A delightful collection of short stories that share an intriguing feature: just when they should end, with a flash of (sometimes slightly sadistic) humour the author puts her protagonists back on the road, leaving the reader wondering where they will end up.
As often happens in collections, some are more successful than others, but the level is generally excellent. The perfection of the dialogue reveals the author's nature as a playwright. A must-read.

This is a just ok book for me. It sounded interesting but I had a hard time getting into it putting it down several times before finishing it.

So I didn't really connect these books, though a guess the title of the book does give a hint. It's about who we are, where we come from, how we become who we are. It's a good collection of short stories.

This is a nice collection of short stories. I liked that they had a common theme of "ancestry" or "where we came from" Well written and engaging.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author sending me this ARC.

I will not be recommending this book based on the fact I couldn’t get in to it and finish reading it. I would like to try reading it again another time as the topic does interest me.

This collection of short stories, most of them centered around the way our origins shape who we become, was a quick and pleasant read. Some characters I connected with, others I didn't, but overall this book was a lovely, engaging read.

Thank you to the author, the University of Iowa Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This collection of short stories was an unexpected joy. I didn't connect with all of them, but each was engaging, and some had unexpected depths. The title is perfect, with the emphasis on how our origins, backgrounds and families shape our lives. A quick read, and I hope to see more from this author!

A gem of a collection of stories.Eileen O’Leary has a unique voice.Each story has unique characters that come alive.I was involved from the first story to last.They are funny moving real,#netgalley#abcestry

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬.

The title 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 is perfect as we delve into how our origins shape our lives. The myths our parents whisper into our ears about who our ancestors were, their polished lives meant to put a fire in our feet so we too can rise to the greatness we were born into. We do it too, take a cruddy beginning and march into the unknown like a brave soldier hoping to stake our own claim on the finer things in life. No matter how hard we work our fingers to bone and bleed for a richer existence, fate barrels through us like a tornado. Of course there is always self-sabotage too.

The collection opens with 𝘛𝘪𝘥– a freelance embalmer is attending his youngest son’s wedding remembering his Norwegian childhood and the future his father lost at the start of World War II. A passion that lingered for the rest of his life, forgotten dreams, his son the audience for his teachings. It begins with humor but turns to nostalgia and sorrow. He remembers his father with warm affection, and can only hope he inspires the same feelings in his own sons, when he is no longer of this earth.

𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭– Meet Pat Graves soon to become Cecile Collette, because a new location isn’t enough to change oneself. It requires erasure to start fresh and maybe a new love because what is the point if you don’t go all in? When she meets and marries Rodge she has a project, a man to improve upon until she tries her hand at interior decorating for the Jordan family. With their connections the only way is up but she forgets every new venture has too many variables involved. What is harder to predict than other people, especially one’s own spouse?

In 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵, a woman shocks her granddaughter with her connection to a billionaire and explains why she ‘wasted her time’ instead of hitching her wagon to that shining star. 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘮 (college student) is finally learning about ‘the other half of his gene pool’ as he makes his way to meet his father, Ben Quilt, for the very first time. Did he leave his mother to make great strides in the world? He isn’t going to be resentful and angry, all he wants is a place in his present and answers to the greatest mystery of his life, who is his dad, what kind of a man is he and what sort of people are the Quilts? His father is not quite the trailblazer he imagined, but does it have to be a bad thing?

The title story 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 finds Mackenzie working diligently at the American Embassy in France, bursting with self-discipline and drive to be the best and have an enriching career. Despite her inauspicious beginnings, her mediocrity as a little girl, she knows she comes from fine Scottish nobility and that makes all the difference. Carrying the mantle of greatness requires fortitude, she will not let her ancestor down. How solid is the foundation of the castle her mother has built in her mind? How true is this tale of her brave descendant? I enjoyed this one- it’s a testament to why some of us need history to understand who we are and how it shapes us for better or worse.

Things get out of hand in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩, when fifty-five year old Joan is diagnosed with osteopenia and must use exercise as treatment. What better therapy for her muscles and mind than the punching bag at her gym? Who could imagine the giddiness of her newfound strength. Sometimes you roll with the punches, sometimes you deliver them. When a man loses his wife and has a breakdown in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵, he runs to his sons in Nepal. Finally he has nothing but time on his hands to spend in their company. What kept him away for so long? Didn’t his job afford him chances to visit before? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘵 is a lesson about loving with your eyes closed as we follow Vera Connor in 1921. Vera’s job at a post office in London is a stroke of luck for her brother when she decides to send packages home to Ireland helping he and his friend Neil aid the Irish fight for independence. It is what happens in Buenos Aries that is far more dangerous for her body and soul when she decides to follow Neil.

All the stories within are engaging and the collection ends with 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘪𝘳- as scientists search for intelligent life in the far reaches of outer space and a meddling cousin (Kate) in 𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦. Kate learns it is far easier to support family and assume the worst about outsiders as she helps fight her cousin’s ‘cold’ wife for custody of their little girl. It begs the question, should family always trump others without engaging reason? Is she as shrewd as she thinks?

Is it weird to call a collection of stories robust? I liked the characters in every story, whether they were naive, selfish, or completely lost. A solid read.

Publication Date: October 2, 2020

University of Iowa Press

I found that the characters in this book were interesting in their own separate ways. However, I could not make it all the way through this book. I found the characters in the book too disconnected to each other. I have read other books with many characters where it is apparent that they are connected in some way, though it takes time to develop the relationship. I like to be able to get into the minds and thoughts of a character and I couldn't do that with this book. The chapters jumped around in time as well as the characters seemed not to be related at all. I just wanted a hint of what they all had to do with each others. They seemed like random stories.. It was unclear if these were supposed to come together at the end or if they are to remain separate stories. Perhaps if they are to remain separate, it should be a book of short stories instead of a novel? I had the expectation that this was about a family or person who discovered their ancestry was interconnected somehow.

Maybe towards the end it would have become more apparent and more interesting, but I couldn't get into this book. It didn't hold my attention. Perhaps, I will finish it and review it again someday because sometimes the ending makes a book worth the read. But, right now, I am a busy person and have many books I could be reading, so if it doesn't hold my attention, I am moving on.