At the start of the book, Maurice is at a hotel bar, doing what we don't know, but it sounds ominous. As the story progresses, we learn how the hotel and the family who own it have played such a huge role in his life, not to mention his family.

He raises 5 toasts this evening and the story is told through his reminiscing of these 5 people. A nice story well told. Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved it! Poignant novel about a man, his struggles, sins, and victories.

A heart-rendering story of family and friends both lost and found. Excellent storyline and exceptionally well character development. Recommend

4+ stars

I am becoming a huge fan of Irish stories and authors!

I loved 84 year old Maurice, who has lost his beloved wife 2 yrs ago, and isn’t doing well without her.
He plans a memorable night at a hotel bar that holds a personal history...and through the course of the night makes narrative toasts with a fine whiskey to five people, this followed by a stay in the honeymoon suite at the same hotel.
At each toast during this night, we find out the history of Maurice and the significance of each of these five people in his life.
I so enjoyed his story! Recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

When All is Said is a book filled with reflection and regret. The life we lead isn’t always the one we had planned, yet we make the most of it. Maurice is an octogenarian who spends what is determined to be his final night toasting the loves of his life, including his brother, children, sister-in-law, and wife. His sense of loss over his wife is profound and he no longer wants to live without her.

Maurice is what you would deem a cantankerous old man. As such, he was hard to relate to and have empathy for. The realization that he is from a different era in a different country helped but I had a hard time with his character.

Maurice Hannigan is sitting alone at the bar of The Rainsford House Hotel. He has a plan to raise five toasts to five special people in his life, and through them, we get to eavesdrop on the story of Maurice’s life. What is his connection to the hotel? And why has he booked the honeymoon suite? This is a story about Ireland, a story about being a man of a certain generation, a story of loss, of revenge, of family, but mostly, as all the best stories are, it’s a story about love. Anne Griffin has written a little gem of a debut novel and I predict huge international success!😊 Thanks to #netgally for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest opinion. #iamreading #lovereadingbooks #whiskey
#whenallissaid #annegriffin

Very engaging book. I found Maurice's story to be totally engrossing. I could relate to it myself. Overall , it's a great afternoon read, pour a cup of coffee or tea, and leisurely read it over a weeks time. It's a good one to savor!

This is one of those books that I really, really wanted to like, but I found myself struggling to be drawn into the story. The plot sounded so lovely and touching (84 year old Maurice gives a toast to the 5 people who meant the most to him in his life), but I just couldn't fall into the story. I will try again because it does sound like a magical piece. Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I am still thinking about this book. It is powerful, poignant and beautifully written. One man's life writ large, told through the toasts he makes to the five people who have meant the most to him. It is thoughtful, confessional and heart-breaking. I could not put this down.

A somewhat slow start, but glad I stayed with it. The protagonist, Maurice, is an Irish elderly gentleman who imagines describing the highlights of his life to his son by way of "toasts" in a bar. Through the reminiscing we learn about the events and people who shaped Maurice's life, including an older brother deceased from TB as a teenager, an emotionally handicapped sister in law, his son, Kevin, and 2 other equally poignant influences. A quote from the book sums it all when Maurice suggests he spent much of his life "distracted by what was outside--my deals, my empire...often forgetting to see what lay inside and how precious it was."

When All Is Said is a beautifully written book by Ann Griffin. She has taken a rather mundane story line and spun it into gold! Her protagonist, Maurice, is an aged widow who is spending the evening in the bar of the local hotel quietly toasting the five people who have been the most important to him during his life. As he reflects calmly, yet thoroughly on the importance each of his favourite people the tales begin to overlap and the story of Maurice's life is revealed – from his hard scrabble upbringing on an Irish farm to his eventual comfort spent at the hotel's bar.
Griffin paints a lovely picture not only of Maurice's life, but also of the Irish people and environs. He grew up in a simpler time when class distinction was strictly adhered to, a cultural phenomenon which led to a childhood event that eventually influenced everyone who he eventually spends his ultimate evening toasting. Griffin heavily foreshadows the ending, making it easier for the reader to bear. A quick read that ends all too soon.
I received a free copy of a pdf of this ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When All is Said is a poignant and heartfelt novel. It is slow, flawed, and beautiful and I got emotional many times while reading it. Maurice sits at a bar alone looking back over his life and makes a toast to five people who influenced and changed his life: his brother, his daughter, his sister-in-law, his son, and his wife.

He’s a cantankerous old man, in some ways reminiscent of Ove (A Man Called Ove), but where that book had dry humor this one is steeped in nostalgia. Early on you can see where it’s heading but when you get there, you’re still gutted.

The writing is that of a seasoned author, yet I believe this is Griffin's debut book. I'm eagerly awaiting her next novel where I hope she can mend the broken heart she left me with.

An absolute gem of a book. Beautifully written and emotionally involving, with vivid characters and a palpable sense of place, this belongs on the shelf next to Angela's Ashes. I loved this lyrical book.

What a delightful and thought provoking premise. Could you choose just 5 people who made you, who you are today? And more importantly have you shared with them how important they are to you? The main character, an Irish elderly man, did the former (not the latter) and it was engaging and witty and filled with wisdom. Some of the reviewers compared it to A Man Called Ove, which is a fair comparison but in some ways it was very different and I enjoyed this book more. It is well written as the author's words often paint a picture or trigger a reflection for which I was forced to pause and think through before continuing with my reading. Her depiction of love is so pure...so raw...the scrapes, bruises and breaks amidst the nurturing, growth and affection.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an early release in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC. I liked that the main character was a male talking about his family in this way. Usually you would expect this type of book to be female driven.

I’ve seen this book on a few lists, When All Is Said by Anne Griffin promises to deliver a wonderful story that you won’t want to end. This appealed to me from the description:

If you had to pick five people to sum up your life, who would they be? If you were to raise a glass to each of them, what would you say? And what would you learn about yourself, when all is said and done?

This is the story of Maurice Hannigan, who, over the course of a Saturday night in June, orders five different drinks at the Rainford House Hotel. With each he toasts a person vital to him: his doomed older brother, his troubled sister-in-law, his daughter of fifteen minutes, his son far off in America, and his late, lamented wife. And through these people, the ones who left him behind, he tells the story of his own life, with all its regrets and feuds, loves and triumphs.

Like I have mentioned many times, I love a book with quirky characters and an unusual plot. I really enjoy books that make me think, get me a little teary eyed. From the early reviews and the fact that I have seen this novel on several lists, I know Im not only going to love it but will be watching for future works from Anne Griffin.

Sometimes a book just feels like a conversation with someone you know well or are getting to know, and this was definitely one of those books. I felt like I was sitting next to Maurice at the bar as he recounted his life for his son.

The story was equal parts sad, heartwarming, and inspiring. Just as it would when hearing a story from a stranger, it took a little bit to become invested in the story and remember all the characters, but once that happened, it was completely engaging. I wanted to know more and more about what had gotten Maurice to the place in life he was at, alone at the bar talking to a son who lived an ocean away.

The structure of the book as a series of toasts to important people in his life was a great choice because it allows for each stage of Maurice's life to get focus without feeling like a basic, linear story. It also allows the reader to become more attached to the side characters as Maurice explains how they impacted him. While I worried at first that this jumping around of time would be confusing, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

I didn't want this book to end. Firstly because I found myself becoming more and more enamored with Maurice and I wanted to learn even more about his life. I found myself wishing this was a real conversation at a bar so I could ask him to elaborate even more. Secondly, once it became obvious how the story would end, I wanted to delay the inevitable. Still, when the ending came, I found it to be the perfect conclusion to Maurice's story.

When I began this book I thought I might cry, and boy did I ever! At the end of his life, main character Maurice gives a toast to five influential people in his life. This book somewhat reminded me of the Dinner List, but in a great way! It really made me think of who my five people might be, and how I could potentially have a happier ended. Highly recommend!

I loved everything about this old-irish-man novel. I was expecting it to be another Ove or Arthur Truluv and it was so much more. I would recommend it to those readers, too, but it is way more literary and surprising and captivating. Not your typical "old man feels sad, makes friends and feels better" story. 5 stars.

When All Is Said tells the story of 80-something-year-old Maurice Hannigan, who sits at the bar all night and reminisces. During the night he makes five toasts to five different people who have made an impact on his life: his brother, Tony; his daughter, Molly; his sister-in-law, Noreen; his son, Kevin; and finally his wife, Sadie. Everything Maurice says is to his only son, Kevin. However, a lot of the time it feels like he is addressing the reader, which makes the story hit very close to home. Maurice is definitely not a likeable guy, but he is very human and relatable, which again makes the story easy to connect to.

It starts with about thirty pages of Maurice’s incoherent ramblings and thoughts. Nothing makes much sense at that point, but everything will be explained later. The story is not told chronologically, but it is still very readable and clear. The randomness of the storytelling keeps it interesting throughout as all the gaps of information are filled in bit by bit. Eventually, it all ties together in some way.

During the novel there are several references to how the night is going to end after Maurice is done with his toasts. Most of them suggest that he will commit suicide. However, this is not specifically mentioned until the final ten pages. When all is said and done, Maurice takes his own life.

When picking up this book I was very afraid that it was going to be incredibly boring. One man in one room who shares life stories… That doesn’t really scream excitement. When I got into the story, though, I couldn’t stop reading. The normalcy of the whole story drew me in and didn’t let me go until I knew exactly what had happened.