An Interesting, Heavy Read
The Magdalen Girls by V.S. Alexander was an interesting read with things I both liked and disliked. Set in 1960s Dublin, Alexander introduces us to a dark chapter of Catholic church history via two young women from different backgrounds.
A Summary
Teagan Tiernan and Nora Craven are both disowned by their parents and sent to stay and work at the Sisters of the Holy Redemption convent, where they meet each other and find connection. Within the convent, they are stripped of their names, denied contact with the outside world, and inflicted with cruel punishments by the Mother Superior, Sister Anne, who has some very dark secrets of her own.
What I Liked about The Magdalen Girls
- Setting: I liked reading about 1960s Ireland and thought Alexander brought it to life well. From fashion to housing to social expectations/norms, I thought it was just enough detail to be useful to the story without burdening it with unnecessary information.
- Main Characters: I also liked both main characters and definitely felt an emotional connection to them as I read.
- Perplexing Convent Culture: The convent culture was perplexing, as I believe the author meant it to be. A mixture of love and punishment, lack of understanding and the random spurts of compassion… You definitely feel for the women in there and desire happiness for each of them.
What I Didn’t Love
A few things I didn’t like…
The addition of Sister Anne’s backstory was a unique choice. But something about it didn’t end up sitting quite right with me. I think its execution came across choppy to me. Short paragraphs were dropped in from her perspective with little organizational order, and I didn’t have quite enough of a reason to view her as this tortured villainous individual.
I also couldn’t get a good handle on how I was supposed to feel about Lea, the other primary side character. Reclusive and “seeing” things, I didn’t know if she was supposed to be actually crazy, have mental illness, or exactly what was going on with her. That may have been Alexander’s point, but I was a little confused by her and what she was supposed to bring to the story.
Content Note for The Magdalen Girls
This wasn’t a light book. Readers should be aware there’s a fair amount of traumatic events occurring, including unwanted pregnancy, forced adoption, child loss, alcoholism, et cetera.
There was little language and no graphic depictions of violence or sex.
Final Thoughts
The Magdalen Girls got three stars from me. Three stars for a unique story, a good history lesson, characters I generally cared for, and tugging the emotional heartstrings. Two stars knocked off for some unclear side character choices.
Content Rating: Mild
some weighty subject matter, including alcoholism, death, unwanted pregnancies, et cetera.
Copyright V.S. Alexander and Kensington. Image from Amazon.