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The Last Will Of Moira Leahy (2009)

by Therese Walsh(Favorite Author)

3.79 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0307461572 (ISBN13: 9780307461575)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Crown

review 1: The author is a master at tension on every page, yet the mounting dread I felt as the events Maeve is afraid of revisiting get closer and closer was never enough to make me put the book down (a problem I have sometimes). Maeve's transition from fearless to fearful and then back again was handled so well, as were the more magical elements. The Javanese knife lore was effective in making her struggle both spiritual and very physical, magical and literal. I also appreciated all the layers of language in the novel -- twinspeak, twin telepathy, music, 6th sense-feelings, actual different languages (English, Italian, French, etc) -- and how they function for Maeve at different times of her life and then come together at the end. And I loved Noel: longsuffering and romantic Noel.... more What a great read.
review 2: Hey! I’m Safi Nazzal, and after reading this novel in my literature circle group for my English 3 honors class, I developed mixed feelings. Despite my three-star rating, The Last Will of Moira Leahy was quite an enjoyable book. I appreciated the extensive details drawn into the characters, relationships, as well as settings of the novel. The eerie details of Moira and Maeve’s relationship held on as a back bone to the novel and more I read, the more I found myself caught in their sibling rivalry. The constant change of perspective from the past and present and from sister to sister definitely threw me into the story. However, much like a double-sided blade, the excessive details played negatively towards the novel. Many random details seemed to be coincidental and pointless to the story. This included the antagonist Ermanno, who ultimately was just an add-in to push the story forward. When the character was introduced mid-story, I was hopeful for the obstacles he would create and the strength it would take to overcome him. Little did I know that Ermanno’s demise would just be him reevaluating his actions and going back to his thrilling life as a landlady’s son. Besides the failed antagonist, I felt that the exaggerated details and completely random events continued to flaw the novel. The romance was cheesy too, but that may just be a gender thing. We first see Maeve as a shut-off and stressed recluse rejected by society. As the novel progresses, Maeve becomes more open and is able to move on with her life. This is possible through her quest of finding the meaning of the keris. The development in Maeve is also created by the romance between Noel and her. That being said, I feel the central conflict in The Last Will of Moira Leahy is strongly man vs self. Her journey to Rome in search of the dagger’s origin, unknowingly changes Maeve and allows her to overcome her concealed personality. Man vs. self also represents Maeve’s struggle to forgive herself after Moira’s incident and move on. This leads to the theme of the novel, which I believe is sibling rivalry. The novel shows the consequences that innocent actions create between sisters. Maeve’s life is isolated by her guilt and as the novel develops she is able to finally accept the past and move on. The depressing tone that the author projected through the theme, especially with the Moira and Maeve’s backstory, evoked many emotions. I was able to link the rivalry to conflicts between my own sister and I. Pushing the theme forward, the keris was a very important symbol in the novel. It represented the bond between Maeve and her sister as well as the struggle for a happier future. The author’s very detailed and expressive writing style made the book interesting at certain times however exaggerated at others. “Something about Rome stimulated contact and intimacy; maybe- the fountain water everyone supped was laced with pheromones.” (Kindle location 3493). This quote is an example of the detailed writing that Therese Walsh sprinkles throughout the pages of the book. The quote also shows her personification of Rome, making it seem like a romantic male stimulating “contact and intimacy”. Another quote is, “His scent was rich with complex notes- like air, earth, water, and fire, distilled and woven into his DNA.” (Kindle Location 3551). Needless to say, this quote is somewhat over the top and expresses the distaste I found in the exaggerated detail. However, despite these exaggerated moments, there were many times in the novel where the author’s colorful language pulled me in. Overall, I would not recommend this book to another person. I found it too lucky and random. So many events in the novel just seemed to happen coincidentally. Had the author focused more on the relationship between Moira and Maeve, the novel definitely would have been beautiful. Either way, I applaud Therese Walsh on her debut novel and wish her the best of luck with her writing career. less

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