Casting Off Book

I read an Advance Reader's Copy of this book, and though I was somewhat skeptical prior to reading it, I decided that it was well done by the time I was finished.

The main character is Rebecca Moray, who is traveling to an island (based on the Aran Islands, according to the author's notes) off the west coast of Ireland, to do research on a book she is writing about ganseys. As a textile archaelogist, she has been interested in the history of the sweaters and those who knit them ever since her college roommate, Sharon, taught her to knit. Rebecca and Sharon became as close as sisters, and though Sharon returned to Ireland, they keep in touch regularly.

Rebecca arrives in Ireland with her 6-year-old daughter, Rowan, and with the memory of her relationship with Rowan's father, who had been abusive to her. Sharon, who remains in Dublin ready to give birth, has told the people of the island stories over the years about Rebecca, so even though she is a stranger, everyone seems to know all about her.

Though Rebecca only has two months in which to do her research before her grant money runs out, she finds that the people of the island are very leisurely about providing the information she is seeking. They do not concern themselves with her deadlines, and try to make her comfortable in a slower pace of life. Her daughter Rowan makes friends and loves her new life, becoming very close with an older, widowed recluse, Sean Morahan.

This book was interesting to me because it was very descriptive of the way of life and the traditions of the people on the island. I also learned a lot about spinning, weaving, ganseys, and curraghs (a type of fishing boat).

A few of the characters were "typical," in that you felt you knew where there stories were headed, and in some sense, Rebecca and Sean fell into that category as well. But I think it is to the author's credit that she took what could have been a predictable story and instead made it a story of loss and redemption without it becoming too "perfect."

As is the case in a lot of books, the ending left something to be desired. It seemed to me that once the climax of the story had been reached, the author felt she had to tie things up and end it right away, and that seemed false to me, given the way the rest of the book had progressed.

An interesting story of someone hoping to find a place to call home.