Divided Loyalties

This is another great book by Patricia Scanlan. The story is about a family that has basically every normal major struggle within it. The main character, Shauna, is married to a socializing work-aholic. Shauna wants nothing more than to have another child so her daughter can have the close, happy relationship she has with her sister, Carrie. Carrie has the perfect life, great husband and well behaved children. She also has the task of taking care of the judgmental, religious father who put judged them all growing up. After the death of his wife, he needs constant babying and caring. Carrie feels slightly resentful, but misses Shauna when she leaves to live a wealthy life in the Gulf. While their gay brother lives in London far from judgemental eye of their father. On holidays and vacations the family gets together and eventually finds a way to work out the issues that break them apart.

I received my copy of "Divided Loyalties" with the usual great expectation and I was not let down. Her books only seem to get better and better. I got totally hooked by this one. A wonderful story about family, friends and values. But most of all about those small, apparently insignificant, things which turn out to be not so small, after all. There is laughter and tears and fun and struggle, but above all there is warmth, forgiveness and understanding. Two sisters, Shauna and Carrie, plus their younger brother Bobby, all have different lives and problems. Shauna is moving with her husband and daughter to the Emirates, hoping in doing so to be finally free of her obnoxious in-laws "The Freeloaders", as her sister Carrie calls them, who arrive at her home at the drop of a hat, stay as long as they like, bring nothing with them and don't lift a finger to help. Carrie, Shauna's older sister, is happily married, with two children. But resentment towards her siblings builds up as she is getting fed up with the burden of looking after their elderly father, and finds it difficult to stand up for herself. And finally, their younger brother Bobby has a troubled relationship with their father, who blames him for the premature death of his wife. The last Christmas the family spent together, was a disaster, and as they prepare for another seasonal gathering, the family is struggling to settle their differencies and put the past behind them. During one year we follow the family through ups and downs. This is no fairytale, but real life as it is for most of us. Things do not always work out as we had hoped, but it's amazing what love can do and which paths may open in entirely new and surprisingly fulfilling directions. Patricia Scanlan at her best. Much recommended.