Ask Again, Yes

Author: Mary Beth Keane
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 388
Source: Publisher (Simon and Schuster Canada)
Publisher: Scribner
First Published: June 4, 2019
Opening Lines: "July 1973 - Francis Gleeson, tall and thin in his powder blue policeman's uniform, stepped out of the sun and into the shadow of the stocky stone building that was the station house of the Forty-First Precinct."

Book Description from GoodReads: A profoundly moving novel about two neighboring families in a suburban town, the friendship between their children, a tragedy that reverberates over four decades, and the power of forgiveness.

Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are two NYPD rookies assigned to the same Bronx precinct in 1973. They aren’t close friends on the job, but end up living next door to each other outside the city. What goes on behind closed doors in both houses—the loneliness of Francis’s wife, Lena, and the instability of Brian’s wife, Anne, sets the stage for the stunning events to come.
Aprofoundlymovingnovelabouttwoneighboringfamiliesinasuburbantown,thefriendshipbetweentheirchildren,atragedythatreverberatesoverfourdecades,andthepowerofforgiveness.

FrancisGleesonandBrianStanhopearetwoNYPDrookiesassignedtothesameBronxprecinctin1973.Theyaren’tclosefriendsonthejob,butenduplivingnextdoortoeachotheroutsidethecity.Whatgoesonbehindcloseddoorsinbothhouses—thelonelinessofFrancis’swife,Lena,andtheinstabilityofBrian’swife,Anne,setsthestageforthestunningeventstocome.

AskAgain,Yesbyaward-winningauthorMaryBethKeane,isabeautifullymovingexplorationofthefriendshipandlovethatblossomsbetweenFrancis’syoungestdaughter,Kate,andBrian’sson,Peter,whoarebornsixmonthsapart.InthespringofKateandPeter’seighthgradeyearaviolenteventdividestheneighbors,theStanhopesareforcedtomoveaway,andthechildrenareforbiddentohaveanyfurthercontact.

ButKateandPeterfindawaybacktoeachother,andtheirrelationshipistestedbytheechoesfromtheirpast.AskAgain,Yesrevealshowtheeventsofchildhoodlookdifferentwhenreexaminedfromthedistanceofadulthood—villainslosetheirmenace,andthosewhoappearedinnocentseemlessso.KateandPeter’slovestoryismarkedbytenderness,generosity,andgrace.

Ask Again, Yes by award-winning author Mary Beth Keane, is a beautifully moving exploration of the friendship and love that blossoms between Francis’s youngest daughter, Kate, and Brian’s son, Peter, who are born six months apart. In the spring of Kate and Peter’s eighth grade year a violent event divides the neighbors, the Stanhopes are forced to move away, and the children are forbidden to have any further contact.

But Kate and Peter find a way back to each other, and their relationship is tested by the echoes from their past. Ask Again, Yes reveals how the events of childhood look different when re-examined from the distance of adulthood—villains lose their menace, and those who appeared innocent seem less so. Kate and Peter’s love story is marked by tenderness, generosity, and grace.

My Rating: 4 stars

My Review: Ask Again, Yes is an intergenerational domestic drama that focuses on two families who find their lives intertwined by one fateful event. The story follows the families for several decades allowing readers to witness the implications and far-reaching effects this one event has on members of both families.

Readers will have to be patient with the book's slower start but soon they will be pulled into the lives of the Stanhope and Gleeson families. I particularly appreciated Keane's candor and sensitivity regarding the issues of mental illness and addiction and how she illustrates the long-term influence parents' decisions have on their children.

While I found the story to be somewhat predictable (and a little long in the tooth) at times, the topics that are addressed (family, loss, tragedy, addiction ..) were explored in depth making it a good choice for book club discussions. Overall, Ask Again, Yes is a well-written, poignant and insightful story that illustrates how one tragic event can change the trajectory of many lives and how the bumpy road to forgiveness and healing after such an event can reverberate through a family for decades.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Scribner Books for the complimentary advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.