Story
The novel follows 84 year old Maurice Hannigan as he makes five toasts during the course of one evening to people who have been important to him in his life.
Review
Anne Griffin’s first novel, which came out last year, is now officially my favourite book. Maurice as a character is so well described that he seems to come alive and he is certainly one of the most vividly drawn characters I have ever encountered. He is sympathetic, yet Griffin makes him wonderfully flawed, so that his story tugs on the heartstrings until I was crying as I read the last pages and closed the book. She writes in a flowing, almost lyrical style, which makes it difficult to put the book down and makes each of Maurice’s toasts beautiful to read.
Verdict
Most memorable quote
‘No one, no one really knows loss until it's someone you love. The deep-down kind of love that holds on to your bones and digs itself right in under your fingernails, as hard to budge as the years of compacted earth. And when it's gone… it's as if it's been ripped from you.’ (Page 213)
If you liked this book, you might also like...
I am still trying to find a book as beautiful and heart wrenching as this one, but if you enjoy ‘When All is Said’ you might also enjoy reading ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’ by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, as it follows one day in a Russian Stalinist gulag and focuses on the small details of Denisovich’s life until you feel attached to his character.
Reviewed by Beatrice, South Hampstead High School