Join webchat with award-winning author ANNE ENRIGHT and discuss May book of the month THE GREEN ROAD on TUESDAY 24 May, 9-10pm

[TillyMumsnetBookClub]

Winner of the Irish Novel of the Year 2015, our May Book of the Month THE GREEN ROAD was also longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Costa Award and is currently on the shortlist for the Baileys Prize (announced 8th June). This may all feel familiar to its author, Anne Enright, who won the 2007 Booker Prize with THE GATHERING and in 2015 was made the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. Enright's novels are fantastically well-crafted, eloquent and funny - even when they are quite bleak in subject matter. She is also an expert in dissecting family dynamics, and at examining their constant pull of complex emotions. In THE GREEN ROAD, we meet four siblings from County Clare who are set on very different paths. Their stories are tracked over 1980s to present day, across different countries, until they are all called back for Christmas in the family home, by their overpowering and manipulative mother. She announces she will be selling the house, which propels them into a crisis. Each character is beautifully realised, and their difference from each other as adults is contrasted with the sudden immersion into childhood stereotype and ingrained patterns once they are all reunited. What is special about Enright's handling of the family saga is her gift for the perfect sentence. She finds unexpected adjectives, brilliantly exact description, the spot-on emotion. Her writing is lyrical but always unsentimental. There is pleasure in reading every paragraph, and an enormous wisdom throughout the pages.

To find out more, go to our book of the month page, where you can also apply for a free copy - just fill in your details on the book of the month page and we'll post here to let you know when the copies have gone. If you’re not lucky enough to bag one of those, you can always get a Kindle edition or paperback copy here

We are thrilled and delighted that Anne will be joining us to answer your questions about The Green Road, all her previous award-winning novels and her stellar career on Tuesday 24 May, 9-10pm. Please feel free to discuss the book here throughout the month and then come and meet Anne on the night, and ask her a question or simply tell her what you think of her books.

@TillyMumsnetBookClub

We have sadly run out of time, and I feel there is so much I'd still like to ask...I think Anne managed to answer everyone but apologies if we didn't get to your question in time.

Thank you all for a fascinating and extremely lively discussion, its been a treat.

Anne, thank you very very much indeed for fitting this into a manically busy week, and for all your illuminating and insightful answers. You've been an excellent guest. We'll be cheering for you next week when the Baileys Prize winner is announced and keeping fingers crossed. I cannot wait to read what comes next, your books are consistently wonderful.

Many thanks again and do come back one day...

THANKS SO MUCH Y'ALL- MY GOODNESS SO MUCH TYPING - SHOUTING NOW....

Thanks so much, and good luck for the Baileys'. Would love to see the book win.

Many thanks! Wonderful to hear all your insights. And thanks to Tilly for organising it.

Sorry I didn't ask a question, but I loved reading your answers to other people's questions. I'm not quite finished with the book but I'm really enjoying it.
Good luck for next week!

Thanks Anne. Really enjoyable

OH NO!

I missed this. Anne Come back, pleeeease!

So sorry RachelMumsnet - I had the e mail and everything but hadn't sussed that the day had actually changed. I am an idiot! Sorry!

I really enjoyed the book. I always enjoy writing that has a strong sense of place and I thought The Green Road also had a strong sense of time, of an age, for each generation. And my question was gong to be: Anne, how did you settle on the lives of the 4 siblings to explore the values, frustrations, dissatisfactions, near-misses of our contemporary (middle aged-ish) generation?

I understand what people are saying about not liking the characters, but I thought much of the skill was the way that there did seem to be a wry, dry perspective , inviting a critique, of the lives that they were living, but at the same time a close compassion. I was CRINGING, for myself, at the description of Contance's frantic, sweaty, over the top shopping trip, but found the following of her thoughts in the breast clinic waiting room to be so poignant and vulnerable.

And the merciless unpicking of the life working for the aid organisation...such an examination of our relationship with ourselves -and his life and effectiveness contrasted with Constance's patio-building husband going out and forming the search party without fuss.

I would love a sequel!

Sorry, MNHQ for missing this.

Sorry I had to change the date Blu - I have a plane

It is such a weird form - like doing an exam while at a party.

I really can't remember some of the process - I avoid looking back at my files in case it makes me too self conscious the next time out. I think Rosaleen crying at dinner in chapter one came very early and - this you might find odd - but the Emmet chapter was started early on too. In fact the whole aid industry and its issues was a trigger for the book. It took me a long time to boil it right down to what is, effectively, a parable involving a dog. How the characters developed from there is a bit of a mystery to me. Like old photographs you mind develops them in the dark

all best
xanne

@Blu

OH NO!

I missed this. Anne Come back, pleeeease!

So sorry RachelMumsnet - I had the e mail and everything but hadn't sussed that the day had actually changed. I am an idiot! Sorry!

I really enjoyed the book. I always enjoy writing that has a strong sense of place and I thought The Green Road also had a strong sense of time, of an age, for each generation. And my question was gong to be: Anne, how did you settle on the lives of the 4 siblings to explore the values, frustrations, dissatisfactions, near-misses of our contemporary (middle aged-ish) generation?

I understand what people are saying about not liking the characters, but I thought much of the skill was the way that there did seem to be a wry, dry perspective , inviting a critique, of the lives that they were living, but at the same time a close compassion. I was CRINGING, for myself, at the description of Contance's frantic, sweaty, over the top shopping trip, but found the following of her thoughts in the breast clinic waiting room to be so poignant and vulnerable.

And the merciless unpicking of the life working for the aid organisation...such an examination of our relationship with ourselves -and his life and effectiveness contrasted with Constance's patio-building husband going out and forming the search party without fuss.

I would love a sequel!

Sorry, MNHQ for missing this.

Oh, thank you, Anne.
And I hope you have a good journey.
I thought the aid industry featured large in your motivation for the book.
It just seemed like such a touchstone for so many things.

Bits were unbearably painful - in a well written way. And I laughed out loud at some things.

Interesting about the possibility for feeling self conscious.

I have given my copy to my 85 year old mother, she loves a well written book -I wonder what she will make of it. I did wonder if I was insensitive to give her a book about end of life frailty. What do other MN-ers think?

Have a good trip Anne, I have enjoyed your answers and speed of wit here. Night night.

I know I am late to the party but I hadn't finished the book until this evening and was out last night. I found everyone's comments very interesting and thanks to Anne for her comments.

I had never read anything by Anne before and hadn't realised what I was missing. To be honest I had a subconscious preconception that books about the Irish diaspora really only appealed to the Irish diaspora. Clearly I am wrong. I found the writing rich and deep with quite universal themes. This is one of the reasons I enjoy participating in the books of the month reviews as it challenges my preconceptions of what makes a good read. I found some at least superficial correlation to one of my favourite writers, Anne Tyler, who also includes difficult and problematic women as well as complex families. I didn't have a problem with the motivations of the characters, I liked the 'unknowableness' of Rosaleen's early life, I have similar issues with some of the older generation in my family and to be honest feel very tempted to be histrionic and difficult in a few decades time!