#BookReview of #TheKeepsakeQuilters by Felicity Hayes-McCoy | @fhayesmccoy

‘Set in the very different worlds of cosmopolitan London
and a sleepy village in Ireland’s Wicklow mountains‘

Synopsis

One family. Three generations. And the threads that bind them together …

Successful TV producer Penny has always been a planner. She knows exactly what her future looks like – until an unexpected pregnancy forces her to rethink everything, especially her relationship with the baby’s father.

Penny’s mum Val raised her alone and always taught her daughter to be independent. But she can’t understand why Penny seems intent on pushing her away now, when she needs her more than ever.

Marguerite, Val’s recently widowed mother, has an idea to help heal this rift: sewing together a keepsake quilt for the baby. But as the quilt takes shape, memories surface, and the three women begin to discover more about each other than they ever could have imagined. As Christmas approaches, will they finally realise that maybe they’ve been looking for happiness in all the wrong places?

My Review of The Keepsake Quilters

The Keepsake Quilters by Felicity Hayes-McCoy was published October 20th with Hachette Ireland. It is described as a book that tells the story of ‘three generations of women and the patchwork of fabrics that reconcile their unspoken family past with their dysfunctional present, offering the prospect of a joyful future.’

I thoroughly enjoyed The Keepsake Quilters for many reasons. It is a heart-warming, cross-generational read that will appeal to many, especially at this seasonal time of year. But the main reason I really connected with it was because I grew up in a home surrounded by fabric. Trips to Hickey’s fabric shop in Cork city looking at patterns and choosing the fabric for a new dress, a blouse, a suit was very much the norm for me.

A couple of years ago, I signed up for sewing classes. My blog was initially set up as a sewing blog, hence the name. But I soon realised that the natural talent and passion for sewing had skipped a generation. I was not, and never would be, proficient enough at sewing to sustain a blog so this was when the book reviews came on stream. Jumping into Felicity’s book was like a trip down memory lane, with its mention of cheesecloth and calico, of silk and voile and of brocade and linen with satin and velvet and much, much more. What I loved was how Felicity wrapped all this fabric around a beautiful story of three generations reconnecting, a mother, a daughter and a granddaughter.

Penny, Val and Marguerite are disconnected as a family. They constantly tip-toe around each other, conscious of not over stepping an invisible marker that had been put down years previously. Penny, a successful TV producer, is always very busy, with little free time at her disposal to spend with her mother and grandmother. On discovering that she is pregnant, her world goes into a spin. She wants to be independent and initially rejects her mother, Val, who reluctantly accepts her role as bystander. But Val is hurt by Penny’s exclusion, leaving Marguerite with a problem to solve. How will she break down the invisible border that exists between all three? Is she to blame? Did her approach to motherhood lay the groundwork for this situation they now find themselves in?

Marguerite’s solution comes in the form of a quilt. specifically a keepsake quilt, like her own mother had made for her. With Val on board, they make plans to make a quilt for Penny’s baby and discuss how this quilt will take form. But as the days and weeks pass by, they each make surprising discoveries that impact the lives of all three.

The Keepsake Quilters is a truly delightful and engaging read, written with a very clear eye for detail. It certainly resonated with me and, I have no doubt, that the same will hold true for many of you. It’s full of charm and has a wonderful mix of characters that were very easy to bond with making it the perfect comfort read and most definitely one for the season that’s in it.

Bio

Felicity Hayes-McCoy, author of the best-selling Finfarran series, was born in Dublin, Ireland. She studied literature at UCD before moving to England in the 1970s to train as an actress. Her work as a writer ranges from TV and radio drama and documentary, to screenplays, music theatre, memoir and children’s books.

Her Finfarran novels are widely read on both sides of the Atlantic, and in Australia, and have been translated into six languages.

She and her husband, opera director Wilf Judd, live in the West Kerry Gaeltacht and in Bermondsey, London.

Website ~ http://www.felicityhayesmccoy.co.uk 
Twitter ~ @fhayesmccoy

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