genre: fiction
Cait had lived a fairly isolated life in County Limerick until personal tragedy leads to her needing to rely on a friend-that's-not-really-a-friend, Baba. These two girls have grown up together but their outlooks on life and personalities couldn't be more different. When they leave home to attend upper school at a convent, their experiences with life and love will only continue to shape the paths they take.
This book is so very short, WHY was it so hard for me to read? It was slow moving, I think that's part of it, but it's well thought out and some of the language really is beautiful. Baba is both annoying and sometimes funny, it's rather painful to watch how Cait has to try so hard to keep being her friend. There is a thread with an older gentleman that is a huge part of the book that feels creepy on one hand and yet, knowing Cait and what's she been through, understandable on the other. Their naiveté is not just because they are "country girls" but because they are young and have been raised in a very repressive culture - Cait's interactions with the world are so clearly impacted by this.
I can see why it was very shocking back in the 60s when it was published and I do think it's an intimate portrait of a place and time, it was just a bit too gloomy for me right now, maybe.
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