Greener, by Grainne Murphy ( BPS Bookclub Sept 2024)
Great to have everyone back together for book-club again! This month’s meet-ups were unusual for two reasons. Firstly, we were lucky to have Grainne herself join us via Zoom and hear a lot more about her writing and thought process. Secondly, the tables were turned, in that the Tuesday group, usually more given to ‘seeing the best in something’,were less impressed with Greener, and the Thursday group really found a resonance with the storyline and characters. I can only conclude that the mixed age group of the Thursday people was able to find more relevance with the friendship theme and the changing dynamics of old schoolfriend into adulthood. She writes with real empathy about bereavement and dealing with the practicalities of death, and spoke of her own awareness of the fragility of friendship with older people, in that the ‘fear of the future’ is always there.
Briefly, the scores reflected that a lot of people enjoyed the book: 62% gave it a solid 4 or above ( and plenty above!), 20% were an average ‘3’ and the remaining 18% awarded it a 2.5 or less. The main criticisms of the latter group were the repetitive nature to the characters and plot without adding any greater depth, and a sense that they didn’t like the characters enough to really care about them.
Using Covid in the storyline felt to some like it automatically dated the story, however it did add that sense of relatability which the entire world experienced, and it provided a useful structure to explain the absence of the daughter and the closeness of Annie.
Some of us found it frustrating that the girls did not resolve their differences more easily as adults. Grainne suggested that the Covid ‘era’ made her reflect on the changing nature of friendship, how the physical distance created a less intense connection than in person, and how newer friendships match up to those of childhood - plus how a ‘triangle’ friendship is always more variable and interesting than a two person! Other touchstones that were noted were the familiarity with your friends’ parents - a key difference in childhood friendships from any other.
Her interesting structure and chapter headings are influenced by Sarah Moss’s Tidal Zone, if anyone is interested in following that up.
There was a sense of the unreliable narrator at the heart of Helen’s story, and hints of a difficult childhood that she perhaps wasn’t too skilled at navigating in her teens. We enjoyed surmising what the real truth behind her standoffish behaviour might be, and what sort of characters her parents were in their prime. She wasn’t a warm and likeable character but at the same time there was a complexity which was interesting to consider.
Some felt the setting would have lent itself well to a stage play, with some strong metaphors contained in the garden, the ‘big house’ and the forbidding gates. However Grainne herself admitted that ‘dialogue isn’t her strong suit’ and she prefers to be inside characters’ heads rather than make them talk through their issues!
Some of you expressed an interest in reading other novels by Grainne - they are Where the Edge Is, Winter People and Ghostlights. All of these are currently out of print but I am assured by the publisher that a reprint is underway and they will all be available again in early November.
