Those Faraday Girls

I’ve always enjoyed Monica McInerney’s books, and this one is no exception. It’s the story of five motherless girls who get a shock when the youngest falls pregnant at 16. They raise the child together, but separate when one of the sisters, Sadie, has a breakdown and leaves – taking the child away. While Maggie is soon returned, Sadie disappears, and never comes back, though the other sisters meet regularly. Years later, when Maggie grows up, she begins to discover all the lies that her life has been based upon, and she ends up finding Sadie too.

This is a plot-driven novel, plainly written – it’s not literature – but it’s a good, thought-provoking read about families. It doesn’t revel in pain, but it doesn’t give out bland happy endings, either. Some people are just horrible, and don’t turn out nice – that’s reality, even if they’re members of your family. I raced through this book as I race through all of McInerney’s books, because the characters are enticing and the story is well-told and it does what it sets out to do – entertain.