Pieces

The sixteen linked stories in Mary Ann McGuigan�s novel PIECES trace the effects of domestic abuse on a large Irish-American family from 1955 to 2008. McGuigan brings to life not only her primary protagonist, Moira Donnegan, but also Moira�s parents, her six siblings, her nephews and nieces, and her husband and children. It is a daunting task to take on such a large cast of characters and multiple points of view and write without melodrama about such subjects as alcoholism and physical and emotional abuse, but McGuigan more than meets the challenge. Each of her characters is distinct and vividly conveyed, and each of her stories expands the significance of the others. By the time you finish the novel, you�ll feel like you�re one of the family too and you�ll celebrate the way they triumph over the dark inheritance of their patriarch�s abuse. You will also celebrate McGuigan�s masterly storytelling. To say that she is an extraordinarily gifted writer is an understatement, like saying Mount Everest would make a pretty good speed bump. This is a book no lover of fiction should miss. -David Jauss