"Love for Harry Moore will be forever linked with Marie, the beautiful girl from Alsace. Ever since his magical teenage encounter with her in a tine holiday resort in Donegal, it has never lived up to his expectations.
Thirty years later, Harry, middle-aged, but not quite disillusioned, travels to Strasbourg to take up the search for Marie and the innocence and longings of his youth."
McNeill's book is a coming of age story. Events of his early youth affects Harry Moore his whole life. He is not able to forget Maria, the girl he met during an enchanting summer, at a time when he is going from being a teenager to become a man. Good and bad things happened during this last summer of childhood, and it affected all of the people involved.
The story starts in the present time when Harry Moore is visiting Strasbourg on a business trip. Having never forgotten Maria, he intends to look her up. Thirty years is a long time and people change. He is hesitant, but in the end he contacts her.
This is Killen McNeill's first novel (from 2001) and a very good one. He is from Norther Ireland, but is living in Germany. The story is set with the Northern Ireland conflict as a background, although it is not at the forefront of the story. McNeill's way of writing reminds me a little bit about two Irish writers that I like, namely Colm Tóibín and Sebastian Barry. It is something in telling a story, where nothing much is happening in the physical sense, but more on a psychological level. Wonderfully, straightforwardly written, with a feeling of how young people act, their dreams and visions, or no visions at all.
The younger years and the devastating summer are seen in flash backs, and take up the bigger part of the book. It is only now, in middle age, that Harry finds the possibility to see clearly what happened all those years ago. Maybe we do need a life time to settle certain parts of our life. However, what if that has prevented us from living a full life?
Meeting Marie opens up a lot of feelings within Harry, feelings not easily controllable. And then he finds out other things, about Marie and his wife. A low toned book with a lot of feelings, thoughts and an outlook on what life is really about. Is it not all about the people we love?
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