#BookReview of #Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise | @charleenhurtubise.bsky.social

‘Some secrets don’t stay buried, and this one could cost her everything.‘

[ About Saoirse ]

CAN A GREAT LOVE SURVIVE A GREAT DECEPTION?

In the wilds of Donegal, Ireland, 1999, Saoirse is an artist living an outwardly idyllic life. Her gorgeous, tender husband Daithí and two beloved daughters are regular subjects for her work, and in them she has found the safe home that she has always longed for. She tends not to talk about her past, and those that love her have learned to accept that the full story is too painful for her to disclose.

When her Dublin exhibition unexpectedly wins a prestigious award that invites a swarm of publicity, Saoirse is left panic stricken. The unanticipated recognition threatens to expose a decade’s worth of buried memories and past crimes. Because what her family and friends don’t know is that Saoirse has been on the run since she was seventeen, she has stolen an identity to survive, and whilst Ireland might now be her home, it wasn’t her first – and now her past life is poised to reclaim her.

The novel weaves between flashbacks to a complicated childhood in Michigan, and Saoirse’s journey to and in Ireland to forge safety for herself.

[My Review ]

Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise published February 26th with Eriu and is described as ‘a compelling story of escape, reinvention and a past that never lets go’.

In 2023 I reviewed The Polite Act of Drowning, Charleen Hurtubise’s stunning debut novel, so I knew that Saoirse was going to be another special read. Set between Ireland and Michigan Saoirse tells the story of a young woman who has spent her life battling for survival. Following a very unstable and treacherous childhood, she eventually finds solace in the west of Ireland with her adoring husband, Daithí and two little girls. Saoirse always had a talent and a passion for art. It calmed her mind and allowed her to express her feelings. Encouraged by those in Ireland who loved her, she expanded her collection but was always very mindful of keeping her personal details private. From the beginning of their relationship Daithí was always very wary of digging into her past, respecting that, when the time was right, she would fill him in. Saoirse knew her secret would someday be revealed. Embracing the isolation of Donegal, she lived with a daily sense of foreboding, always scared of how the truth had the potential to destroy everything she had painstakingly created.

The moment she is made aware that her work has won a distinguished award, Saoirse is in panic mode. With the media on her tail, this beautiful life she has made for herself is at risk. She attempts to contain the situation but the past has a nasty habit of catching up. Can Saoirse ever outrun her shocking history?

The chapters slowly reveal the truth of Saoirse’s story with heartbreaking detail. Her distress is palpable with her raw terror jumping out of the pages. Charleen Hurtubise skillfully weaves the past with the present as the years of Saoirse’s life unravel before us. The term saoirse is the Irish word for freedom and is a very fitting title for this emotionally charged novel. The main character spends her whole life fighting for her right to be free but it seems to elude her at every opportunity. She has been a victim more than once in her life. She has suffered abuse and degradation but she consistently moves forward, one step at a time, in the hope of finding peace and a final release from her past. Even when she finally finds some sort of freedom in Donegal, she remains guarded, always on edge, always looking over her shoulder, with the expectation that the walls of her carefully curated life will come tumbling down. Saoirse is a complex individual, and with good reason, her reticence a barrier put there to protect her. Even with Daithí, a man that she clearly loves, she is careful of her story.

Saoirse asks us if we can ever truly escape our past? We can reinvent, we can recreate but are we allowed to forget? Memory is a strange thing, We can manipulate it and colour it up a little so that the past might appear more foggy, a little distant, but it always has its hooks in us. To be free we have to accept it and work through it. As Daithí says – ‘it’s like restoring a house. One thing at a time…let’s get the scaffolding in place.’

An emotive story of survival and resilience Saoirse is a penetrating read, an atmospheric and heartrending tale. Another truly beautiful and memorable novel from Charleen Hurtubise.

[ Bio ]

Charleen Hurtubise is a novelist, essayist, and artist. She is the author of The Polite Act of Drowning, published in Ireland and the UK in 2023. Saoirse is her US debut. She holds an M.Sc. from Trinity College Dublin and an MFA in creative writing from University College Dublin, where she has facilitated creative writing seminars.

The sixth sister in a family of nine, she spent much of her childhood in Michigan, her early adult years in Boston, and has now lived half of her life in Ireland, which is home. Though she lives in Dublin with her Irish family, the pull of Donegal never leaves and continues to influence her drawings and writings, including Saoirse.