I found Confessions a little slow to get into and I kept putting it down and picking it up again. The original blurb, relating to a half lost game seems to be more incidental than integral and in reality it is an inter-woven story of women within the same family. As a result, depending on what you are initially drawn to your e enjoyment may vary. It was fine but I find it hard to whole heartedly recommend.

This is a book that popped onto my radar as a recommendation. Now I love a recommendation and have tried a whole host of books on the back of them, some have worked out better than others. This was a real find though. Possibly even more so since I really considered passing this one over. The blurb sounded potentially interesting but nothing special, so I dithered for a bit before deciding it was recommended to me for some reason and I'd give it a look to see. My expectations were fairly low though, just good enough to be worth a try really. And how I underestimated this book! I gut drawn in quickly and think it's amazing, I can't believe I almost didn't bother. Now, I see that longer blurbs are appearing online which sell the book much better than the one I was faced with so hopefully it's looking a bit more promising to future readers because this should probably be much higher on people's radar.

No bear with me here, because a quick summary isn't easy. The book covers the stories of three generations of women from the same family. At the simplest level you could say it's the coming of age stories of these women, each telling a story from their teens. But because they are family, these stories intertwine across ages and we see many stages of life, and death. Oh yeah, I mean the blurb talks about one of them being orphaned so I guess the death part may be obvious but keep in mind this book touches on some pretty sensitive issues. Some heavy ones. From my perspective they seem to be handled quite sensitively and well, but there are some not unexpected issues that will be far more relevant to female readers and they are the ones most likely to hit hard so keep it in mind.

Back to the summary! The stories of the various character's stages in life would all serve as very good short stories or novellas, but here they are woven together spectacularly to create a cohesive single story on top. And it feels valid saying it's in addition to the individual arcs because it really does feel like it achieves both a full novel and an anthology at once. The themes resonate, we see them developing their early crushes, we see them bonded over similar life patterns, but for me the most interesting dynamic is them finding their place in the world. I want to say their differences shine through here, and they really do become such clear individuals on different paths, and yet in truth there are similarities in their callings too.

See, this book did that to me a lot. It offers up a great little plot that feels so distinct and then with a small flourish it all falls into place within the larger story. So I think I need to give up explaining it, it's just so multifaceted I stumble over the contradictions. It's an easy read that doesn't get bogged down on the bigger issues it addresses, yet it never shies away from them either. This is a powerful read without feeling heavy. One of the rare gems that is both technically accomplished and just plain enjoyable. You know how when people find you like reading they ask about what you read and suchlike? This is going to be the book I drone on about for months to come, it's one of those that's going to linger with me.

This was a very impressive debut, a couple of bits didnt really work for me - the video game and the very convoluted family tree - but the story was a page turner and the writing was so good that I wanted to know about all the character's stories and how they developed through their lifetimes. It was good to have strong, flawed women as the main protagonists and the author bought the different locations to life. I feel we will be hearing a lot more about Ms Airey and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin General UK for an advance copy of this book.

This was an original story with a plot that kept you guessing. It follows the fate of three generations of women from the same family and moves between Donegal and New York. A major premise is how life would have been entirely different if a different choice was made in a given moment. It does not fight shy of controversial issues and explores rape, abortion rights and infertility/forced adoption . While it is an absorbing story with a complete ending, there is no dramatic climax. However, you are left with a sensation that life is strange and there is a connectedness between people no matter how unlikely. A really fulfilling read.

You’ve gotta love January for the whopper new novels, and so many of the good ones are debut novels like this one. Catherine Airey grew up in England to mixed Irish-English parentage and wrote her debut novel Confessions in Cork.

If you love sprawling, literary, multi-generational novels spanning continents, this is one for you - think The Secret History, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow or In Memoriam.

Confessions is seriously addictive reading, maintaining quite a pace almost throughout the entire ~480 pages. It is intricately plotted and plays with narrative styles, switching for one of the voices to second person narrative. It uses an old-school video game as a plot device that perhaps didn’t always work for me but I admired the author’s boldness in putting it front and centre.

The book opens with a bang: “Two days after she disappeared most of my mother’s body washed up in Flushing Creek”, and propels the reader through to the end, turning pages, dying to know what happens.

It’s New York in 2001 and Cora is a 16 year old girl to single father Michael, who works for Cantor Fitzgerald. Michael loses his life in the North Tower on 9/11, and so the story of three generations of women is launched. The story moves to Burtonport in Co Donegal, and back to NYC.

It touches on a range of social issues (abortion rights, AIDS, rape, mental illness to name but a few) and perhaps this is where it lost me a little. Some issues were shoehorned in a bit. It’s a minor complaint in what is a pretty astonishing debut novel that is bound to be a huge hit when it’s published on 25 January. 4.5/5 ⭐️

Many thanks to @vikingbooksuk for the arc via @netgalley. As always, an honest review.

It's September 2001 during the aftermath of the attacks of 9/11 and Cora Brady is feeling it in a very personal way as her father is missing. He is her only parent, her mother having died many years previously. So now she is orphaned and adrift in New York when a letter arrives from an aunt in Ireland. The aunt, whom Cora has never met and suspected she wasn't actually real, is suggesting Cora go stay with her...

I must admit to struggling with this book. I couldn't relate to any of the characters. In the first half of the book I was quite interested in Cora and what she would do, but the second half I found so slow it was all I could do to get through it, and actually gave up after about two thirds. Don't get me wrong, it's well written and well researched, I just wasn't interested enough to keep going to the end.

Confessions is one of those novels which leaves you thinking that there is no way this could be a debut - it is so accomplished, so beautifully written, engaging and moving that it has to be someone with a long time in the trade. Confessions is a debut, though.

The first section about the child of a man who died in the tragic events of 9/11 hooked me immediately, and then the narrative switches back decades, to Ireland in the 1970s, and I was fully committed. Catherine Airey manages to capture such distinctly different voices and tones with natural ease. There is more to this novel than you first realise, and you have to admire her ambition here. I am certainly very keen to see what she does next.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

Confessions is an interesting, complex debut novel telling the story of three generations of women set in New York and rural Ireland from the 1970s onwards. It touches on many topics affecting women throughout this period. It starts with Cora, in New York on September 11th 2001 - she skips school to wait on her drug dealer boyfriend, switches on the TV and sees the destruction of the towers. Her dad works for Cantor Fitzgerald and doesn't return home. With her mother having died some years earlier Cora takes up the invitation to go back to rural Ireland to live with her aunt.
The story extends to the story of her mum, her aunt and her grandmother, the treatment and rights of these women over the years in an interwoven social history particularly of women's reproductive rights.
With strong characters who will live with you for a while and interesting plot turns this novel has.a lot of potential for 2025. It's one I expect to hear spoken about and discussed in many circles which might open up lots of unexpected conversations in book groups.

I really wanted to love this book, but alas, I did not. Whilst I can appreciate how well written this book is and don't get me wrong, the writing is exquisite. That's the only thing that I enjoyed. One of my biggest bug bears in literature is authors who write about sexual assault and do not pay it due diligence. It seems gratuitous and unnecessary.
I found I didn't relate to the characters at all, and when I was slightly invested in Cora's story, it changed perspective. For the second half of this book, I was incredibly bored. I'm all for a character study and a slower paced read, but this unfortunately didn't work in Confessions at all. It's probably only one of the books I've ever skim read the last 30 pages of because I just couldn't bear to read it anymore.

For me, Confessions is a book about family and place. It's about belonging and knowing who your tribe are - whether you're related by blood or not. As so many of the characters in the book discover - who you thought was your blood is not necessarily the truth and they aren't always the people who will fight for you or that you'll be closest to.

Confessions begins with Cora Brady whose father has just died in the North Tower on 9/11. Her mother had passed a few years previously and as Cora begins to navigate her new world she receives a letter from an aunt she had not known about.

The rest of the story carries us back to the lives of Cora's mother and aunt (with firays into their pasts). It follows the sisters as they deal with their own father's death and mother's withdrawal from the world.

Throughout the book there are also glimpses of a computer game called Scream School, which is the house that dominates the whole book. It is a place where all the women have differing experiences of life bit where they continually return to.

I found this book quite hypnotic at times as it delves backwards into the recent past dealing with it in a very personal way. There are difficult subjects tackled such as teenage pregnancy, abortion, rape, women's rights, death and dementia.

Not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination but it's also extremely well written; a beautifully told tale of love, loss and hope. A marvellous debut. I look forward to reading more by Catherine Airey.

Thankyou very much to Netgalley and Rachel Quin/Penguin for the advance review copy
Most appreciated.

This book is quite something for a debut novel. It is so full of depth and feeling. The writing seems to evoke a real sense of the feelings between all the characters creating an atmosphere of warmth but sadness at the same time. All the characters really want the same thing just to love and be love but they somehow feel misaligned just never really being able to connect at the right time. This is a deep and thoughtful read.

This is an amazing debut novel. It covers many sensitive issues as it moves from New York to Ireland and back again through three generations of women. I found some of the family connections a bit confusing at times and wished I had started a family tree at the beginning! But it's a great read, full of feelings and emotions, angst and not much joy - a very Irish trait. Highly recommended, I hope the book does really well. With thanks for the e-ARC to read and review.

The novel opens with a troubled young girl, Cora, waiting for an older boyfriend who’s not going to show. Her life is starting to spiral even before her father’s death. She ends up in Ireland to live with her aunt. We then hear the background story of the sisters Maire and Roisin. And how they went their separate ways.
I found this book a struggle as I couldn’t get involved with the characters. It started well but drifted once different people were introduced: sometimes in the past and sometimes in the present. Unfortunately I couldn’t wait to finish it.

It is late September in 2001 and the walls of New York are papered over with photos of the missing. Cora Brady’s father is there, the poster she made taped to columns and bridges. Her mother died long ago and now, orphaned on the cusp of adulthood, Cora is adrift and alone. Soon, a letter will arrive with the offer of a new life: far out on the ragged edge of Ireland, in the town where her parents were young, an estranged aunt can provide a home and fulfil a long-forgotten promise. There the story of her family is hidden, and in her presence will begin to unspool…

Wow, what a fabulous book. So well written with real, loveable characters who come alive in print. The story, intertwined as it is, is breathtakingly good. It’s a modern saga, entertaining and impossible to put down. I even read the acknowledgment (which is a first for me.) Great writing.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is slowly woven together through different times and places. It is written beautifully. The characters are rich and flawed but you understand the motivations of them all. I would have like Sanjeet and Scarlett’s back story developed a little more but I appreciate that would have let to a longer book. Definitely recommend this and thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the chance to read this early copy.

Confessions is a compelling debut novel from Catherine Airey. The story follows the livers of three generations of women, and is set between New York and an isolated Irish town. The novel delves into difficult subject matter, including mental health, sexual assault, abortion rights, political exploitation and terrorist activity.

In September 2001, sixteen year old Cora Brady is orphaned when her father is a victim of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Her mother, Maire, had died seven years prior, having taken her own life after long battles with mental illness. Shortly after her father’s demise, she receives a letter from her estranged Aunt Roisin, who offers her a home with her at her house in County Donegal, Ireland.

The tone of the book changes according to each character’s narrative. Each character has a distinct personality each of which has been cleverly described by the author. The book is full of family secrets, which engages the reader form the outset and that interest is maintained as the story unfolds. The way the character’s lives intersect is cleverly woven and skillfully handled.

There are not many negatives to mention, however there a two minor issues that impacted my enjoyment of the book. Firstly, the book is written without a strict timeline. Although each chapter is headed with a date, allowing the reader to piece the story together, it did create some confusion in my mind about time-frames of events. Secondly, some of the characters have different pet names for their family members, requiring some concentration to maintain the plot and story-line.

Overall, I consider the book to be an outstanding effort from a new and upcoming author, and I look forward with much anticipation to future offerings from Catherine Airey.

Confessions is the quite amazing debut novel by Catherine Airey. It tells the stories of 3 generations of women whose lives are affected by incidents in small town Ireland in the 1970s involving sisters Maire and Roisin. Maire leaves Ireland for New York .....and a hedonistic life of abusive men, while homebody Roisin finds herself involved with her sister's former boyfriend.
The book begins with Cora, Maire's drug-taking ,dissolute daughter, on the fateful day of September 11th 2001 when the tragedy finds her orphaned and finally deciding to accept the offer of Aunt Roisin to move to Ireland with the chance of discovering her roots.

This is a well-written story with relatable characters and a strong story-line,albeit one that requires attention as it jumps through several timelines. It's definitely worth the effort though as it's a remarkable,and often shocking,tale.

Oh my goodness; it’s rare to find a title with three strong and powerful female voices. Each distinct and with a story to tell and this debut is an astonishing accomplishment. It’s immersive, the people feel real and the issues tackled are relevant. As an aside, I found the cover alone a strong pull into this book. There’s something wistful and lost portrayed and I immediately wanted to know more.

The story takes place over a number of decades and life in rural Ireland along with 21st century New York is well portrayed. This is a tale of loss and injustice. The past reverberates into the present as family secrets are revealed. It’s also a story of redemption and hope and is beautifully constructed with moments of sadness and joy as the pieces start to fall together to make the whole. It’s quite introspective, but not depressing and I’m sure this is an author who’s one to watch.

This was a really absorbing read and managed to tell a complicated tale that spanned decades and countries. I found all the characters so intriguing and there was a lot of sadness and regret in the choices they had made. It was fascinating to see Cora and Emily somehow find each other and it was sad, really to read about Maire’s near constant unhappiness right up to the end of her life. I’ve been thinking about scenes in the book since I finished it a few days which I think is always a sign of a good read, so I would recommend it.

Confessions is a multi-generational story of 3 women: Cora, Maire and Roisin. It opens with Cora's search for her dad after 9/11 and leads her to her aunt in Ireland. Through the backstory of Maire and Michael we learn about Cora's past, present and future. The prose of Maire was rich and engrossing, allowing her to come off the page and become a 3 dimensional person. Michael at times felt like he needed more character development. The story switches between, past and present which at times felt a little disjointed. Confessions is a great read in showing family dynamics at their core and the secrets that each generation hides.