Ask Again, Yes; Mary Beth Keane

TITLE: Ask Again, Yes

AUTHOR:  Mary Beth Keane

PUBLISHER:  Simon and Schuster Audio (12+ hours)

PUB. YEAR: 2019

SETTING: New York
FORMAT:  - eGalley/audio down load

RATING - 5/5

Set in the early 1970s, Ask Again, Yes, tells the story of two working class families over a period of about forty years. The men, Francis Gleason, an Irish immigrant and Brian Stanhope meet while attending NYC's police academy.  Francis quickly marries Anne, a nurse and Irish immigrant herself, and, although we don't learn until later, she's also mentally unstable.  Brian marries Lena,  Polish/Italian background, and soon after the two families become neighbors in a suburb outside of New York City.  Anne is standoffish and, when Peter, the couple's only child and Kate, the youngest of the 3 Stanhope daughters become very close, Anne doesn't want her son to spend time with Kate. In a fit of rage, Anne does something that shatters the lives of both families longterm.

If you enjoy domestic fiction, this is it at it's finest. Completely engrossing and character driven, it's a story that pulled me right in. At times I felt like I was observing some of what happened first hand.  The characters seemed like everyday people and their experiences, although tragic at times, made the entire story feel that much more realistic.  The audiobook is read by Molly Pope who did and excellent job. This is one of my favorite reads of 2019 this far.