a very enjoyable read with lovable lively characters, and an excellent snapshot of the times ( )

I was expecting to love this book. It's a family story set in 1950s Dublin and is a sort of 'slice of life' story. It's about the Rafferty family who, to try and make ends meet when father Eugene finds himself out of work, decide to rent out their spare room. They have a number of lodgers, none of whom seem to work out for various reasons. Meanwhile, the daughters of the family, Bridie, Kitty and Rose, are growing up and are having to deal with all the issues that come with it.

Somehow for me this book didn't flow properly. I considered giving up on it several times when I was first reading it, but I decided to carry on with it and, by and large, I'm glad I did. Unfortunately, it didn't grab me nearly as much as I would have hoped, but it's still a very good bit of writing, there are some interesting and unusual characters in the story, and it did make me laugh in a few places. ( )