Bessie Lawless, the newly widowed heroine of this darkly funny novel is a wonderful creation. Feisty is a word often wrongly used but it definitely applies to her as she flees Belfast and a murderous IRA debt-collector with her 9-year-old son Herkie clutching his headless Action Man in an ancient Morris Traveller. Early '8os Belfast at the height of the troubles might seem an unlikely setting for a comedy, but Christina McKenna writes fearlessly and funnily about subjects others would only dare write as tragedy. I am torn between a 3 and a 4 for this one, but going to go with my initial instincts and give it a 4. In most ways I really enjoyed this return to Tailorstown, which we first visited in The Misremembered Man, although this read is less “gentle” than the first one. Tailorstown is a very sleepy backwater Irish village where nothing much happens but the troubles are now going to be brought right to the heart of the village, heralded by the arrival of Bessie Halstone. It is 1981 and Bessie is newly widowed and on the run from Belfast and the evil “Dentist” when she arrives on the doorstep in need of somewhere to lie low.I loved Bessie. She is bright, brashy, a bit of a jaded Marilyn Monroe who speaks as she finds, but boy can she cook! Her son Herkie is a naughty little man and full of mischief but the pair are so much fun to read about.There is a huge amount of very subtle humour in the story, usually coming out in the dialogue between the characters, who are all extremely colourful and great to follow. Gusty, in particular, certainly put a smile on my face, especially when his own little secret is revealed. Having said that, I wasn’t 100% sure about the character of Rose, who appears to have gone through something of a personality change since the first book. She was no longer the loyal rock that we first met, but has turned into something of a gossiping, nosey, busybody. It didn’t feel quite right somehow.It is a really nice, easy to read story, although at times it was easy to predict how it was all going to end. Nevertheless, I did like the ending and overall it is a good read with characters who are a pleasure to read about.
What do You think about Disenchanted Widow, The (2013)?
Pretty entertaining, loved the "accents" I could hear with the different characters.
—zaynmalik_12
Kind of a fun, easy read. I enjoyed her other book, too: The Misremembered Man.
—ppp
Interesting look at impact of Irish violence in everyday life.
—Reecescups
