The All of It - Hardcover

Haien, Jeannette

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 087923623X ISBN 13: 9780879236236

Publisher: David R Godine Pub, 1986

Synopsis

As Father Declan attends Kevin on his deathbed, Enda reveals that she and Kevin, who have been living as a married couple, are actually siblings, leaving the Irish priest with a problem in squaring Catholic doctrine with the scandalous situation

About this title

Review:

Soaked by a miserable rain, Father Declan de Lowry swats midges and unsuccessfully casts for salmon while mulling the deathbed confession of a parishioner from the tiny Irish village of Roonatellin. The good priest is frantic to know why Kevin Dennehy refused to the end to marry Enda, who lived as his wife for decades with none suspecting their sin. When pressed, Kevin would only say, "there's some explanations that get you nowhere." That leaves it to Enda, an Irish Scheherazade, to breathlessly tell Father "the all of it," a wild, eyebrow-raising tale that meanders like sheep on the narrow roads. Her enthusiasm and Jeannette Haien's musical, evocative phrasing sweep this winning, humorous novel along.

From the Back Cover:

While fishing in an Irish salmonstream one rainy morning,Father Declan de Loughryponders the recent deathbed confessionof his parishioner Kevin Dennehy.It seems Dennehy and his wife, Enda,had been quietly living a lie for fiftyyears. Yet the gravity of their deceptiondoesn’t become clear to the good fatheruntil Enda shares the full tale of her suffering,finally confiding “the all of it.”

Jeannette Haien’s exquisite, awardwinningfirst novel is a deceptively simplestory that resonates with the powerof a modern-day myth—an unforgettablenarrative of transgression, empathy,and, ultimately, absolution.

About this edition

• Publisher: David R Godine Pub
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 087923623X
• ISBN 13: 9780879236236
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 145