As You Were by Elaine Feeney. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) from the publisher via Netgalley included. No affiliate links used. Read my full disclosure policy here.
Sinéad Hynes is a married property developer with young children. When Sinéad is hospitalised she decides to hide the true nature of her illness from her family. From everyone except ‘a fat magpie’, that is.
As You Were follows Sinéad’s time in hospital, where privacy is not possible because those curtains people pull around their beds are not soundproof. As Sinéad struggles with keeping her secret, she watches the other people on the ward deal with their own problems.
In the bed across from Sinéad, Margaret Rose won’t let a suspected stroke stop her from running her family. Thanks to her trusty Nokia. Dementia means that Jane isn’t always aware of where she is and what is happening. Shane is a quiet man who has suffered a spinal injury. Hegarty is a local politician whose daughter is never far from his side.
Through this group of people who are forced to spend time together, Elaine Feeney examines the secrets people keep and why, Ireland’s history of institutions, the misogyny that is ingrained in women’s healthcare, and the kindness of strangers.
This is Feeney’s debut novel, but she is a published poet which I think informs her stream of consciousness writing style. A writing style that lends itself well to a hospital setting and Sinéad’s state mind.
As You Were is a page-turner tragicomedy that is written with a razor sharp focus on how the events of the past impact our present and future.
As You Were by Elaine Feeney is published by Harvill Secker, an imprint of Vintage Books and Penguin Random House, and is available in hardback, ebook and audiobook format. The paperback edition will be published on July 1st.