Vendor
	Fletcher Agency Melissa Chinchillo
Original language
English
Categories
Fiction & Related items

THE MAKING OF HER

Bernadette Jiwa

Every family has secrets, some darker than others. Inspired by the true story of a woman whose parents hid her existence from their ‘legitimate’ offspring, The Making of Her follows several generations of women, the restrictions and damage wrought by a closed and controlling society, and the possibility of redemption and healing when the truth comes out. Compelling and warm, Bernadette Jiwa’s skill as a novelist brings to mind Celeste Ng, Jodi Picoult and Alice McDermott.

Joan Egan receives a letter from her firstborn daughter, Emma, thirty years after she and her husband, Martin, gave her up for adoption. The letter ignites a necessary and painful exploration into the Egan’s marriage and Joan’s strained relationship with her second daughter, Carmel, that finally ruptures the façade of a happily married life in Dublin in the 90’s, the height of the Celtic Tiger boom. Emma’s letter doesn’t yet say that her toddler son, Ben, has leukemia and needs a bone marrow donor and that the Egans are her last and only hope of saving him.

This intergenerational novel weaves Joan’s point of view-- as she grapples with the pain and regret at giving up her baby-- with Carmel and Emma’s voices, each coming to terms with the perceived sins of their mother. The book flashes back to working class Dublin and North London to unearth the reasons why Joan did what she did, and the how of it reveals the kind of suffocating, misogynist society that set her up for her life of unspoken heartbreak and unhappiness.

The world Joan inhabits is one where everyone knows her business and takes great pleasure in judging her on it. The author creates a portrait of an Ireland where a woman can be elected President-- history made twice in row-- but where there is still no abortion, divorce and no marriage equality. A society where women are still fighting against the patriarchy, a long way from the modern Ireland we see today. And yet, history is bound to repeat itself, and for every stride we make, there’s a reversal of progress somewhere.

The Making of Her is an exploration of living with the consequences of an impossible choice made in extreme circumstances, and a transporting, absorbing story of a woman coming into her own agency after a lifetime of living a lie.

Available products
Book Published by Dutton

Comments

"Debut novelist Jiwa explores family dynamics from the women’s perspectives, with Joan’s viewpoint being the most informative and endearing as she deals with the limited options available to her. Memorable insights are quotable and the ending is satisfyingly true to the ups and downs experienced by Joan’s extended family. Fans of Maeve Binchey, Cathy Kelly, or Adriana Trigiani may find a new favorite author here."

“Oh how I love this novel! Once I started reading I never looked away, except when my eyes filled with tears. The Making of Her renders its characters so perfectly, and with so much compassion, they feel like dear friends after only a few chapters. Bernadette Jiwa has written a beautiful tribute to what our lives can become when shame is forgotten, and love is reclaimed”. – Nina de Gramont, author of THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR

“Bernadette Jiwa’s moving fiction debut, THE MAKING OF HER, explores the impact of secrets, the magnitude of our choices, and the tenuous binds of family. Set in Dublin and shifting between past and present, this deeply evocative novel is a masterful study into what it really means to love, and to forgive. THE MAKING OF HER is ultimately a story about the plight and power of women, and is not to be missed.” – Karma Brown, bestselling author of RECIPE FOR A PERFECT WIFE

"An absorbing, brilliantly paced book; I didn't want it to end."
–Roddy Doyle

“THE MAKING OF HER is a compelling and tender exploration of the unattainable expectations of women, the shame and guilt inherent in motherhood, and the reverberations of the hardest choices we make. Jiwa gives us a beautifully crafted, thought-provoking novel that ultimately celebrates the strength of women. A true pleasure to read."
--Ashley Audrain the bestselling author of PUSH.