By Terry Kenneally
This is a story of a woman looking back on her life, having never been at the center of it. The main character is Frankie, who has never been sure of herself to take center stage. All her life she found herself on the wrong side of being judged harshly.
Ireland in 1950 was the year that Frankie Howe’s life changed forever, setting on a trajectory that she could never have imagined possible. A very tragic accident places Frankie in a traumatic situation as a very young girl, one that pulled the rug out from under her life and resulted in her having to be more self- sufficient and mature than most girls her age.
At the age of 84, she finally finds someone who listens to her. Enter Damian, a young Irish caretaker who arrives at her London flat, there to keep on eye on her as she recovers from a fall. A memory is sparked and the past crackles to life as Damian listened to the story Frankie has kept stored away all these years.
It is hard not to like Frankie as a character and feel so much empathy for her as a young girl married off to an older man, a man of the church, but most definitely not showing caring Christian ways. The failure of the marriage, not Frankie’s failure, led her to live in London and then on to New York.
Frankie had a very sheltered but cold upbringing. She was quite naïve and cloistered about the world around her. As her journey took her from London to 1960s New York, Frankie always followed in the shadow of others, but unbeknownst to herself, Frankie was carving her own unique path.
As the days roll by, Frankie slowly reveals her story of how she came to live in a flat in London surrounded by an eclectic collection of artwork and furniture. Frankie’s life is long and there are many eras she lived through, but the one that made the impact on the telling, at least for me, was the Aids epidemic in New York in the 1980s. Norton writes of this period with such finesse, the impact of it upon his characters and his readers.
Wrapping carefully researched historical elements with fiction, Graham Norton transports the reader to another time and place, conjuring up the smells and sounds of a different era. Graham Norton has written four other novels, all bestsellers in the UK and Ireland His fiction writing has won him critical acclaim from across all media and the literary community. Frankie is a TOP SHELF read.
Read more of Terry’s Off the Shelf Reviews HERE
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This Just In: Longtime Friends of Sinn Féin supporter Pat Donaghy passes away
Donaghy was also a front line supporter of Sinn Féin and a significant financial contributor to Friends of Sinn Féin in the U.S.
This Just In: Sinn Féin Launch Manifesto for the Diaspora
Following a weekend of online engagements with the diaspora, Sinn Féin has launched a manifesto for the diaspora.
The online meetings with Mairead Farrell TD and Rose Conway Walsh TD attracted attendees from across the USA, Canada, Europe, Britain, and Australia.
The representatives outlined the party’s priorities for government including tackling the housing, health care, and cost of living crisis. As well as progressing the cause of Irish Unity.
Speaking on the unveiling of the Manifesto for the Diaspora, Rose Conway Walsh TD said,
Terry Kenneally
*Terrence Kenneally is an attorney and owner of the Kenneally Law Firm in Rocky River, Ohio. He earned his Irish Studies degree from John Carroll University and teaches Irish history and literature at Elyria Catholic High School.