Review: The Yellow House

The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



All I can really say positively about this book is that it somehow manages to have a happy ending after all the crap that Eileen goes through (much brought on herself, but not all). And that the historical backdrop of the early 20th Century in Ireland is interesting. I learned a lot about the conflict between Protestants and Catholics, and the formation of Northern Ireland and the IRA - a bloody, hateful history that Eileen brashly dashes into because of her family's proud warrior history.

I wish I could have liked Eileen (or anyone) in the first place, to care more that they got a happy ending, but Eileen rarely talks to people; she snaps at them. Or yells. She also is obsessed with being an O'Neill warrior, a childhood story that her father told her and she somehow believes she must fulfill without any thought whatsoever throughout most of the book. She is a hot-headed Irishwoman who is dirt-poor, has an extremely sharp tongue, constantly drives the people around her away and threatens her own livelihood by never thinking about the consequences of her actions or of opening her mouth.

Her husband is a complete jerk, her friends are not real friends, her family is fractured from childhood, and the only people who care for her are her late father's loyal friends and someone outside of her social sphere who just causes her a lot more trouble for most of the book. Not that Eileen really is the type of person to inspire great friendships, so I can understand her being isolated much of the time. It's really a miracle that things turn out well in the end.

Actually, the level of dislike I find for all of these people is probably an indication of good writing. These people in all their selfishness and brutality were just too real, and unfortunately there weren't any characters who showed the other side of humanity.

Like I said, happy ending - check. Interesting time period - check. Relief that I can move on - check. 2 stars.



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