February 2022 – We are the Brennans by Tracey Lange – NEW YORK STATE

9th February 2022

We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lange, novel set in New York State.

This is a debut novel about lingering shame and secrets, and the ripple effect of how actions can tear through a family. The Brennans hail from north of the New York City boroughs, their origins are Irish Catholic and they are part of an Irish enclave, where dad – Mickey – has found success over the years. He has four grown up children who have each muddled their way to where they are. Childhood friend, Kale, is very much part of the family and was intensely dating the daughter of the family, Sunday, until she unexpectedly took off and went to live on the West Coast for several years. There has always been gossip about what triggered her departure.

Yes, some of the names of the characters are a little weird and I had to keep reminding myself that we were not talking days of the week (Sunday) or green vegetables (Kale). There is also a character called Grail, which has associations for people of a certain age in the UK with Monty Python. However, this is simply a passing observation.

The two middle boys in the family are busy working on the new opening of their pub, in which Kale is involved. It is at the point of Sunday’s return that the story picks up, looks back and gradually reveals how the actions of an individual family member can impact the whole unit.

The novel is penned with confidence,  precision and insight, by an author who has a natural gift for writing. One chapter ends and flows into the next, using an unusual and quirky device which involves reiterating a phrase from chapter of the preceding chapter (it works ok). It is deftly told from the perspective of a variety of characters.

I really enjoyed this novel and believe this author has a great future in the writing world.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

Catch Tracey on Twitter and Instagram

Join Team TripFiction on Social Media:

Twitter (@TripFiction), Facebook (@TripFiction.Literarywanderlust), YouTube (TripFiction #Literarywanderlust), Instagram (@TripFiction) and Pinterest (@TripFiction)