Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

 

Published: 2019, Penguin Random House

Genre: Fiction

Themes:  American families, mental health, alcoholism, careers

My rating (out of 5):  ❤❤❤❤  

'You are what you appear to be'.

That's a phrase I picked up years ago while attending a management training course and that concept of keeping up appearances sits at the core of this novel.

It's a family saga that starts in 1973 with two young rookie cops setting up their first homes right next door to each other.  Nobody would have had to tell them that appearances matter back then because that was drummed into everyone right from the day they were born.  Mothers would exclaim; 'What would people think!' every time a child made too much noise, had a hole in their sock or made slurping noises when they drank their orange squash.  (You can tell I've been there can't you?)

This kind of concern for appearances was considered a good thing but it also had it's darker side.  Much bigger issues such as anything to do with mental health or alcoholism, as dealt with in the book, were also to be kept well away from prying eyes, especially if the family held any kind of position in local society.  Mary Beth Keane works through the consequences of covering up the truth and how even close family members can trick themselves into believing that things are not as bad as they might seem.  The story shows us that just because the families do not admit that they have a problem, it doesn't mean that the problem goes away.

I initially found the writing style in this book to be a little clinical.  A bit like looking at a diagram of the story that gave all the facts but left out much of the colour, but the depth of emotion seemed to evolve as the story progressed.  I now wonder if the author was still getting to know her characters during the first part of the book and it was only once she had completed the back story that she could set down emotional impacts on the various characters?  However, regardless of that observation, this is a strong story structured around the American dream of home and family and it is well worth reading.