Heartfelt and poignant, The House of Memories explores the overwhelming nature of grief in the wake of tragedy. In pain and anger, Ella O’Hanlon blames her husband, Aiden and her half sister, Jess, for the accident that ripped her life apart. Unable to forgive them, she leaves her life behind in a futile attempt to manage the devastation that engulfs her. When her beloved Uncle Lucas invites her to stay with him in England, Ella agrees, hoping for some respite from the agony of her loss but soon discovers there is no escape from the memories of love.
The House of Memories has such a simple premise but is a wonderful novel with compelling emotional depth. Tragedy inspires a maelstrom of emotions and each person touched by it deals with it differently. The first person point of view provides insight into Ella’s process of grieving, her heartbreak, confusion and bitterness bared to the reader with an honesty that incites heartfelt compassion.
How Aiden, Ella’s husband, and Ella’s family are faring both with their grief and their concern for Ella, is glimpsed through email exchanges, diary entries and letters. I admired the way in which McInerney lets us believe that perhaps Ella’s skewed perception of her family’s reaction to the loss is accurate but slowly we learn that her view is coloured by her own insular grief. Having cut herself off from them all Ella, and therefore we, cannot see the ways in which they are hurting too.
It’s important that you know, however, that there is as much heart and warmth in The House of Memories as there is angst and drama. The family dynamics are complex but at its core there is real love between it’s members. There are touches of delightful humour too, memories of childhood pleasures, Charlie’s family email missives and even Jess’s over enthusiastic use of exclamation marks.
A moving story of family, love and forgiveness, I thought The House of Memories was a captivating novel and one I would happily recommend.
