Ask Again, Yes: A Novel Hardcover – May 28, 2019

This review will have spoilers so I warn you now rather than later...I really liked the first 2/3 of this book. It was action packed and interesting to read. I liked that two people (Peter's Mom and Kate's Dad) are from Ireland originally. I also like that Peter and Kate, although fictional characters, are close to my age.I also want to warn people that this book is told from MULTIPLE points of view so please be careful about that.I have some faults with the ending... You mean to tell me Peter's father NEVER apologizes or sees him once before his death? Also... Do they (Peter and Kate) really never visit with Peter's mother, Anne, again?I guess all of this is left to the reader's interpretation of things. Typically, I know in life a person tends to be closer to one set of grandparents than the other, but I feel sad for Anne (Peter's Mom), even though there are reasons why they are not as close (that I will NOT give away).Overall, if you like intergenerational stories set in modern times, I would definitely read this book. Just know going into it some of the things I previously mentioned and hopefully you will enjoy it like I have.

The span of a lifetime and a lifetime of living. It’s a story about family and how we grow up or around the events we encounter. I loved the emotion and I appreciated the honesty that I felt about the events. Most of those situations are unknown to me so I can only say that they felt real.

This book delves into families through three generations, through strife and troubles. The families learn ways to deal with setbacks and mental illness so as to grow stronger.

There is no magic in this book. Just an astonishing grasp of the realistic havoc wrought by mental illness and alcoholism on the lives of well-meaning people and families. I had to read this during the day, because my personal demons would overtake the prose if I read it too close to bedtime. For anyone who has lived in a family who has members suffering from severe mental illness and addiction, this book hits close to the bone. The author is able to express in intimate detail the inner workings of a mind in the twisted grip of bi-polar disorder with psychotic episodes, as well as the rollercoaster of guilt and shame of a substance use disorder. She nails it. Additionally, she crafts realistic family scenarios that play out amidst chaos and uncertainty as well as day to day banality, involving intimate marital relationships and difficult, epic filial ones.While one might crave a ‘happy ending’ to this saga, I think you get better than that. You get a kind of hopeful prayer for the acceptance of one’s situation, or lot in life, with the resolution (at the end) that when evaluations are in order, it can be said that not only did we try our best, but that we succeeded in overcoming our fears; and love and empathy are accessible to us all..

I really enjoyed this read.It was raw, moving and well written .It's a story about so much more than neighbor's gone bad. It's about what happens to us in our childhood and youth that can make us or break us .This book brings so many issues to light. Sexual abuse, alcoholism, , mental health and illness,devotion, forgiveness, betrayal. You name it and this author didn't shy away from it .The author took her time telling this story, if you're a impatient reader this book might move too slow for you , but it's a good read nonetheless. A couple of times I wanted more , more genuine moments between some of the characters.I wanted to really feel Peter and Kate 's adult love form and not just their childhood memories of friendship /love .I needed more in depth conversations towards the end also , some were there but not enough for me .I'm not going to lie I wanted a deeper understanding and more raw character discussions between many more of characters especially at the end .I wanted in their head's and thoughts of the few that we didn't get to hear from so that is why I gave this only just barely 4 star read for me. I think if the author gave her endingthe thoroughness it deserved I would have easily said " 4 plus wonderful, amazing stars " .I few misses but I lot of hits also so please don't get me wrong.I was impressed, I've never read anything by this author before but I will definitely be trying her again . I wish I was her beta reader I would have argued on a few missed moments and begged her to make just a few much needed adds but it was still a good read and I absolutely loved the line "We repeat what we do not repair " that was a very emotional line and I loved it .I just really wanted Anne and Peter to have a private conversation. I wanted Lena to truly express and show us how she felt about Francis during those 4 years ( 2 years before and 2 years after and about his betrayal.I wanted to hear from Brian about his inner thoughts good or bad but with honesty about that night and his decisions in the end .And I wanted to tell this author that we all need a uncle George, and thank God for him.So again just a few loose ends for me but again it was my reading pleasure with this book. Author Mary Beth Keane ,well done and with a bit more follow through this book could have easily been another 5 star read for me.

Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes is the story of two families, neighbours in upstate New York, and how life can change in an instant but may take a generation before things begin to heal.Although some characters in Mary Beth Keane’s novel are either cops or work together with the NYPD, we don’t see much of them at work, beyond the opening scenes. Instead, we see them as their family sees them; we see them at ease, at home. Yet their sense of duty and of wanting to do a good job that comes from being on the force filters through into their home lives and is a recurring theme throughout the novel.The book jumps forward in time in places and there are shifts in perspective between a number of characters but Keane handles most of these changes smoothly. The benefit of these head changes was being able to see the same event from different angles, and consider a person’s behaviour not only as they perceived it but also how others viewed it.No one character in Ask Again, Yes is ever wholly good or bad, always right or wrong, and as Keane moves between them, she’s able to show this only too well. I had a better feel for the families and their changing dynamic for her doing so, and while I didn’t always agree with what they were doing or how they were behaving, I could go some way towards better understanding their actions and choices.Keane explores some important issues here: she looks at the immigrant experience, what’s left behind, and our scope for reinvention and a fresh start; life-altering trauma; mental health; alcoholism; being a child navigating a turbulent home life; the strong bonds of early friendship; the difference between choosing to walk away and seeing things through together; the power of love, family and interpersonal relationships, and how they can lead to forgiveness and even help pave the way towards redemption.Ask Again, Yes not only shows how life is often a struggle but also how together we can be resilient, where we form these powerful connections. I was moved to tears when I eventually unlocked the significance of its title. Keane’s novel is an involving and ultimately redemptive family drama.

This was a slow burn book that managed to keep me reading. At first, I didn't like the frequent switches in point of view, but once I got used to it, it was much easier to follow. Based in America, there were some cultural references I didn't get. Some of them I stopped reading to google, others I just let pass. This book about broken people navigating their lives is ultimately hopeful as the power of love and forgiveness gently redeems their stories. I read this on my Kindle, and there was one thing that got on my nerves throughout the book - the use of a double apostrophe rather than a single after plurals. First time it occurred, I thought it must be a typo, but it happens throughout the whole novel, alongside other instances where a single apostrophe would be correct, for example with contractions: Jack-o"-lantern; Dunkin" Donuts; the nurses" station; the Stanhopes" back step; the Gleesons". This common mistake grated each time I encountered it.

This is the story of two young people raised side by side by very different families until one night when tragedy splits them apart. Years later they find their way back to each other but can their families forget the past?I was tempted to give this only 3 stars when I first finished it as I was waiting for some big event from the past to be revealed but then then I found myself still thinking about it and that actually the message of the book was that things that seem so important at the time will all fade to insignificance in time and I loved that...“All the things that had happened in their lives had not hurt them in any essential way, despite what they may have believed at times”

Ask Again, Yes is the eventful story of two families in the suburbs, a young forbidden love, and the effect of catastrophe decades after its destruction.Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are two NYPD cops living next door to one another in Gilliam, an Upstate New York contemporary suburb. Francis' wife, Lena is lonely in her marriage, while Anne, Brian's wife, is emotionally distant and mentally low. After a calamitous confrontation, the families become distant and bitter. But Francis and Lena's daughter, Kate, and Brian and Anne's son, Peter, fall in love. And beneath the family drama, emotional turmoil, and explosive history, their love is fighting hard to blossom. The novel then spans through the years and lives of its characters.Mary Beth Keane writes with an empathy and grace that makes Ask Again, Yes a touching and emotional read. But this book is totally character-driven. The personalities are well-developed, complex, and entertaining. Regrettably, the plot is doesn’t have much direction and the pace of the book is very slow, meaning the characters had to carry the entire story. There’s very little rush or excitement, even during the book’s most dramatic moments. As a result, my interest waivered. However, I really like the characters – every single one. They’re full of texture and I love how the decades shaped them.I really like how layered the book feels, especially with Peter and Kate at its core. Their Romeo and Juliet romance sounds simple, but mixed with imperfect family dynamics, this story is far from straightforward. Ask Again, Yes dives into mental health, forgiveness, addiction, and commitment as the characters try to navigate life with their path crumbling beneath them. The depictions of various familial relationships is deeply moving, especially in a web of toxicity and spite. It pushes the reader to ponder just how powerful love, trust, and forgiveness can be. And how they motivate us to do better.This novel is not an easy read. Its detail requires concentration and compassion. But the fascinating characters, extensive timeline, and analysis of human behaviour saved it from my DNF pile.

This book has all the ingredients for me -it’s compellingthought-provokingwritten with depth andwas able to capture my imagination and emotions.The Gleesons and the Stanhopes are neighbouring families whose differences separate them. Only their children Kate and Peter forge a lasting and deep friendship which through a misunderstanding and a shocking act of violence is torn apart one evening when they are in their teens.They eventually find their way back to each other but their bonds are tested all through their lives as their parents struggle with the past andAs a mother myself I'm always interested in family sagas, especially where difficult themes such as abuse, addiction and mental illness are important themes. Keane tells a story that spans over several decades and the reason I did love it so much is that forgiveness does take a long time and that there is no formula about how to heal from hurt. This was the point of the book to me. Actions have consequences, bad habits are passed down through generations and affect everyone involved or close to the person, and mental illness is real and forgiveness is key... if there's a will to take responsibility that is. I think the latter condition is the clinch pin because awareness of a person's capacity to hurt and negatively impact others which is followed by regret and shame can ultimately lead to reconciliation.I'm sure this book will stay with me for quite a while!Highly recommended!