Review: Solace

Solace
Belinda McKeon
Rating: 3 Stars

You know those days when it rains and rains, unrelenting, making you feel miserable and bereft, making you forget that there is such a thing as sunshine and hope? That is the mood of “Solace.” Quiet. Grey. Melancholy.

“Solace” is Mark’s story. His struggles with his doctoral thesis. His struggles with his father and the responsibility he feels to help with his father’s farm. His relationship with a woman named Joanne. And when a tragedy occurs, it is about the darkness of Mark’s grief.

Communication, or the lack thereof, is the theme of “Solace.” It is an intriguing exploration of what we say, and don’t say, and how we misunderstand, and are misunderstood. Unfortunately, the author’s attempt to convey this theme often feels overbearing, like she wants to make absolutely certain that you “get it.” I would have preferred something more subtle, like the tantalizing fragrance of lilacs drifting on a spring breeze.

The dialogue is superb, rich with Irish syntax and colloquiums, and was perhaps what I loved most about the book. The prose is pellucid, though at times it is poetic as well. It is very much an Irish novel, and the plot is heartbreaking, universal, and timeless.

“Solace” is a solidly good attempt at a first novel, and there is certainly evidence that McKeon’s future works will be brilliant.

ISBN 9781451610543
Original pub date: 2011