As You Were by Elaine Feeney

I don't know what to make of this book. In some ways it's desperately honest and lyrical and in others it's blackly funny but then it's a difficult subject. It's about what might best be described as a near terminal hospital ward where Sinead Hynes, the feisty narrator has ended up with a terminal cancer. Her companions in the ward have had a stroke, are suffering from dementia or also have cancer. To make matters worse, Sinead has not told her husband about her condition while the stroke victim, Mary Rose, is trying to manage an extended family with their own crises and the dementia sufferer, Jane, is desperately trying to make sense of her own life while being seriously confused. And, of course, the health service is on its knees being poverty stricken, short-staffed and underequipped.

It is quite an achievement to make this funny and it's also empathetic at times in the support the women provide for each other and their human kindness. They also look sympathetically on Patrick Hegarty, the final member of the group who is in a serious decline. The interplay between them all and the hard-pressed staff could be described as entertaining but, sometimes, the humour is lost in the physical indignities and the awfulness of the situations.

The book's strength is in the writing as we encounter Sinead in her current tragic predicament but also learn about her past as a property developer, her relationship with her husband Alex and with her children. Nothing is held back in terms of the unpleasantness of life on the ward but Elaine Feeney constantly stresses the humanity of those trapped in this sad, mad predicament.

Eventually the various crises in everyone's lives come to a head and, in an odd way, there's a sort of happy ending in the resolution that follows. I wasn't entirely convinced by that but it's a good book even if not a cheerful read. I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a book to settle down with during a pandemic!

(As You Were is published by Vintage. Thanks to the publishers and to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for a fair review.)

I have been in a really quandary with regards to this book, and my reason being was that I wasn't very keen on it, and I hate leaving negative reviews, as I know that the authors see them on here.

I truly appreciate the skill and talent that goes into forming every single manuscript and so it is completely disheartening when someone like me comes along and says "I didn't like it" so for that I truly apologise from the bottom of my heart, but I did feel that on here, especially,I have to be honest, open and truthful, even when it doesn't sit right with me.

I think my main reason for not connecting with this story, or in the main character was because of the subject matter which is too close to home at the present time, so a lot of the reading made me feel uncomfortable.

I was also disappointed in the ending, which I felt was rushed somewhat with Sinead then opening up to her husband about her diagnosis, getting out of hospital and then changing her mind for treatment- I think I would have preferred the inevitable ending with Sinead passing, but seeing how her husband Alex and her children coped with that.

Once again, I apologise for this review, but I know that there will be thousands, hopefully, hundreds of thousands of people who loved this book.

This new literary fiction novel follows a tough, driven woman called Sinead, who throughout the book spends a lot of time in a failing hospital - but she is keeping the terrifying secret of her terminal illness from her husband and her sons. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped I would.

The book started off well - I was intrigued by the plot, I liked that it sounded character focused (something I love!), and it seemed as though it would explore some interesting themes surrounding mortality and family. I was also excited by the book's prose - it has a very disjointed, stream-of-consciousness style, jumping around in time from the present day to memories of the past. There are no speech marks throughout the book, so the speech is very interwoven with the protagonist's thoughts.

While all of this was promising, I ultimately struggled to connect with the protagonist, Sinead. I didn't feel as though I got to know her as a fully fleshed-out character with likes, dislikes, passions and beliefs. Because of this, I couldn't build up a picture of her in my mind - and ultimately I failed to grow to care about her.

The writing also didn't work for me. I tend to love unconventional prose, and while there were moments of real insight in here, I overall found it to be too much - it was too confusing and too distracting.

So while I wanted to enjoy this one, it unfortunately wasn't for me. I do, however, think that other people could very much enjoy it - so if these themes and this narrative style appeals to others, I would recommend they give it a go.

I've really tried to get into this one but had to give up. I couldn't get past the disjointed way it was written. I know the author is a poet & some of the bits were very clever, poetic & beautiful. However I couldn't get involved with it & had to give up. I know it will appeal to many but not for me. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me try to read it!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Sinead Hynes is tough, driven, funny young property developer with a terrifying secret. No one knows it: not her fellow patients in a failing hospital, and certainly not her family. She has only confided in Google and and a shiny magpie.

Sinead is a young wife and mother that's in hospital with a tumour. We learn of her story and the eclectic mix of patients from Sineads perspective. The story tells of the struggles a woman faces with her cancer diagnosis. The emotionally difficult topics were sensitively written. This is a well written debut novel. This can be hard and a bit em6book to read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and the author Elaine Feeney for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with this book, particularly the first half. I almost gave up at one point. The style of writing is very different, which probably reflects the author's background as a poet. Each of the characters is quite extreme and I found it hard to warm to any of them. That all of them would be together on the same ward stretches credibility.

That said, I enjoyed the second half of the book more and felt more drawn into the story.

This is an interesting book but overall I'm afraid that it wasn't really for me.

I will be very honest, when I started this book I did not think I would be able to continue with it. It seemed very weird. I guess though that has more to do with me as a reader than the skills of the author. As a child I loved reading but I was probably a lazy one, stuck in my comfort zone reading Enid Blyton after Enid Blyton.
Once I had acclimatised to the very distinct writing style, I grew to enjoy this very different story.
Elaine is a poet and the first part of the book , for me, is more like poetry, the sentence structure, the layout and the brevity of words conveying oh so much more. I again have to admit to not being a huge fan of poetry. I don't think I am clever or cultured enough to understand or appreciate the beauty in the succinct lines. I am a prose-in-blocks, typical paragraphs and long sentences kind of reader but there must have been something, enough intrigue and interest and desire to expand my mind, to keep going and I am so glad I did! (And I did finish it in just two sittings!)
This book will not appeal to the masses, as it is unusual and quite strange!
It is a fascinating way of telling a story about patients on a hospital ward in Ireland. Very Irish dialogue from stroke victim Margaret Rose Sherlock and very raw outpourings from our narrator Sinead Hynes, who is dying but has hidden her cancer from her husband Greg and three boys. She has also refused treatment. This is not the only tragedy to befall Sinead and alongside her is paraplegic Shane. The other patients on the mixed ward are Jane, who is an older lady and quite, quite mad and then councillor Patrick Heggarty or 'Hegs' whose daughter Claire is constantly by his bedside.
There is beauty in the brutality of life and death and I was hooked, engrossed in the stories of these bedridden characters, where there is no privacy on the wards and where we can easily overhear all their thoughts and wishes. Molly Zane is the Australian nurse often on duty and Michal is the Polish 'dinner bringer'. A motley collection of individuals with compelling dialogue which readily distinguishes between one character and another. You do have to be quite adept at jumping in your mind as the narration travels back and forth between different times and in and out of lucidity.
If you are looking for an interesting read that broadens your reading horizons then I think this debut novel might just be for you!

This has been a slow read for me - I have only made it half way through and doubt that I will finish it.

The story follows Sinead who has a terminal cancer diagnosis but has confided in no-one except Google and a passing magpie.

I found the meandering narrative style really off-putting to read. I really wanted to like this but it just didn't hook me in at all.

This was great. I had certain expectations when I started reading the book but the humour was not what I expected. Not sure if it's because I'm Irish but would recommend.

I really tried to like this book. Parts of it were good but it seemed to ramble in a lot of places. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Sinead lies in bed, in a small hospital ward, in Galway. She is dying and hasn't told her husband or three sons.
There's a fine line between tragedy and black comedy in this impressive debut novel which has a lot to say about Irish women past and present. It is the sheer Irishness of it that makes it so good.
The characters are all captivatingly odd and will linger long in your memory. A novel you will never forget.

Sinead is taken by ambulance to hospital, ostensibly with a chest infection, but known only to herself, her doctor and a magpie she has terminal cancer. She considers the reason for her silence in recollections of her childhood and marriage whilst on a ward with Margaret Rose, Jane, Hegs and Shane. Initially she observes and listens to her fellow patients but she is gradually drawn into their lives and they become part of hers. Elaine Feeney presents a cast of Irish characters with an original approach through their phone calls, visitors and google searches, and with a light humorous touch explores big themes: the historic and current treatment of pregnant young women; domestic abuse and marriage; the quality of health care; the Celtic Tiger and, but most of all family and love.

I not sure what to write i not sure if i like this book it just did not grap me it very well wrote it it withy in places a tough subject to write about characters were good i just found it slow to get into but a ok book to read just not my kind of book i hate to say sorry but a good debut but story did not grap me

This is a distinctive novel and won't be for everyone. I thought it would be depressing but parts of it made me laugh, sometimes in unexpected ways.

It is a "slap you round the face" kind of read, simply because the dialogue is so full-on at times, yet that is part of its charm.

As an English literature undergraduate, I read James Joyce's Ulysses, which had several writing styles distilled in its narrative. This book is similar to Joyce's, but the setting isn't Dublin but a hospital in Galway where Sinead is trying to face up to the news that she has terminal cancer.

So far, she has only told a magpie and Google, not her husband or three sons because she can't process it herself yet.

Part of Sinead's lack of fight arises from her childhood and being told by her violent father that she is good for nothing. His invective towards her is recounted at key moments in the story.

The ward Sinead is on has a mix of patients, a matriarch figure with an errant husband and flighty teenage daughters, a former teacher who has dementia, a young paralysed man, and a local politician with lung cancer.

Dialogue is raw and nothing is off limits, and characters are believable, if flawed. The vernacular doesn't always make it an easy read; however, there is an honesty and authenticity about the writing that compels you to read on.

On another level, the novel also touches on issues such as abortion, domestic abuse, Catholic treatment of unmarried mothers, and repressed sexuality. There are lists of searches on Google, transcripts of phone calls and text message exchanges, remembered invective from a parent to a child, repeated imagery, and passages of prose poetry. It is a heady mix but worth sticking with.

This is Elaine Feeney's debut novel and I look forward to reading more by her.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Random House UK, in return for an honest appraisal.

As You Were follows Sinead who keeps her terminal illness from everyone bar google and a magpie.

I really enjoyed this book - this is Feeney’s first novel having already published works of poetry. I think you can really tell by her writing style. It won’t be for everyone but I enjoyed the mix of short snappy paragraphs (some times one line) with longer pieces of prose.

Given the nature of the story, it is emotional and heartbreaking at times but it is peppered with Irish humour which lightens the tone and makes for a really good read! I can’t wait to read more by Elaine Feeney!

I don't like giving negative reviews, but having abandoned reading this novel 30% of the way in I don't have any other option..

Basically, the narrative is a stream of consciousness of a woman diagnosed with terminal cancer. As might be expected, given the severe emotional strain, her thoughts are often disjointed, rambling and incoherent. Unfortunately, that's exactly how the narrative reads, disjointed, rambling and incoherent, and I spent an inordinate amount of time rereading and re-rereading passages in order to make sense of them, often failing. This destroyed any entertainment value and it became hard work rather than an enjoyable experience.

The warning signs were there to spot early on. The narrator fills two full pages (on my Kindle) to list Internet search terms she had entered into Google. Big Yawn and skip forward after the first 5. (The bestselling Elmore Leonard's tenth rule of writing is: Try to leave out the parts that readers tend to skip.)

I'm sure some readers will enjoy the intensity and obliqueness, and others will profess they enjoyed it. However, this book is just not for me. Sorry.

Everyone has a box inside their head where they keep the things that are so traumatic, terrible, miserable or depressing. Not only is this tale an exploration of "The Box" but it ripped mine open and laid it bare, which i must admit left me in a state that no-one needs to be left in. It's beautifully written and the pros are on occasion incredibly poetic. There are those who will read this and see the beauty in it and then there are people like myself that get dragged into a very deep and very dark hole that's almost impossible to escape. Weeks after reading this I still think about it and trying to put all those things back in "The Box". It is for certain a five star book if only for the writing itself, the story itself wasn't close to home, it was more like shadow that follows you for life..

Elaine has a different style of writing which will appeal to some readers, but unfortunately not me. I do not like to give a negative review especially to a new author, so I really tried to get into her style and the story she was telling, but unfortunately I had to give up.

I didn’t like this book at all. I persevered through several chapters, groaning every time I picked it up. I tried. I really did. But, I just couldn’t get into the story — heck, I couldn’t even figure out what the story was! I found the writing style bizarre, confusing and unfocused, and in the end I gave up out of a mixture of frustration and boredom. Not my cup of tea at all, I’m afraid.

My thanks to NetGalley for the review copy nonetheless.

I heartily disliked As You Were. I read as much as I could bear and gave up, I’m afraid.

It is the story of Sinead Hynes who is A Woman With A Secret who develops cancer. On the ward to which she is admitted her past and those of other patients gradually emerge...and I found it next to unreadable. My chief (but not my only) problem was the style; Elaine Feeney is a poet and the book is written in a sort of half-prose-half-poetry style which didn’t work at all for me. It is the sort of writing whose purpose seems largely to draw attention to itself rather than to conveying meaning or feeling or narrative in a convincing way. Thus, for example, when the narrator went into hospital previously, it wasn’t to have her appendix removed, it was to have “a thickened, viscid appendix plucked off my bowel.” I can just about live with the overblown adjectives, but “plucked off” is just too much for me here, and there is sentence after sentence after sentence of this stuff.

I did wade through quite a lot of the prose to try to get to what was beneath, but Feeney introduces so many issues that the book loses what focus it may have had. (And it’s all wrapped up in prose which is recondite and of an immanent gelatinous viscosity which...etc.) I expected to be deeply involved with Sinead’s experience as I have been very close to two dearly loved women as they died of cancer, but I wasn’t drawn in at all. The book seemed to be saying nothing new, but going over very well-worn ground in an off-puttingly self-conscious way.

I was persuaded to try this by rave reviews from writers whom I admire like Lisa McInerney, but it really wasn’t for me and I can’t recommend it.

(My thanks to Harvill Secker for an ARC via NetGalley.)