Maggie
Catherine Johns
Reviewed by Helen
Huge congratulations to Catherine Johns on her debut, this is a beautifully written story that tells the story of Maggie from her days as a border in a convent high school, it tells about her life at home and it shows the strength and determination that she never gave up on no matter how hard life got.
We meet Maggie during her last year of high school she has been dux of the school and at the convent boarding school on a scholarship, Maggie is working hard to get another scholarship for university she wants to be a scholar and aims high, She comes from a family that struggles her father is a drunk and abusive and home is the last place she wants to be, her best friend is Delia and she has told only her about her home life.
Father Lloyd Nihill arrives at the church and runs the young catholic society and he takes and instant liking to Maggie they get on really well and with Maggie craving affection it is not long before the pair are entangled in a taboo and forbidden secretive affair which must be kept secret, this continues on even when Maggie gets to Sydney and Macquarie University, where the relationship gets even more involved and will now change Maggie’s life even more.
The author has written this story based on a true story and I had to keep remembering it was written about the way things were in the 1960’s when men were able to get away with more than they do today and the Catholic Church seemed to as well, I am not Catholic but I did find the story upsetting at times. The story is complex, complicated and a bit thorny but told so well and Maggie stayed strong through it all and eventually came out the other side settled, I think anyway. It is a great read, one that I thoroughly enjoyed.
My thanks to Hachette AU for my copy to read and review.
We meet Maggie during her last year of high school she has been dux of the school and at the convent boarding school on a scholarship, Maggie is working hard to get another scholarship for university she wants to be a scholar and aims high, She comes from a family that struggles her father is a drunk and abusive and home is the last place she wants to be, her best friend is Delia and she has told only her about her home life.
Father Lloyd Nihill arrives at the church and runs the young catholic society and he takes and instant liking to Maggie they get on really well and with Maggie craving affection it is not long before the pair are entangled in a taboo and forbidden secretive affair which must be kept secret, this continues on even when Maggie gets to Sydney and Macquarie University, where the relationship gets even more involved and will now change Maggie’s life even more.
The author has written this story based on a true story and I had to keep remembering it was written about the way things were in the 1960’s when men were able to get away with more than they do today and the Catholic Church seemed to as well, I am not Catholic but I did find the story upsetting at times. The story is complex, complicated and a bit thorny but told so well and Maggie stayed strong through it all and eventually came out the other side settled, I think anyway. It is a great read, one that I thoroughly enjoyed.
My thanks to Hachette AU for my copy to read and review.
4 stars
February 1st by Hachette Australia
