The Women Behind the door
By Roddy Doyle

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this one.

TW: domestic violence, addiction, mental health.

The story about a woman in her sixties, her past and present. She’s a mother of four and a grandmother, she’s a friend and a lover.

As Paula’s character is described, I can’t help but feel numb??? and not in a sympathetic way...

She fights her demons every single day. Struggles with staying sober as a recovering alcoholic while her kids were young…Her ex husband used to beat her to the point of no recognition, many times she’d have to clean up her own blood off the floors and walls….

I mean…this was a hard read. I am all for hard reads and trigger warnings don’t bother me.

BUT….With that said, I would have enjoyed this more if it wasn’t so all over the place. The only word I can think of is messy…..while Doyle tried to write from Paula’s POV it just seemed unorganized, chaotic.. I felt overwhelmed and ultimately I couldn’t connect with Paula and therefore did a fast paced read and started skimming through, which I don’t like to do. But I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

This just wasn’t for me.

Happy Pub Day!
The Women Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle is a thought-provoking and emotional story.
I really enjoyed the characters and their story. The characters are realistic and their story seeps into you and holds you captive.
I loved the honest reality of real life here.
Overall, I enjoyed this book.

You'll be fine if you didn't read what I'm calling the first two Paula books but know that this might be a bit of a struggle at points because it floats around in time (sometimes on the same page) and then there's the rhythm of the prose and dialogue. Doyle has, however, captured the feeling of COVID lockdown and its impact- that picnic was perfect. Paula is a well rounded and understandable character with all the warts and smiles one can expect (and honestly, she's not as old as you might think just hard lived) but Nicola, for me, was still, even after the revelations, a bit of a cipher. This hits a lot of issues- addiction, abuse, estrangement (loved the scene with her granddaughter) and so on but that's life. This can be tiring at times (I almost gave up more than once) because it feels almost frantic but keep reading for portrait of an interesting woman of our time. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read that will definitely please Doyle's legion of fans.

I admit that I didn’t realize when I started THE WOMEN BEHIND THE DOOR that it follows two earlier books with the same characters. That was an oversight that probably affected my reading of it but still, this is a beautiful novel. The intimacy of the dialogue, particularly between mother and daughter, is startling. It reads more like a play than a novel at many points, and there isn’t really a ‘plot’ in the conventional sense, but all of that serves to make the characters absolutely shine. There are moments when I could sincerely feel the tension in the room during long stretches of dialogue (or lack thereof.) Doyle’s ability to capture the intensity and inner turmoil of his main character, Paula, is not only wholly engaging, but is also a reminder that men can indeed write full, real female characters. I will eagerly visit the earlier versions of these characters by reading the first two. Please note there is content related to intimate partner violence and child abuse. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book. All opinions are entirely my own.

I struggled with the Irish slang at first, and it took me a bit to get into it. But then, I fell for the 66-year old heroine who has four adult kids and just wants to live her best life! And it hasn’t always been easy. A former alcoholic and victim of domestic violence, she’s been widowed for 40 years and now has a boyfriend. But nothing serious, she enjoys living alone too much. Until her daughter decides to leave her family and moves back in with her. A challenge for both of them.
Paula is quite a character, and she has a dry humor, really out of necessity. She’s been struggling all her life and her emotions are raw. We are following her over a couple of years during and right after the COVID lockdowns. Paula is reflecting about her past, her children, her friends, neighbors and everything around her. I almost felt like I was in Paula’s head all the time, and her mind was racing!
This novel is a refreshing take on modern times. I enjoyed it very much. It made me laugh and sad at the same time. But mostly, I admired Paula for never giving up. I wasn’t aware that there were previous books starring Paula Spencer. I will for sure look for them and am hoping a little bit that there might be another sequel following up on her story and her relationships.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Viking and the author for the opportunity to read this advance copy. The above is my honest opinion and review.

Paula is an Irish mother of four adult children, who also is a reformed alcoholic. She and her friend Mary have made plans to get their Covid vaccine in their town, and to spend the day together.. There begins a witty, engaging backstory of how Paula had been married to an abusive husband, and struggled for years to be the mother her children deserved. Paula’s alcoholism, and her husband’s emotional abuse of their children, has caused their daughter Nicola to become like the parent rather than the child. Nicola has become the perfect career woma, wife and mother, while masking her own deep scars. When Paula and Nicola become isolated together at Paula’s home, they both resent each other, at turns hate each other, and still share a deep love. These ‘women behind the door’, reveal old wounds and come to accept each other, warts and all. Great read!

Roddy Doyle is the best as conveying complex emotions through conversation. He makes a painful conversation between a mother and daughter about the regrets and hurt they have had to endure flow beautifully.

Roddy Doyle has communication down pat. His last book, Love, featured two Dubliners, both men, on a pubcrawl. Here, he shifts to women, adding to a series he began some time ago. Mother Paula and daughter Nicola find themselves in Covid lockdown, and while there are earlier books featuring Paula, this could work as a standalone.

Paula is an older woman, dealing with thoughts of her past, her daughter, Nicola comes to stay with her during covid. a good story about mothers and daughters.

Thank you to Penguin Viking and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC of Roddy Doyle's 'The Women Behind the Door.'

It's 30 years since Paula Spencer first saw the light of day on TV and 28 since she, Charlo, and their children - including Nicola - appeared in print in 'The Woman Who Walked into Doors.'

This sequel (a second, after 'Paula Spencer' in 2006), picks up when Paula is in her mid-late 60s but still suffering from not only the trauma of being beaten and abused by her (now dead) husband Charlo but the trauma and guilt of her parenting of her children, especially Nicola who became like the parent in the relationship and remained that way in the intervening decades.

She seems to be in a good spot in her life - a job, a some-time partner and is even enjoying the oddness of Covid lockdowns and vaccination trips - when, out of the blue, Nicola arrives at her door asking to stay having left her husband and remaining child at home.

What transpires is a narrative that leaps to-and-fro over the years and shows how the trauma echoes through the decades and across families.

The emotional rawness between mother and daughter is exposed and the sheer complexity of the emotions involved - anger, fear, love, jealousy, regret, and on and one - is bewildering. It's not complete redemption for Paula but she tries her best to reclaim the role of mother that she ceded to her teenage daughter 30 years previously.

Maybe it helps to have read the original (or seen the TV series that preceded it) and to also know the Dublin she's talking about but I felt that it was another powerful and heartbreaking addition to Paula Spencer's story and Roddy Doyle's work.

The Women Behind the Door is a strong read about an older woman, Paula, revisiting her past in her thoughts as well as dealing with the pressures of the present. During COVID, her oldest daughter, Nicola, an epitome of the perfect, comes to live with her, and Paula’s conscience takes us on an emotional rollercoaster.
3.5 stars rounded up.
Plot 3
Characterisation 4
Prose 3.5

I am so excited to be reading this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Anticipated rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley for granting me this read. I am sorry to disappoint but I just could not find my way into this story. I attempted it three times and failed. i just didn't see the point.

Roddy Doyle has written an emotional moving novel about a mother &daughter living together during covid.Their difficult time trying to understand each other will resonate with many readers.I was engaged from first to last page.#netgalley #penguin

Paula is a strong character who leaps into life on the page. Paula has a painful history, and during COVID, she finds her daughter, Nicola, suddenly in her life in her house. Every story about mothers and daughters is appealing and resonates with my experience. This novel is packed with emotion, pain, and humor.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

A woman and her daughter isolate together due to Covid. The women have a complicated relationship, and their time alone helps them delve into past and present trauma.

In theory, by reading the plot, this book appeals to me. It's a character-driven story as well as a character study of this older woman and her relationship with the people around her and her oldest daughter, also about her past life, her struggles, the memories, her background as both a woman and a mother.
But the execution didn't connect with me. Nothing essentially wrong with it. I have no complaints about this book or the author's writing style, whatsoever. It just isn't for me.
I'm sure this book will have its audience, and I appreciate the chance to read it in advance. Thank you, NetGalley.

The Women Behind the Door tells the story of Paula Spencer, a recovering alcoholic in her sixties, as she reconnects with her oldest daughter, Nicola, who has always acted as the mother figure in their relationship. While the story starts out slow, it gives the reader time to take a deep, introspective look at this character, and the writing is fantastic. Paula leapt up off the page. Her emotions are so raw and jarring. She hates her daughter in the same breath as loving her.

This paragraph stuck out to me so much I kept returning to it: “She wants her home back. She wants her nice life back. She wishes Nicola would fuck off and leave her alone. The Charlo damage, the real Charlo pain - it isn’t physical. It never was, once the bones were mended and the bruises faded back behind her skin. The real damage - she can’t face her children, not even in her imagination. They’re like a jury and she’s always guilty - she knows she’s guilty. Nothing will ever make her know or feel any different. He battered the mother out of her.”

The voice and stream of consciousness makes you truly feel like you’re in Paula’s head, which is not an easy place to be. Paula is often in distress, even amidst mundane day-to-day activities, and she recounts memories of her abuse offhandedly throughout the story. This is not a beach read. It’s an emotionally devastating but powerful book that illustrates the enduring power of guilt and shame, exploring how those feelings impact a close family relationship.

I also loved the inverted perspective of this book. Usually, I read books about a mother-daughter relationship from the perspective of the daughter, and the daughter must overcome the trauma the mother inflicted. This is the opposite. It explores that relationship from the mother’s perspective.

Ultimately, despite Paula’s troubled memories, this is a beautiful redemption story for her. She gets the chance to be the mother in this relationship after all this time as she lovingly helps Nicola through her own grief. Trigger warnings of abuse and alcoholism. I would recommend this ten times out of ten to lit fic lovers, but not readers looking for a quick, fun read.

"The Women Behind the Door" by Roddy Doyle is a deeply moving exploration of the intricate dynamics between mothers and daughters, filled with moments of struggle and redemption. Paula Spencer, a character who has faced numerous challenges including addiction and loss, takes center stage in this heartfelt narrative.

The story revolves around Paula's life at sixty-six, where she has finally found a sense of stability and contentment. However, her world is shaken when her eldest daughter, Nicola, arrives unexpectedly seeking solace from her seemingly perfect life. This unexpected reunion sets off a journey of self-discovery and healing for both Paula and Nicola.

What makes this novel compelling is its exploration of complex emotions and family relationships. Doyle delves into themes of regret, reconciliation, and the weight of past struggles with nuance and sensitivity. Readers will find themselves drawn into the lives of these characters, empathizing with their joys, sorrows, and the complexities of their bond.

Overall, it is a poignant and thought-provoking read that delves deep into the intricacies of family ties, offering readers a touching portrayal of resilience, forgiveness, and the enduring power of love.