Today, Dienece Darling shares her book review of Suzie Peace Pybus’s The Truth about Irene, a woman’s fiction with a touch of mystery.
Book Description:
Sixty and widowed, Irene flees her big house on a farm for a tiny flat in a Tasmanian tourist town, leaving behind everything but a few personal belongings and her notebooks.
In her oasis by the river, she can forget the past and start afresh – make new friends, open the gift shop she’s always wanted, pursue romance with the handsome Max…
But Irene can’t ignore her secrets forever. Years ago, while battling cancer and fearing the disease was affecting her mental capacity, she hid messages for herself in notebooks to test her memory.
But even Irene didn’t know the truth she was inadvertently recording.
When her cancer returns, Irene must decide what to do about the notebooks. Destroy them? Or risk revealing them, knowing the truth will have devastating consequences for her family?
Dienece’s Book Review:
Achingly beautiful with an important message
The Truth about Irene is women’s fiction with a touch of mystery. It has some elements of faith as Irene decides to take up going to church again, but this is general fiction.
Irene is widowed, but her grief is complicated. She’s trying to find her way, to find a spot of happiness again, but no one seems to understand the choices she’s making. Why does she want to cut off her hair? Why does she want to move away from the lovely home she shared with her late husband? Why does she want to start a shop at her age?
Add in the odd journal entries that even Irene begins to question are real, and you’re really wondering along with everyone else what happened to Irene!
Even if Irene shares her journals with someone, there is the very real fear no one will believe her. After all, they’re still scratching their heads over all her other choices. Especially her daughter Helen.
I felt so much for the daughter! Adding Helen’s POV to the story helped to round out and enrich the tale.
This book was a real eye opener.
And the title is perfect. Because you really want to know the truth. What happened to Irene? What was the driving force behind her choices? And Pybus delivers so well on this. She ties up all the loose threads at just the right moments.
But alongside the mystery of her past, you get to know the Irene of this moment. See her beautiful soul, fall in love with the people she meets, and the new life she creates for herself. Plus, we get to be there as she works her way back to God. That was really sweet.
Thank you for writing this story, Pybus! It’s an important journey to share with the world.
About Suzie’s books
There is something I’ve learned from the two books I’ve read from this author (you can read my other book review here). She exposes sides to life I don’t often think about, and she does it through fiction.
Fiction has this wonderful ability of showing you what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes.
To realize that the clear-cut answers which seem so obvious to those on the outside aren’t so clear-cut when it’s you in the middle. And The Truth about Irene is another eye-opening look at a piece of life which isn’t so easy to know the answers to.
The Truth about Irene does cover a heavy topic, but I’d spoil the story by sharing what it is. So, know this:
Pybus writes stories which shed light on dark places, and with a gentle, kind hand, she sprinkles some hope there.
If you like women’s fiction, a dash of mystery, and learning empathy for people who are often misunderstood, I recommend The Truth about Irene.
Do you read women’s fiction?
You can purchase The Truth about Irene here.
