I have always loved Irish authors—this is really nothing new. If you talk to me about books for more than five minutes, I’ll probably start bringing up Claire Keegan’s and Donal Ryan’s novels. I am also always excited about publications from new Irish authors because this means my supply is replenished! So when I saw Orla Mackey’s novel hit the shelves in Australia, I knew I had to read it.

The novel’s title, Mouthing, sets the precedent for Mackey’s storytelling. Each chapter is written from the first-person perspective of a different character spanning a few decades. The sections read like informal discussions or chats, the kind you’d have when gossiping at the pub or waiting in line at the supermarket with your neighbours. The verb, to mouth – or, in this case, mouthing, usually implies some kind of ill-intent behind the conversations. However, the gossip is usually wrapped up in well-meaning platitudes and concerns.

The double-edged sword of the close-knit community of the fictional country town of Ballyrowan is that it is both beautiful and utterly debilitating. The things that bring the community together over these decades are also what tear it apart. The secrets, resentments, love, and anger are all-consuming and impossible to untangle.

The novel mainly focuses on people’s lives in Ballyrowan from the 1970s to the late 1990s. It follows a young woman who travels to America to hide her pregnancy (out of wedlock); it follows an affair between a married man and a younger woman; and it follows a priest who is guilt-stricken after accidentally killing his brother in a farming accident. All of these beautiful stories and lives felt like they could have been their own novel. Mackey did an exceptional job at weaving these stories together so that when you were reading one perspective, you would inevitably learn about another facet of someone else’s story. In this way, I was so fondly reminded of Donal Ryan’s novels The Spinning Heart and his latest companion novel Heart, Be Still (This is a side note to say that I can highly recommend all of Ryan’s novels).

There are many themes I could focus on for this review, but what I felt most struck by from Mouthing was the bittersweet and nuanced portrayal of post-partum depression and how that affects the mother, the child, the extended family, and also the community at large. It was poignant to see the mother blamed for her behaviour and the town find any reason to go against her because she was British and a Protestant. Her beautiful and sweet, heartbroken daughter, Jo, is, by proxy, also tainted by her mother and father, and her father’s extended family makes it known to her that she is the problem. The only person who helps the Henderson family is the neighbour, Julia, who is told on multiple occasions that she should stay out of other people’s business. And that is the crux of all human relationships – how to know when to interfere and when to let things run their course without you. There is no doubt in my mind that Julia taking in the Henderson’s daughter saved the daughter’s life in so many ways. The message of Mackey’s book is clear – community is the thing that will save you if you know how to be a part of it.

I absolutely loved reading this novel and cannot wait to see what Mackey writes next. It was the perfect book to sit at the beach while drying off after a dip in the ocean. Let me know if you read “Mouthing” or any other Irish authors. As always, share the reading love.