The Library at the Edge of the World (Finfarran Peninsula Series #1) by Felicity Hayes-McCoy
Harper Perennial, 2017
After leaving sophisticated London life and a cheating husband, Hanna Casey moves into her mum’s spare bedroom and takes a job driving a mobile library van through Ireland’s farms and villages. But when the threatened closure of her library jeopardizes her plans to establish a new life, Hanna leads a battle to restore the heart and soul of her community.
The first book in Felicity Hayes-McCoy’s Finfarran series features themes of belonging.
Protagonist Hanna Casey must re-invent herself after a messy divorce while repairing her relationships with her daughter, Jazz, and her mother, Mary. Many readers will identify with Hanna’s complicated mother-daughter relationships.
Hayes-McCoy has a knack for presenting eccentric characters who might require extra patience before we can understand and appreciate them. One larger-than-life character, Fury O’Shea, is entirely aggravating—until the moment you want to stand up and cheer for him.
Bookworms will enjoy the many specific references to books and authors scattered throughout this story. Library advocates will appreciate seeing how characters from each generation use library services differently.
And The Library at the Edge of the World is full of rich details of life in rural Ireland. The author’s occasionally roundabout style feels right for the setting and characters. Near the end of the story, an ah-ha moment brings the book’s creative title to life.
I can’t wait to spend more time on the Finfarran Peninsula. Are you headed there too? Read my review of Summer at the Garden Café (#2) here.
