Can a great love survive a great deception?
In the wilds of Donegal, Ireland, 1999, Saoirse is an artist living an outwardly idyllic life.
Her tender husband Daithà and two beloved daughters are regular subjects for her work,
and in them she has found the safe home that she has always longed for. She tends not
to talk about her past, and those that love her have learned to accept that the full story is
too painful for her to disclose.
When her Dublin exhibition unexpectedly wins a prestigious award that invites a swarm of
publicity, Saoirse is left panic stricken. The unanticipated recognition threatens to expose
a decade's worth of buried memories and past crimes. Because what her family and
friends don't know is that Saoirse has been on the run since she was seventeen, she has
stolen an identity to survive, and whilst Ireland might now be her home, it wasn't her first – and now her past life is poised to reclaim her.
It is such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Saoirse today. Many thanks to Eriu/Bonnier Books for my copy of the novel and to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.
Saoirse means freedom and Charleen Hurtubise's powerful novel about a young woman's risky, illegal and yet ultimately deeply courageous steps to set herself free from neglect and abuse, and to then protect the fragile sanctuary she manages to secure, is a deeply moving read.
This meandering story takes readers back and forth from the wilds of Donegal in the late 1990s to Dublin earlier in the decade and then back further in time to Saoirse's childhood in the USA, when she was still known as Sarah. Sarah is a survivor because the adults in her life fail her. The chapters which reveal her traumatic upbringing are difficult to read, particularly as it becomes obvious that her innate resourcefulness cannot protect her from the violence, greed and lechery of others. There are some scenes which are especially harrowing to read but they are not gratuitous and serve to highlight just what Sarah endures and why she eventually makes the decision to steal somebody else's identity.
Fear underpins this novel; whether it's young Sarah's dread for her sister or the panic she experiences years later when she realises everything she loves is at risk. However, it is also a tale of resilience and love. Charleen Hurtubise's empathetically nuanced writing ensures that while some of her actions may seem dishonest and even self-serving, we understand that this frightened young woman is forced to accept kindness which comes with conditions. We are also reminded that she is still very young and as such, the decisions made by this complex, traumatised character are heartrendingly authentic.
As the novel progresses and Sarah becomes Saoirse, she forges a life for herself in Ireland but the constant terror that her lies could be exposed result in her building a wall around herself which shuts out even those she most loves. Meanwhile, as her art provides her with an outlet to cope with the anguish of her memories and the subsequent guilt she feels, her growing fame also threatens everything. The sense of place, particularly after she finds love with Daithà and consequently some solace in Donegal, is beautifully evoked; the wild landscape is a striking metaphor for her own capricious emotions. As the storyline builds towards its conclusion, it's clear that she will have to confront her past and this compulsive, captivating read found my emotions fluctuating between admiration for her fortitude, anger at those in her past and present who inflict so much mental and physical pain, and heartbreak for all she has to bear.
Saoirse is a lyrical, bittersweet story of suffering, strength and survival; I was utterly captivated and cannot recommend it highly enough.
Saoirse is published by Eriu, an imprint of Bonnier Books and can be purchased from bookshop.org, Hive, Amazon and all good bookshops.
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