The Misremembered Man Paperback – June 7, 2011

There is nothing not to like about Christina McKenna's The Misremembered Man. It is a love story in every sense of the word ... just maybe not the one you were expecting.Jamie McCloone is a lost soul. An orphan for ten years in one of Ireland's horrendous Magdalene laundries, he suffered abuse in every form. (McKenna handles the sexual abuse in a guarded way.) But when Jamie is ten, "Uncle" Mick and "Aunt" Alice arrive and carry him away to the world he had always seen in his dreams: the cottage, the farmyard, even the black dog Shep. For the first time in his life, Jamie knew warmth and love, clean sheets and a full belly. But as he creeps into his forties, Jamie is alone again, Mick and Alice both dead. There's a black hole in his heart and he struggles (with the help of Valium and copious amounts of stout) to find a way to carry on.Lydia Devine's life was never as bleak, but all the same, she bore the scars of her harsh Protestant upbringing, where even music was frowned upon, where she, too, felt like she didn't belong. In her forties she still lived at home, caring for her demanding, never-satisfied-with-anything elderly mother. Lydia wanted to live a little--but simply didn't know how.Alone, at loose ends, and desperately yearning for something more, both are convinced by dear friends to run an ad in the Lonely Hearts section of the Mid-Ulster Vindicator. And after a few letters back and forth, they meet. Awkward at first, they settle into comfortable and companionable conversation which is interrupted abruptly by a hilarious scene with Jamie and his wayward new toupee in the Men's. Jamie's friends Rose and Paddy watch the two from a distance (Jamie doesn't drive and relies on their kindness to motor him distances farther than he can ride his bike) and Rose remarks, "God, they make a lovely couple, don't they? ... Y'know it's as if they were made for one another, because the pair a them have the same noses on them. D'you see that Paddy?" I missed that one. Totally.McKenna captured the gruff, rough edges of an Irish farmer just as flawlessly as she did the pinched, straight-laced spinster. The dialog was pitch-perfect, and even the minor characters were engaging. And the writer in me simply loved the author's lists, which spoke volumes. Here's the first one that describes Rose McFadden's home:Every chair and window and surface ... expressed Rose's devotion to creative crafts and a liking for thrift-store tat ... Antimacassars and runners: laced, crocheted, appliquéd, embroidered, tatted, and frilled ... A papier-mâché rooster made over six Friday nights ... whilst Paddy competed in the Duntybutt Championship Darts Tournament in Murphy's pub. Items with shells and ideas from Portaluce beach: a wine-bottle lamp with a fringed shade; a postcard plate of a whale; a card table trimmed with cockles and scallops; a collage of a fish with milk-bottle-top gills, a Fanta cap eye and a seagull's primary wing feather, stiffened with glue for a tail.After that beauty, I was always on alert, waiting for those lists and I was never disappointed. In fact, there is nothing disappointing at all in The Misremembered Man.[ at thisismysymphony.blogspot.com] Read more

Rarely do I write reviews, but this book speaks so eloquently of loss and redemption that I will be returning to it many times in the future. Her characters are achingly real, the scenarios realistic. There is an odd bit at the beginning of chapter 5, that I think was an editing note that wasn’t removed-something about replacing Potts with Conway. Hopefully that can be corrected. Other than that, it’s one of the finest pieces of writing I have read in a very long time. Brava, Ms.McKenna.

James McCloone, Jamie for short, is a forty-one year old bachelor who lives in a farm in the Irish countryside. Jamie, together with his sister, was abandoned as a baby by his mother at the door of an orphanage ruled by nuns. Jamie grew up abused both physically and sexually, and used as a child slave until he was adopted by Alice and Mick McCloone when he was about ten years old. Only then he knew kindness.It's no wonder then that in middle age, Jamie is severely depressed and hasn't been able to connect at a deeper level with any woman. When the wife of a friend suggests that Jamie places an ad in the "lonely hearts" section of a newspaper, he does so and meets a kindred spirit, but with so much emotional baggage, will he find the happiness he deserves?I really liked The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna, but it was the saddest book I have read in a long while, though very well written.The plot consists of two parallel stories: one with Jamie as an adult, the other describing his everyday life in the orphanage as a child. The part that takes place in the orphanage describes the excessive physical punishments Jamie and his mates endured, while the descriptions of the sexual abuse were implied, mere suggestions. I think is a wonder that with such a level of abuse Jamie grew up to be shy and depressed rather than a menace to his fellow beings. That kind of systematic abuse is a breeding ground for psychotic behavior later in life. Unfortunately as McKenna expresses at the end of the book, despite Jamie being a fictional character, this kind of abuse towards children by members of the Catholic clergy actually took place in Ireland until it was exposed in 1990.Not everything that happens in The Misremembered Man is sad. The modern day part of the story was very funny and so realistic that anyone may have experienced similar situations at one point or another.In summary, The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna is a poignant story, bittersweet and tragic as only real life can be. You will laugh out loud and most certainly you will cry, but above all, the story and characters will haunt you.

I'd had this book on my wish list for ages, don't even know where I got the title. But it's one of the most enjoyable reads in ages. I laughed till I cried, cried, and finally just smiled. So funny and heart breaking and poignant. Can't wait to read more from this author.

This a simple story set in village life in Ireland. It is so beautifully told and Christina McKenna manages to paint an everlasting picture of the horror of the Roman Catholic children's institutions that we've all heard about. The truth of the brutality is desperately heartbreaking, causing a deep sadness that made me cry. A lot.It begins in the 1930's then moves on to the 1970's, at which time a good deal of incidental humour is injected as the characters develop, allowing the reader to move from tears to laughter. Lovely.

I really wanted and expected to be enthralled by this book, but for me it missed the mark. Far too many long descriptions – people, rooms, activities, everything….. – held up the narrative and became turgid. I imagined the author viewing a scene and determinedly recording every detail with which to delight/bore her readers.Having said that, after reading the first few chapters in full, I enjoyed skim-reading for the first time and this took me to the end. This way I grasped the plot and the characters without working my way through the long over-detailed passages.The irony was, however, that the denouement was rushed. Having spurned the lengthy descriptions of feelings, facial expressions, places and actions in the main body of the book, I was frustrated and disappointed to find that the satisfying ending was rushed and sparse! I ended up yearning for a bit of the author’s long-windedness so that I could enjoy the happy turnaround of the main characters’ tragic lives.

This was an excellent read, the sort of book that lingers in your mind long after reading it. I will definitely read it again in the future for, with the knowledge of hindsight, I shall be able to make more sense of earlier events in the book. It is a very harrowing read at times, especially the sections dealing with how young boys were 'cared for' in the Irish orphanges, and although this is a work of fiction I expect it is probably a true account of these institutions. I am not a religious person at all, but would welcome the thought that these monsters masquerading as saintly beings would get their just rewards in hell. Despite these heart-rending accounts though the main tenet of the book was uplifting and it had a very satisfactory ending.

I cannot remember a book I have enjoyed more. Not only are the characters painted so clearly and believably but the landscape and period of Ireland is also perfectly depicted.I laughed with Lydia and James as they muddled their way towards their romantic meeting after corresponding in a lonely hearts column. However, this is not a book about romance and the ending is not at all what one imagines (but I don't want to spoli it for any other readers here).Under the light-hearted main plot is a tragic sub plot - the story of James' childhood in the cruel orphanage. I felt so angry for the poor child, treated terribly and not even given a name, known only by a number. That he managed to grow up to be a functioning human, albeit flawed and fragile, is a miracle. This story has everything in; laughter and tears, romance and the lack of it, love and hatred, children and the elderly. I soon learnt not to make a guess at what was going to happen as the story cleverly avoids cliches and yet, thankfully, has a happy ending. I was on the edge of my seat at the end, hoping that there would not be another tragedy.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit different from the usual run of Chick Lit fiction and took you from laughter to shock and back to laughter in a few lines.I loved the descriptions: 'Jamie yawned extravagantly, ran a hand over his stubbly cheeks and tweaked his right ear. It stood up slightly higher than the other, giving him the look of being yanked forever heavenward by a celestial hand.' Jamie must be one of literature's most unlikely leading men and you can almost smell him as you read!As a native of County Derry/Londonderry I tried to work out the identity of 'Tailorstown' as it had to be based on a real N Ireland town, and I wondered if it was the one I had grown up in, as it was so true to life with its eccentric characters. The mystery was solved when I discovered that the author came from Draperstown (I don't)! Rose's long winded ramblings were so true to life and we all know a Rose or two, whether or not they have a N. Irish accent.There were some surprises along the way but I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Misremembered Man' and, even though I had to sit up half the night to finish it, I was so disappointed when there was no more left to read. I was so pleased to have made my acquaintance with James Kevin Barry Michael McCloone!I will certainly be recommending Christine McKenna's book to my friends and I now will have to see what else she has written that I can download to my Kindle.