The characters were interesting, and it was easy to read, but the story just didn't grab me at any point. Felt long and plain and just not interesting enough to excite me. I learnt a little history I didn't know so that was good. (Lots of typos in this edition!) ( )

The characters were interesting, and it was easy to read, but the story just didn't grab me at any point. Felt long and plain and just not interesting enough to excite me. I learnt a little history I didn't know so that was good. (Lots of typos in this edition!) ( )

Tells the story of three generations of women whose lives have been affected in different ways by the Abbotsford Convent's historical past. Ellen, who at age four became a ward of the state living at the convent, after her father had her mother declared an unfit parent; Cecilia, Ellen’s only daughter, who at age nineteen took her vows and joined the secluded order as Sister Anunciata; and 19-year-old Peach (or Perpetua), Cecilia’s daughter adopted out at birth and as yet unaware of her heritage.
Very simily to other McCarthy books - a story about finding and accepting your past. ( )

Loved this book. The best she has written. Loved the way she has researched the history of Melbourne, the convent, Catholism from a woman's point of view. A book to share with your daughters. ( )

The lives of four generations of women with connections to the Abbotsford Convent are explored within this book which has been extensively researched by the author and also is also entangled with her own family history. Initially Perpetua who is known as Peach, gets a summer job at the Abbotsford Covent Café, little knowing how tied up with her past it is. The book is told by four women; great-grandmother Sadie who in 1915 had her child taken away from her, Ellen, the grandmother who was raised in the convent, Cecelia, the mother who for a good deal of her life was a nun and Peach the daughter who was adopted out. There is also Peach's sister who is struggling with weight issues and an artist friend who is pregnant and works in one of the old cells that the nuns used to live in which has now been converted into commercial arts and crafts spaces. An interwoven story, this book is well told and shows how the past effects those living in the present day. A great read. ( )