The Brennans by Tracey Lange

We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange – 288 pages 

Book Blurb:

Tracey Lange shares a a story about when twenty-nine-year-old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, bruised and battered after a drunk driving accident she caused, she swallows her pride and goes home to her family in New York. But it’s not easy. She deserted them all—and her high school sweetheart—five years before with little explanation, and they’ve got questions. Sunday is determined to rebuild her life back on the east coast, even if it does mean tiptoeing around resentful brothers and an ex-fiancé. The longer she stays, however, the more she realizes they need her just as much as she needs them. When a dangerous man from her past brings her family’s pub business to the brink of financial ruin, the only way to protect them is to upend all their secrets—secrets that have damaged the family for generations and will threaten everything they know about their lives. In the aftermath, the Brennan family is forced to confront painful mistakes—and ultimately find a way forward, together.

My Review: 4 stars

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We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lange, a debut for the author, is a well-written and thought provoking family drama about a dysfunctional but close-knit Irish family. Since Sunday Brennan (the only girl in a family of three brothers) left her family suddenly five years ago, her return causes many questions and emotions to surface. Sunday’s secret reason for leaving, and other family secrets that come to light threaten to tear the family apart. The story alternates between the points of view of Sunday, her family members, and Sunday’s ex-boyfriend and family friend Kale. Sunday was an extremely likable and relatable character. All of the other characters, including the three Brennan brothers (Denny, Jackie, and Shaun (who was intellectually challenged), Sunday’s ex-boyfriend Kale, and father Mickey Brennan were sharply drawn. The author’s writing style drew me in and I actually felt like I was a member of the Brennan family and in the middle of all of the drama. I liked the characters, flaws and all, even though I didn’t always agree with their judgments and decisions.  

The novel was primarily character driven as it explored the dynamics of all of the various complex family relationships, but it also had a complex and engaging plot in addition to a strong mystery element. I appreciated the variety of perspectives that allowed me to get to know and understand all of the family members and other characters. It was interesting how the author ended each chapter with a line of dialogue, and the next chapter would start out repeating that same line, but would now follow a different character.

All of the characters have to reckon with the consequences of the past and the challenges of the present. The family drama and strong sense of family loyalty and love were portrayed in a realistic way and the drama was never over the top. The dialogue was natural, never hitting a false note. Although there was conflict between all of the family members, the family history they shared, along with the bonds and love they felt for each other was palpable. I found myself trying to guess at some of the family secrets, which were revealed, and some of them were surprising. The story dealt with themes including: complex bonds and emotional ties within families, alcoholism, confronting the past, rediscovering one’s self, learning to trust, guilt, shame, the power of love, and forgiveness. 

It was hard to believe that this was a debut novel. Lange is definitely an author to watch and I’ll be interested to see what she writes next. She has managed to construct a straightforward, compelling, absorbing, realistic, complex family drama with fully fleshed out characters, in a book that was not too long (only 288 pages). Readers who are fans of family sagas with complex relationships will enjoy this novel. Review by Guest Fairy Ronna W.

Quotes I liked:

What I’m saying is, if you can be happy, do it. If you know what you want in life, don’t wait for someone else to give it to you, go after it, and don’t let anything stand in the way.”  

“Part of what made this so hard was that he didn’t have any of the more convenient complaints people cited to end a marriage; adultery, neglect, constant arguing. They just lacked a fundamental intimacy that kept someone from feeling alone in the world.” 

“Sometimes there’s a thin line between helping and controlling.” 

“Family didn’t mean hiding the hard stuff from each other, it meant facing it together. And it meant forgiving each other.” 

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