Monday (Not So) Mini Reviews: Ask Again, Yes

Usually on Mondays I share a few titles I've read over the past week.  For the past several weeks I've continued to struggle to get excited about much of any of what I'm reading.  Chalk it up to the occasional reading slump that strikes readers every once in a while.  Or maybe it's the fact that I have too much to do at work right now, so my brain is tuned in to that.  Whatever the case, reading has been a bit harder lately.

The good news is that when I finally get into a book, I am enjoying it. So at least I'm picking up some great stuff.  

This weekend I devoured Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane.  If all my reading experiences were like this one was, I can't imagine I'd ever hit a slump again.

The novel opens with two young men, Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope beginning their careers as New York police officers.  The two marry around the same time, and through chance, buy homes next door to each other.  Francis' wife Lena is hopeful that she will find a friend in Brian's wife, Anne, but that doesn't happen. Despite Lena's efforts, Anne rebuffs any attempt at friendship, and it seems obvious fairly early on that there is something not quite right with Anne.

The two families lives intersect throughout the novel, and even though the couples are not friends, the Gleeson's youngest daughter Kate is the same age as the Stanhope's son, Pete, and these two kids have a close bond that develops over time into something more than just a friendship between children. 

I don't want to give any of the plot away, because part of the joy of this novel is how unexpected some of it was.  As the stories unfold, the lives of these two families are forever connected, and a tragedy that devastates them is viewed through the lens of time, which provides an interesting resolution to this story.

Keane tackles the tough topic of mental illness, how our past experiences make up who we become, and how to make peace with ourselves and our past.  

I think book clubs will be loving this one, which lends itself to great discussions.  Readers who enjoy Sue Miller, Celeste Ng, or Anita Shreve will want to give this one a try.