Wednesday 3 February 2016

Book Review

I am reading a really good novel at the moment. It's called "Dear Cathy Love, Mary" and it was written by Catherine Conlon and Mary Phelan. It is a collection of letters that they wrote to each other during the 1980s. After doing the Leaving Cert, Mary stayed in Ireland to study accounting and Catherine moved to Trégunc in France to become an au pair. Every two weeks they received letters from each other and wrote back. The book is a collection of these letters.

I am really enjoying the letters so far because I am learning about what life was like in Ireland during the 1980s and I’m also learning about what it can be like to move to a different country where you don’t know anyone. I think this kind of book is very special because the days of writing letters are almost completely gone. If I was to move to France for a while, I would not write letters to my friends to keep in touch. Instead, I would message them on my phone. However, I enjoy reading letters because all the news from the past two weeks has to be written in one letter, along with the bit at the end that says “You’d better write soon”.

I also like the style of writing in the book.  Because the book is made up of real letters that were exchanged by real people, they are filled with news and gossip and, of course, are written in a conversational style. I find this very enjoyable to read and very funny in parts, also.

Overall, I think “Dear Cathy Love, Mary” is a brilliant read and I would recommend it to teenage girls, middle aged women and older women.