An amazing opus of a book. Keane has created a labyrinth structure of a novel featuring memorable characters, the setting of recent late millennium gives a nostalgic tinge that you would think of how Revolutionary Road or Ford novels read. I have cherished reading this book when I can, long but savoured every page

I loved this book - I have already recommended via social media and will continue to do so closer to publication. It is the sort of big American family novel that I love - reminded me of Celeste Ng, Meg Wolitzer and so on. The author does an excellent job of getting inside the heads of complicated characters and really making you care.

My one criticism is the title - which of course makes sense when you finish the book, but will sell the book to no-one and gives very little sense of what it is.

From the moment I began reading Mary Beth Keane's story of a trauma that shatters the lives of neighbouring families in New York in the nineteen seventies, I was gripped. The characterisation is so authentic and the emotional narrative so compelling. It has the feel of an instant classic.

What is particularly appealing about Keane's writing is the way her characters develop. We witness them slowly gaining articulacy as they gradually come to terms with the mutability of history.

"A memory is a fact that's been dyed and trimmed and rinsed so many times that it comes out looking unrecognisable to anyone else who was in that room," Kate, one of the central characters, concludes when reminded of an incident she witnessed in which a neighbouring child climbed a telephone pole only to get paralysed with fear when he had nearly reached the top. It's an event that she had entirely dismissed from her thoughts; but now, forced to recall it, she understands the emblematic significance it holds for herself and her husband.

This is what makes the writing so effective: we are witnessing the characters thinking their way through their own experience. And that experience has included shocking violence, mental illness, addiction and child abuse.

But this is no catalogue of misery. Keane's book is essentially optimistic. It's about survival through empathy, and the author displays an emotional reach that I found hugely impressive. Without a doubt this is the best book I have read this year.

I don't often cry, but this made me. It's a story of two families - imperfect, hopeful, ordinary - and the love that connects them: that between the son of one family and the daughter of the other. It could so easily have been cliched, a contrived modern-day Romeo and Juliet - but the characters were all so real, so intricately drawn that it wasn't. Instead there was something epic about the scope of the novel. By the time I'd finished the novel, I'd spent so long with the characters, and believed in them so completely, I felt completely wrung out, I loved it.

This was a tough read for me. It's a story about families, mental illness, abandonment and violence and despite being well written, just didn't do anything for me.

It's got a legion of fans and I really don't want to publicise my views as I found myself skipping parts. Just sorry I don't feel the enthusiasm of the many.

2*

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

This is a story about mental illness and how it affects everyone, not just the person. The story all circles around traffic events on one night and then individually how people moved on with their lives. It's not a big story with a great plot, it is an In depth look at people and families touched by alcoholism and mental illness

What a FANTASTIC read. This is not my normal genre but I was captured after the first couple of pages. Mary Beth Keane is on my "watch list" for the future. After reading the book I reflected on my childhood and friends I have had for over 50 years and how we were when we were growing up from 6 and the fun we had in our teens and how some changed for the better and some for the worse which made this book so real and honest even though it was set in the USA and my memories are of the UK. I recommend this book for people who like a good honest read and want to reminisce on their life and friends they have grown up with.

A family drama told over decades in beautifully realised detail.

Two NYPD rookies end up living next door to each other just outside of the city. They are definitely colleagues rather than friends, but their lives are forever interlinked first when their children Kate and Peter become friends, then after a tragic incident that none of them will ever be able to forget.

The author changes viewpoint and time period frequently as we follow these families through their lives. But somehow she draws them as real full people very quickly.

Peter's mother, Anne Stanhope, does not like the friendship between Peter and Kate. But then she doesn't like much of anything. It becomes clear that she has been struggling with severe mental illness for years without any help, and that Peter has been looking after himself (his father preferring to look the other way) for most of that time. When Anne is driven to extremes, Peter and his father move away and the friendship torn apart.

As the children grow up, the families try to repair themselves. One almost succeeds, the other definitely fails at the first hurdle. Then as adults, Kate and Peter rediscover each other and find that their inclination to spend as much time together as possible is still mutual. But what does that mean when their past is so broken?

This is a story of mental health, marriage and forgiveness, skilfully told. It has a few moments that moved a little slower than others, or I might've given it a 5, but then again I still might!

Really loved this book. Engaging family saga with a number of twists and turns. Tragic and heartwarming.

This reminds me of Anne Tyler...literature with a Liane Moriarty twist.
Two families live next door to each other. The fathers are both policemen, not friends but perhaps partners. Peter and Sara grow up together but the marriage of Peter's parents is damaged by her mental illness. A mistake, a gun and the two families are split apart.
Keane tells a story in a strangely dispassionate way, as if she is afraid to become involved. We are voyeurs, looking through the window of Peter and Kate's lives, in the same way as Peter's mother, Ann, watches them.
The objectivity of the narration seems almost to reflect the numbness of Ann, wanting to repair the past and not knowing how.
This is a deceptively simple story but what seems at first to be a "family drama" is far more complex than that. I suspect it will replay in my mind for some time as I unravel what makes these characters so real.

I honestly loved this book. It made me cry. Usually books that make me cry do so with either sadness or joy, but this was something in between.

I just loved the complexity and dimensions of the characters in this book. Keane takes the notion of a ‘protagonist’ and ‘antagonist’ and throws them in the bin.

Instead we follow two families, the Gleeson’s and the Stanhope’s, over a period of 40 years in New York. The main focus is on Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope and the evolution of their relationship over the four decades that the book spans; a relationship which endures violence and trauma against all odds.

Although Kate and Peter dominate the narrative we are also invited to view the world from others perspectives, namely their parents. Most of the characters featured, in their own way are deeply flawed. Yet they all are capable of unconditional love, of forgiveness and of repentance. I think this is what I enjoyed most about this story. The level of empathy that Keane creates is captivating and it undermines the idea that humans can be defined in black and white. The book questions the notion of a ‘happy ending’ and illustrates that they don’t always come in the way we expect.

If you enjoy family dramas, complex characters and a good old romance then definitely give this a go!

**I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FREE FROM NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW**

'Ask Again, Yes' is a carefully-crafted family drama, exploring how a single tragic event shapes the lives of two families.

The writing is wonderfully assured and there are some beautiful moments of insight. I felt from the first few pages that I was in safe hands, and I quickly became immersed in the story. This is an author who really gets her characters.

I sometimes felt the pace was a little too measured - some chapters detail small moments, while others span years in a couple of sentences, but the prose never loses its steady rhythm. There were also moments when the characters thoughts felt a little too cloying, their actions too inevitable.

But I suppose this reiterates the main theme of the novel: that whatever happens, whatever tragedies fracture our lives, life goes on. 'Ask Again, Yes' touches on many dark issues - mental illness, alcoholism, abuse - but the underlying tone is always one of hope: this too shall pass.

An extremely enjoyable read, which at times brought me to tears. The characters were well drawn and believable which made the story all the more involving.

A profoundly moving novel about two neighboring families in a suburban town, the friendship between their children, a tragedy that reverberates over four decades, and the power of forgiveness.

The novel deals with many issues such as mental health issues and alcoholism, all of which are beautifully written and have obviously been researched vigorously by the author. I had read the blurb and seen this book several times as it has appeared on many upcoming and new releases book lists. It drew me in & I was highly intrigued to know what the tragedy was. It was a fascinating read that I couldn't put down. The ending, although not surprising or astounding, summed the story up perfectly.

A really compelling read in an all-American setting.

Two families, the Gleesons and the Stanhopes, both move into a new neighbourhood, both fathers working together in the local police department; yet the mothers have less in common and Anne Stanhope actively avoids all social contact.

As the children, Peter Stanhope and Kate Gleeson form a firm friendship, tragedy strikes within the heart of their families.

An exploration of the impact of how our childhood experiences can form our future selves, this is beautifully written with characters to care deeply about.

Kate and Peter grow up next door to each other. Their dads are policeman and Kate's mum would love to be friends with Peter's mum but she is rather cold and aloof.
Just as the two are beginning to explore new feelings for each other their lives are torn apart by a terrible tragedy
which badly affects the two families.
This is a compelling story of families, enduring love, tragedy and understanding. It is written with compassion and will stay with you long after the last page.

A story of life when a parent has an undiagnosed mental health condition. It is reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet in Kate and Peter. They just don't die, but as they reach that 'teenager in love' moment, tragedy hits and they are torn apart with no contact between them.

They start their lives as children of 2 families living side by side but the difference is remarkable. George and Brian both work in the police force. George is ambitious and heading for Captain. He moves his pregnant wife, ... to the suburbs to suit his ambitious status. He then persuades his friend from training, Brian, to move in next door. Anne, Brian's is not the neighborly friend... hopes for as she shuns company and conversation. Then the tragedy divides them all.

During university Kate and Peter rediscover each other and know they want to be together but no one wants them to or thinks they will survive the aftereffects of the tragedy.

I enjoyed this novel but it was not a wow for me as it's 'a life happens' plot. But if you enjoy family sagas then this is a well written novel for you.

I was given the novel free by netgalley.com for my fair and honest review.

A really good family saga. There is a lot happening but through it all there is a lot of love and hope. My only gripe is that I thought that it was a little too long.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I really enjoyed this novel! Ordinarily I would have dismissed it as a romance based on the title, but I'm so glad I didn't because it is much more than that. It's a family saga that spans generations, with extraordinary insight into characters and their motivations in a well-researched and rich setting. So well-written and finely-wrought. Highly recommended for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Anne Tyler.

This is a difficult book for me to review because I really wanted to like it a lot more than I did. I found the characters hard to connect with and not all of them likeable but I cannot fault the writing and I think this was what made me keep going with the book and I did enjoy a large part of it.
It’s a slow story that builds to a terrible incident and then deals with the aftermath and consequences of the incident it’s done very well but sadly for me I struggled at times as I felt my interest wavering perhaps it just wasn't the right time for me to read it and so for me it was a 3 star read but I’m sure that others will enjoy it a lot more.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin, Michael Joseph for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.