonderful.
Thank you to Netgalley and Caladon House for the copy.
Ink And Spine 