I Have to Tell You Something

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We begin to slowly unravel the many secrets buried on that land; the tragic death of Ursula and Jimmy’s eldest son Mark, which brought their middle son Rob home to help mind the farm along with his wife Kate. Ursula’s difficult past she refuses to talk about, the strange absence of Ursula’s only brother Peter at the funeral. He’s talking about his son. And here’s another example of his best friend talking about his own son: The problem with this book is that our protagonist is a thoroughly unlikable, incredibly boring character. And while thoroughly unlikeable characters can make for great writing (Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, Amy Dunne from Gone Girl, Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Underground Man from Notes from Underground), over here it, very simply put, does not. Perhaps my son would, one day, prefer to be blown by a stranger in a toilet, or perhaps he would like to be spanked while being fellated by a Negro transvestite.” He also has a son... a kid, who's a real asshole of a kid from where I stand and you can see why in the way his father is with him. Soooo cringy.

I thought this had a great conversational tone. It was clearly rewritten for children and explicitly talked about what he would have wanted to hear in eighth grade. That included topics ranging from politics and the impact they can have on our lives to student loans and financial aid. Also a very minor thing (I think there were only 2 references to it in the whole novel) but the spelling of “eejit” with a g instead of a j (“eegit”) bugged me to no end and yes, I know this is trivial!Kureishi was born in London to a Pakistani father and an English mother. His father, Rafiushan, was from a wealthy Madras family, most of whose members moved to Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947. He came to Britain to study law but soon abandoned his studies. After meeting and marrying Kureishi’s mother Audrey, Rafiushan settled in Bromley, where Kureishi was born, and worked at the Pakistan Embassy. I loved this amazing debut move by yet another talented Irish author. Set on a farm in the west of Ireland, McDonagh tells a gripping story.

There’s Something I Have To Tell You by Michelle McDonagh is a rural noir murder mystery, with similarities to an Irish true crime many will be familiar with from a few years ago. Dear god, old man. Get a grip. Take a cold shower. That’s basically what a huge portion of the book feels like: awkward, uncomfortable, and like having a conversation with an older relative who is determined to use the words blow job in every second sentence. This is a pretty good contemporary mystery/thriller. Jessica "Jay" Wells is a high-profile criminal defense attorney outside of London. She is married to Tom, a criminal barrister, and they have two college-aged children. When Edward Blake, a well-known architect and developer, is arrested for allegedly killing his wife, Jay is hired by the family to represent him. The family insists that there is no way that Ed killed his wife, and are desperate for Jay to free him. Even though Chasten is the husband of the former Democratic presidential candidate (Peter Buttegieg) this book was not a political one, but a personal story meant to give courage and inspiration to teenagers today by sharing the good and the bad, the hardship, fear and pain, as well as the joy and the relief, on the journey of being true to yourself. And it certainly succeeded in that! I Have Something to Tell You was a truly hopeful and earnest story. I enjoyed the direct conversational writing style and how Chasten used a lot of his humor when telling it, and how he wasn’t afraid of showing his own shortcomings nor shy away from awkward situations. It was also really heartwarming to see the love for and from his family even though they all went through a bit of a rough path after he came out. But of course, much of the content focused on his experiences as a gay man. And he tried to provide hope for the future while being upfront about both the positive and negative reactions he experienced. I found it quite powerful, though I would have liked a bit clearer organizational structure.I just knew I would treasure this marvellous tale as Susan Lewis's writing style is wondrous. The story flows beautifully, the characters are colourful, well crafted and easy to root for and Jay's is one of many viewpoints here. Awash with secrets and untruths I Have Something to Tell You is a mightly enjoyable, extremely intriguing tale from start to finish. I'm looking forward to my next outing with this author.

Everyone is walking a unique path. This story is not just about Chasten feeling different than the cultural archetypes his childhood community valued because he was gay. This is a story where every teen who has felt out of step with the “mainstream,” every child who has been teased because of their appearance, their disability, their social awkwardness, every adolescent trying to make sense of who they are can see themselves. And know that they are not alone. It will get better. Her husband Jimmy was known to be in the early stages of dementia, but no one is able to explain how their bodies were found in an odd location on their family farm - namely, the slurry pit, which should not have been operational at the time. Clearly no contender for Mother of the Year, Ursula also repeatedly broke her promises to her second son Robert and his wife Kate, who lived on the farm and worked alongside the older couple. Their marriage was on the verge of disintegration immediately prior to the two corpses being found at the farm, so it could truthfully be said that Ursula's death gave Kate and Robert a second chance at working out their relationship.As an adult that is only about 5 years younger then Chasten I am very jealous of my partner not having run for Prime Minister yet!!! On this timeline he only has three years to get to the Prime Ministerial campaign trail but I can't even convince him to run for Local Government! LAMKIN for MAYOR 2024!!! (I would do it myself but I don't like talking to people) I’m happy that queer social figures like Chasten are creating a world with more love, acceptance, and inclusivity. There are family secrets aplenty, as well as those who fear the discovery of them, but is it really reasonable to think that Jimmy and Ursula's awful deaths could be laid at the door of any of their nearest and dearest?