*3.5 stars

Confessions follows three generations of women between New York and Ireland as it unravels each of their stories, secrets, and innermost desires.

This family saga is told through a non-linear timeline and multiple perspectives, which I personally love. I appreciated Airey’s skill in making each of the character’s voices distinct and recognizable, and setting the tones of their chapters apart from one another. Without giving too much away, the author also makes a unique choice in how she frames and structures the narrative, which I thought was clever and provided another layer of meaning. It was a nice touch that helped make the separate perspectives come together cohesively, and also to structure the nonlinear timelines in a neat way.

As for pacing, I would say this is a medium to slow-paced novel. It took a little while for me to get fully invested in the characters. I kept reading mostly because the prose kept hooking me. But, there were some perspectives I preferred to others. Lyca was probably my favorite, and she doesn’t appear until the latter third of the book. There were parts of the narrative I would have liked to have spent more time in, and parts I feel could have been shortened.

Still, I would recommend Confessions for readers who enjoy family sagas with multiple perspectives and timelines. It’s an impressive debut!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

Catherine Airey's multi-generational novel that weaves the lives of three of women from 9/11 in NYC, to 1970s Ireland, to late 90s NYC, and back to present-day Ireland. After losing her father in 9/11, Cora becomes an orphan, having lost her mother years earlier. In the midst of confusion and chaos, a letter from her unknown Aunt Róisín in Ireland offers Cora a new home. Growing up in Ireland, Lyca discovers family secrets that interconnect her entire family throughout generations. Overall, this contemporary fiction novel was well-written. While I did find myself having to stop and remind myself of the family connections, the changing setting from 2000s to 1970s and 1980s and present-day helped move the novel along. I preferred that the story was not written in chronological order and allowed me to put together pieces and connections. I am looking forward to more by Catherine Airey!

Confessions is a family saga that tells the story of three generations of women. The narrative and location alternates between Ireland and September 11 in NYC. This book hits you like a gut punch - it tackles grief, loss, friendship, family, and place. It reminded me of some of Maeve Binchy's earlier works - I'll definitely want to read future books by Catherine Airey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Confessions by Catherine Airey.

Get ready to play the long game with this book! You are essentially getting three very rich stories, interwoven into one tale. First, Cora, right during the 2001 attacks, and the loss of her remaining parent. Rewind to Roisin and Moire, two Irish sisters who slowly lose themselves. And then fast forward to 2018 to Lyca who lives with her aunt and just trying to understand who she is and where she came from.

I was SO into this book for about the first half. But eventually it became a bit too much. I started struggling to put together who belonged to who, and gave up a few times. However, the parts that I loved, I LOVED, so I'm giving this a 3.5, round to 4. Catherine Airey really can write a dang good story.

Confessions is a rich, literary read following three generations of women in an Irish family. Over four plus decades, Airey explores pregnancy, loss, relationships, abortion, mental health, religion, art and more.

This is a slow moving story, with separate sections diving into each character's perspective in a different time, from the late 1970s through 2023, and the pieces don't really come together until close to the end. We start in the aftermath of 9/11 with 16-year old Cora Brady, whose father, Michael, worked on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center. Having lost her mother, Máire, years earlier, she's alone after her father's death and spend the weeks after the attacks moving through the city in a daze. A letter from her distant aunt, Róisín, who still lives in Ireland breaks Cora out of her stupor, and she moves across the Atlantic to the small town her parents came from.

The story continues into Róisín's perspective as a child in rural Ireland, living in the shadow of her mercurial, artistically talented, and sometimes cruel sister, Máire, who begins a relationship with their next-door neighbor, Michael, during their teen years. Over the course of the novel, we follow these three young adults as Máire moves to New York to study art and through the many changes in their lives, loves, and art. At the end of the novel we meet Lyca Brady, Cora's teenage daughter, whose curiosity reveals secrets held for decades.

Lovers of literary fiction who enjoy slow-paced, richly unfolding stories will enjoy this debut!

@marinerbooks | #gifted My first 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄🌟 read of 2025: 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 by debut author Catherine Airey. This book was exactly what I look for in great literature. It was quite simply a beautifully written story with deep, well-developed characters. The sort of book you immediately fall into, can’t stop reading, but never want to finish.⁣
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The story opens powerfully as 16-year old Cora Brady wakes up on the morning of 9/11/2001. She sees the horrifying news, the smoke and debris in the distance, and the quiet chaos in the streets below her building. Her father works for Cantor Fitzgerald. From there, the story moves between NYC and a small town in Ireland, following not just Cora, but three generations of women in her family, each as interesting, as complex as the next. With the story moving both backward and forward in time, there is no single star in this book. Instead, each woman shines in her own right thanks to Airey who artfully crafts the lives of the women in Cora’s family.⁣
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I know I’ve not given you much to go on, so you’re going to need to trust me. The publisher compares this book to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩 and 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘹𝟹. I can see the former, and less so the later. I think a better comparison is 𝘛𝘩𝘦⁣
𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘧 by Brit Bennett, though even that’s not quite there. Comparisons aside, if you have similar reading tastes to mine, love stories of family or those set in Ireland, you MUST read 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. I guarantee you’ll be glad you did! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Confessions by Catherine Airey is a multigenerational story spanning New York to rural Ireland. It's a stunning debut that swept me away. It's a book about family and secrets and the generational inheritances.

One note: I thought it was interesting that the publisher's synopsis did not mention the plot line about the video game Scream School, which played a core role in the book.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

US pub date: 1/14/25
Genre: family saga
Quick summary: Three generations of women deal with love, family, politics, and grief - from 1974 Ireland to 2018 Connecticut.

I was drawn in by the cover of this book...but then I saw that the blurb compares it to THE GOLDFINCH (which I DNFed) and TOMORROW, TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, which I thought was 150 pages too long. Unfortunately, at 480 pages, this one gave me the same feelings as TOMORROWx3. There were some poignant moments, but the different timelines din't fit together as tightly as I was hoping. I found myself wondering when everything would finally connect. If you don't mind a long book, you might enjoy this one more than I did!

Thank you to Mariner Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows three generations of women living in Ireland & NYC.

It begins with sixteen year old Cora who loses her father during 9/11. Her mother had already died a few years prior. Finding herself alone, she receives a letter from her aunt in Ireland, with whom she doesn’t have a relationship, and decides to live with her.

The POV is also of Cora’s mother & aunt, and we learn about the challenges they’ve encountered growing up & their own struggles with grief.

It was well written and engaging. I was immersed in the story & loved it. It evoked a lot of emotions. A wonderful debut and I can’t wait to see what Catherine writes next!

The story tackled a lot of heavy topics including rape, women’s rights, teen pregnancy, grief, death, mental health, SI, and estrangement from family.

I’ve been reading so many stories from Irish authors and have been loving it! Do you have any other Irish author recommendations??

Many thanks to @netgalley, @catherineairey & @marinerbooks for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED THIS! Love anything set in Ireland. It's a gripping psychological thriller that unravels a web of secrets, lies, and haunting truths. With its very intricate plot, it made me emotional from the charged narrative. It kept me on the edge until the end! 🥲

Can't wait to read more from Catherine Airey!

Loved this story and all of the characters woven together - Confessions has already made a splash on Bookstagram and I will be highly recommending it to patrons.

Confessions is a stunning and deeply moving debut that gripped me from the very first page. Spanning decades and two distinct settings—New York and rural Ireland—it explores the lives of three generations of women with remarkable depth and sensitivity. The story begins in September 2001, with 16-year-old Cora Brady reeling from the loss of her father in the 9/11 attacks. Alone after her mother’s death years earlier, Cora is drawn to Ireland by her estranged aunt Róisín, and what follows is a masterful family saga that intertwines love, grief, and resilience across time and place.

The strength of this novel lies in its rich, layered storytelling. Each chapter shifts in tone and perspective, immersing the reader in the voices of Cora, her mother Maire, her aunt Róisín, and her daughter Lyca. Through their narratives, the author skillfully weaves themes of power, trauma, and redemption, creating a tale that is as haunting as it is hopeful. The secrets that unravel across generations are revealed with a precision that left me breathless, and the prose is both evocative and deeply emotional.

What struck me most was how the characters felt so fully alive. Each woman is complex and deeply human, with struggles that resonate long after the book is closed. Maire’s story, in particular, broke my heart—it’s a testament to the author’s talent that I found myself rooting for her even in her darkest moments. Lyca, on the other hand, brought a sense of lightness and hope, a reminder of the strength that can arise from generations of perseverance. The relationships between these women—both tender and fraught—are intricately portrayed and utterly compelling.

The vivid contrasts between bustling New York and the quiet beauty of Donegal enhance the narrative’s emotional pull. The depictions of 9/11 are gut-wrenching, while the descriptions of rural Ireland are so atmospheric that I felt transported. This interplay of settings underscores the novel’s exploration of identity and belonging, as the characters navigate the worlds they inherit and the choices they make.

Ultimately, Confessions is a book that will stay with me for a long time. Its blend of beautiful writing, unforgettable characters, and profound emotional resonance makes it one of my favorite reads of the year. I am in awe of the author’s ability to craft such a powerful and ambitious debut, and I cannot wait to see what she writes next. A must-read for fans of family sagas and richly layered fiction.

Thank you to the publishers and to netgalley! At the heart of this book it is about family following a few different timelines over three generations beginning with Cora. The beginning packs a punch and dives straight in. At times it was hard to manage the different voices you are hearing from. However, If you like stories that will keep you thinking long after the last page, try this one!

I believe I’ll be an outlier on this one. I started off loving it. I loved all of the perspectives that took place in New York. I read half in one day and then when the perspective shifted, it lost me and I struggled to finish. If in the right hands, readers will love this one.

What do you do after the fragile world you knew is destroyed forever. For teenaged Cora Brady, 9/11 uprooted and orphaned her, transporting her life from America to Ireland, to live with a relative she never knew existed while she is reeling from despair. While I was a little put off by Cora at the start of the story, she quickly won me over with her intelligence, spirit, and clear-eyed view of living beyond the unthinkable. I enjoyed the leaps in time, mysteries unearthed and secrets brought into the light by Cora's daughter, the well-drawn aunt in Ro, the memories and mesmerizing moments woven throughout the story, such as a kind stranger helping lost Cora in the 9/11 aftermath. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

The story starts with Cora as a teenager in New York. She has already lost her mother, years ago. Another tragedy strikes which kickstarts the tragic and tumultuous retelling of stories of the interconnected women in her life.

Cora’s story takes you back to the 70s Ireland where you meet her mom Maire and her Aunt Roisin. This is where the story begins. With two sisters, experiencing their own grief and tragedy. How they meet The Screamers and how life takes both sisters in different directions. Roisin starts creating stories in which the the next ending is determined by choosing between option A or B in each scenario.

These stories of these women, past and present, with some connections, will destroy your heart. Each and every one has met some type of trauma, usually caused by a man. They all have seem to have found strength within themselves to overcome and survive.

I truly enjoyed this book. I savored it. I paused, often, to reflect and take in each woman’s experience.

As a debut novel, @catherineairey has brought to us an incredible tale spanning multiple generations. The writing is excellent, the characters are well developed, the timelines flow beautifully.

Wow I cannot believe this book is a debut! Airey weaves together a familial saga that spans generations, countries, and continents. As we follow these women through their lives and learn how all characters are intertwines and connected, Airey's gorgeous prose will keep you turning pages and then break your heart.

This book was right up my alley and I look forward to reading anything and everything Airey puts out in the future.

trigger warnings: suicide, 9/11 terrorist attack, rape, drugs, abortion, adoption, hazing/bullying, racism, mental health

I don’t know what it is about multigenerational novels but they get me every time. Maybe it is the full circle aspect, or the intense foreshadowing, the reflection of their ancestors? Excellently written, touched on various important topics including, racism, rape, abortion, adoption, and mental health to name a few.

The rape scene snuck up on me so suddenly I had to take a few steps back to confirm, that's how unexpected it was. I appreciated the authors method of detailing the rape victim's uncertainty about her next steps. Mostly I appreciated the diverse character choices, there was no right or wrong, all the women are different and flawed in their own way and many share similarities to their ancestors whom they admire and it was a full circle moment when the younger generation discovers how much she has in common with the women before her.

I really enjoyed the multi-generation aspect of the book and felt I could follow the story. There are some books that make it difficult to follow when spanning across generations. I am so impressed with this author for this to be their debut novel! This book was excellently paced and I can't wait to see what this author does in the future!

Finished Reading

Pre-Read notes

So, the publisher's description of this book compares it to The Goldfinch, which is my second favorite book of all time, and one of the best books ever written. Seriously. It won a Pulitzer. So, Airey has got some big shoes to fill!

Final Review

"She had spent all her life trying to create her own story, exercising her free will. And it was exhausting. It was unholy. It had left her barren." (1:01:25)

I have quite a few quibbles with this book, but I liked it and the last 50 pages are amazing.

"It doesn’t matter how many people you know, or where you go. You’re left with yourself." p205

Reading Notes

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. "I wanted to see what kind of presence its absence had created. I liked the fact that Coney Island was always changing and yet somehow felt the same." p10 Interesting insight about the places we inhabit. Who says you can't go home again? This writing is going to be sharp. It needs to be. *edit The presence of absence becomes a prevailing theme, but I don't think she makes enough of it, rather, she just repeats this syntax again and again, "presence of absence," in different contexts.

2. The main character is often introspective. I find these sections serve up remarkable writing, like this: "I hadn’t been thinking about all the things a person has to do to live in the world –the constant bills and paperwork, remembering to feed yourself. I could understand why the saints wanted to get away from it all, why a person would choose to become a nun. Submitting to an order must give a person so much space." p37

3. Repeated phrases abound. Though I'm not sure exactly what Airey was aiming for with this affect, I sort of love it.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. The dad's alive, the dad's dead, the dad's alive, the dad's dead. Experimental timelines don't have to make sense.

2. One of this things that makes The Goldfinch so brilliant is Donna Tart's style, not just the very good story and form. Since we're comparing, Airey's style is not nearly as intuitive and beautiful as Tartt's. That being said, the story and form here are both engaging, and I can see why the comparison was made.

3. The entire section in second-person-present put me in my doldrums. *edit There's a point at which the second person naturally breaks the fourth wall, addresses the audience as though aware of them. It's quite clever. But it doesn't redeem the second person style issues.

4. It's not clear yet how these sections, all having their own timelines, connect. Because of that, the plot feels flimsy and convoluted.

5. The midpoint turn places the story solidly in romance category, which is not at all what I expected from this book. From any book comparing itself to The Goldfinch.

6. "For so long [my sister has] been between us – always there, even half the world away. We’d tried pushing her out, ignoring the presence of her absence. But that was futile." p187 The sister's lover trope. Well, color me bored as hell.

7. This is a difficult book to read, not because the style is advanced but because the pieces don't always meet up.

Rating: 👤👤👤.5/5 absences
Recommend? yes
Finished: Jan 2 '25
Format: digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🪶 - literary fiction
🪢 - experimental fiction
💄 - women's fiction
👩‍👩‍👦 - family stories

Thank you to the author Catherine Airey, publishers Mariner Books, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of CONFESSIONS. All views are mine.
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