Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell
Fiction
2013
Finished on May 17, 2025
Rating: 3/5 (OK)
Publisher's Blurb:
London, 1976. In the thick of a record-breaking heatwave, Gretta Riordan's newly retired husband has cleaned out his bank account and vanished. Now, for the first time in years, Gretta calls her children home: Michael Francis, a history teacher whose marriage is failing; Monica, whose blighted past has driven a wedge between her and her younger sister; and Aoife, the youngest, whose new life in Manhattan is elaborately arranged to conceal a devastating secret.
In a story that stretches from New York's Upper West Side to a village on the coast of Ireland, Maggie O'Farrell reveals the fault lines over which we build our lives. Instructions for a Heatwave weaves an unforgettable narrative of a family falling apart and coming together with hard-won, life-changing truths about who they really are.
Meh. I struggled to finish this sixth novel of Maggie O'Farrell's, which took me over a week to complete. I felt no sympathy toward any of the characters in this dysfunctional family tale, and grew impatient to move on and read something more engaging. Unlike her previous works, the structure of Instructions for a Heatwave is straightforward with a single narrative, presented in a linear timeline, over the course of four days. Each family member harbors a dark secret from their past, which they eventually reveal to some but not all of their relatives. The pacing is slow and languid, and while there is a bit of mystery involving the disappearance of Gretta's husband, the story lacked the necessary tension to hold my attention. Not one I'll read again.
Sounds a bit depressing to me. Think I can safely skip it. On to the next, right? LOL
ReplyDeleteKay, it was pretty bleak. Yes, feel free to take a pass on this one!
DeleteThis was my first Maggie O'Farrell book and made me want to read more of her work. I have enjoyed others more than this but this one hooked me on the author. Actually needed to go to Goodreads to see if I had read it, it was that long ago, 2013, haha.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Maggie, I finally have the Distance Between Us and started it while I am doing a buddy read on a Ferrante book. I am loving it so far and can't wait to see how Jake and Stella's stories might intertwine.
Tina, I can see how it would get you interested in O'Farrell's books, but she has written others that are better than this one. I'm going to read either My Lover's Lover or This Must Be the Place later next month.
DeleteAgreed. I read Esme Lennox and also This Must be the Place, liked both. The current one is engaging and I am midway through with Jake and Stella's back stories.
DeleteBummer. I am impressed you bothered to finish it.
ReplyDeleteHelen, if I weren't so determined to read all of O'Farrell's books, I might have given up. It wasn't a horrible book, just dull.
DeleteThanks for an honest review.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Mystica.
DeleteSorry this was a disappointment for you. The 1976 heat wave was mentioned in the Pilcher novel I just finished, too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence, JoAnn! That heatwave sounded awful. Since moving to Oregon, I can't tolerate super hot temps like I used to. I remember weeks of 100+ temps in Texas. Yuck!
DeleteI don't know many of her titles. Speaking of heatwaves -- even high 80s, which we are getting here this week strangely, are hard for us here, lol. We are wimps. Hoping a rain shower will bring it down. I will look for a Maggie recap when all is said and done about how many you liked. I'm ok sticking with Hamnet, lol.
ReplyDeleteSusan, in spite of some duds, I'm enjoying my dive into the works of O'Farrell. I believe I have four remaining. Regarding heatwaves, we're also wimps. We've hit 80 a few times here on the coast and when that happens, it feels much hotter than that. Hard to believe we lived in areas where summer temps were in the 90s and 100s! We got rain last night and it's going to be drizzly all day, which is good for the plants. We've only had 0.42" of rain this month, which isn't good! But since January 1st, we've had almost 26".
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