Cover Image: Decanted Truths

Decanted Truths

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Member Reviews

A delightful story, Decanted Truths has well-crafted characters and an easy to follow storyline. A must-read.

Synopsis:
For Irish immigrant families like the Harrigans and Gavagans, the struggle has been the name of the game since they arrived in Boston in the nineteenth century.

For twice-orphaned Leah Gavagan, who comes of age in the Depression, the struggle is compounded by bizarre visions that disrupt her daily life -- and sometimes come true.

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I wasn’t able to read this one as I have not been able to download a copy. As I was bot able to read the book, I will still give it a five star review because it was not the author’s fault.

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An interesting book to read. At first l could not get into story but as l read on l enjoyed the story. The characters were strong and courageous. There was good description and I was pleased that l persevered.

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A very noteworthy saga which involves Irish immigrants who came to Massachusetts in the great depression to try and make a new life for themselves. Leah Gavagan, the main character, is an orphaned girl brought up by her strict Aunt. Her story is weaved throughout the novel and provides the thread that has the reader eager to turn the page. Leah has difficulty engaging with people and making friends. She has visions that sometimes come true and often involve the decanter. The mysterious ‘decanter’. Life changes when there is a death. Leah discovers all is not what it appears and she searches for the truth. An excellent read.

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I have to first say that the cover does a disservice to the quality of the tale and the description of the decanter given within. This looks more like plastic whereas the storyline has a crystal one, which is the thread that runs in the background of the tale but comes a full circle at some point.

This book released at the end of the last year but unfortunately I only got around to reading it this month. I am glad I did though because it was a very enriching experience. I found the family lists in the beginning unnecessary, because I only paid attention to them once the story was over, it could have served a better purpose at the end. After all this nitpicking I should get to the point of why I enjoyed the tale. 

This is a story which spans multiple decades and more than two families and a lot of important individual players. Leah is our principal character whose welfare is what we are always concerned about thanks to the way the story unfolds. Leah has a problem, she has 'episodes', the content and the implication of these episodes are revealed to us in fragments contributing to a complete picture. Initially, the story takes us month by month, then goes into a very important but long flashback and then jumps years with surprising frequency. In this time we grow fond of a few people, hate others and are conflicted by some actions. The joy of reading a saga is not just getting to know people but also live their life in the time they did and get to know a lot more about socio-economic conditions of the time, the variance that xenophobia took even in a country of immigrants. The questions of identity are prevalent throughout the tale, as people struggle to see themselves as part of some other whole, either as part of their roots or the people who made them. It was fascinating to watch unfold and although it could have been shorter, the length is by no means a very strong deterrent.

I highly recommend it to those people who like reading sagas, historical fiction or even just want to walk in the shoes of immigrants or first-gen Americans in the early 1900s. 

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is completely based on my own reading experience.

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This was a more engaging story than I expected, with characters I could easily imagine befriending. Imaginative, captivating and wonderfully written. Simply wonderful!

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I received a free copy of Decanted Truths by Melanie Forde from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this story. Set in the Depression era in Boston, you meet the Harrigans and Gavagans families. You get to see their lives and how the past and future intertwine with each other. Leah Gavagan is an orphan raised by her aunt and uncle. She often has visions, including one about a crystal decanter. Then she sees the decanter from her visions in her aunts house. What is the history behind it and how does it relate to Leah and her family. You will feel like you are part of the story and relate to the emotions and how families both pull together and fall apart. A wonderful, enchanting read.

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Really enjoyed this book. It kept me interested all the way through. I would definitely recommend to a fellow reader. I like the cover as well.

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The first chapter is a true marvel, the story telling is well crafted, and the rest of the book does not disappoint.
The quality of English and the quality of the narrative builds up as the plot evolves. The complexity of the crossing of destinies makes all the value of the story.
I've read this book courtesy of the publisher and the author in exchange for a fair review.
I must admit I took great pleasure in reading such good literature and such a captivating story !

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Decanted Truths by Melanie Forde

If you like family sagas, this turn of the 19th century family tale is well thought out and well told. The story is staged in Massachusetts and is a blend of three families: the Gavagans, the Harrigans and the Costellos.

Secrets are kept, truths are revealed. There are marriages started, marriages ended, births, deaths and tragedies. What struck me most was the care and love this author takes in creating her characters. You may like some better than others, but they all reveal a certain tenderness I find rare.

While some sections seem a little long and drawn out, this story kept my interest until the end. While it mostly centers around Leah Gavagan, all the principal figures get their back stories told. In the end, it circles back to Leah in the 1960s with a very satisfying conclusion.

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In 2015, I read Melanie Forde's Hillwilla, a book that I very much enjoyed, so I was eager to read this one. Decanted Truths is very different from Hillwilla and depicts the assimilation of Irish families as a process that takes a couple of generations.

"It is easy to forget how unwelcome Irish immigrants were and how the only jobs they were offered were menial. Many who came after 1845 (the potato blight famine) were desperately poor.
It is estimated that as many as 4.5 million Irish arrived in America between 1820 and 1930.
Between 1820 and 1860, the Irish constituted over one third of all immigrants to the United States. In the 1840s, they comprised nearly half of all immigrants to this nation." Source

The Harrigan and Gavagan families arrived in the 19th century, but the book opens in the with the characters in the 1920's and focuses on Leah Gavagan. Leah, an orphan taken in by her Aunt Theo, doesn't quite fit anywhere and struggles with "the sight" and episodes that make some uncomfortable in her presence.

The novel then takes a turn to examine Margaret Harrigan and events in the late 19th that have lasting effects in the lives of both Harrigans and Gavagans.

The truths decanted in the histories of the two families are not always welcome and secrets are eventually revealed that have been kept hidden for decades.

A compelling collection of characters and an intriguing saga of families, Decanted Truths depicts individuals who meet all of the changes and difficulties life throws at them. As in real life, some meet these situations with more grace and fortitude than others.

NetGalley/Books Go Social
Literary/Historical Fiction. 2018. Print length: 416 pages.
Posted by jenclair at 8:34 AM

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I was intrigued by this book from the blurb and although it was slow at the start,it wasn't until the story jumped back a generation that it started to grip my interest. It's a story of two families set in mainly in Boston that are connected by circumstances and marriage with their own secrets that are life changing for some of the characters. It's a good read regardless of the slow beginning. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased.

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Amazing study of two Irish families as they assimilate into American life early nineteenth century, specifically Leah Gavagan, deftly kept within the "family." The Harrigans have had a catastrophic reversal of fortune and the families connect to hold it together. Leah has "visions" as if her life isn't difficult enough and sets her apart from peers as well as within her own circle--the one she thought was hers.

It is Margaret, pseudo-matriarch of the Harrigan family who, upon her death, leaves shocking personal family background that causes such an upheaval in Leah. The narrative swings back to an earlier time to young Margaret, cementing a picture of the struggles with her failures, deceits, and ultimate betrayal. Dissecting the Irish psyche in the process, the proud, multifaceted definition of who they are, not so much a race, but more a mind-set and characterization or description of what made up that distinct class of persons.

There are a number of support characters that are alternately brought into sharp focus, accounting for the dynamic throughout the well-crafted storyline--more of a biography--such a deep but lovingly complex understanding of the people from past generations--the history of a family. Into the family, a Waterford decanter is bestowed by the boy who immigrated to America in the bowels of the ship. The decanter, zealously protected and handed down, has become a symbol for the family of their final acceptance of each other and their adopted land, as well as a symbol of the truths that are eventually exposed.
While the novel begins rather slowly, pulling all the characters into the center of attention, the author creates a literary novel of intelligence, the significance of family, and the imprint each evokes in our lives. It is a unique gift, an unusual examination of people, and a share of the commonality in us all.

I received this ebook download from the author in hopes of an honest opinion and appreciated the opportunity to read and review. Recommended to any who enjoy a deep study into beautifully written literary prose.

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When I started this book, I was tempted to think, “Here we go with another predictable Irish saga.” Not so. I soon became wrapped up in the excellently drawn characters and the absorbing family story. As I was turning the last pages I desperately wanted more. The book has stayed with me for a long time after I finished, which to me is the best kind of novel.

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An intriguing and complex Irish-American family saga of sorts. The first half of the book, set in the Great Depression with prohibition in force, is told by Leah, just into adulthood but reminiscing a bit about her childhood - moving from trying-to-remain-genteel-having-come-down-in-the-world Aunt Margaret to independent, world-wise but damaged Aunt Theo and her twin brother Leo.. The older generation are complex, interesting characters and none of which can be said to be 'typical' . Leah has "the sight" of her ancestors and she's learning to deal with that as are those around her as well as trying to find her place in the world. The second half jumps back a few decades to Margaret, Theo and all as young adults themselves. Bustling Boston, Manomet and Dorchester of the 1880s, self importance, snobbery and distinct social mores of the Irish all add flavour and colour to the story. The two sections come together with the death of Margaret and the papers she has left behind. These throw a googly to much of the family and Leah, in particular has to come to terms with the revelations. She finds a life in painting and eventually has a short but happy marriage. Through the story runs her initial vision of a club-footed child acquiring a cut glass decanter on his voyage from Ireland to America. Whilst this remains in the family - Theo then Leah - I never really got to grips about its importance or not. It felt a complete adjunct to the main story to me. Guess I missed something there. Still, I don't think that that detracted from the story; a good read, interesting and well portrayed characters and a good feeling for the two main time frames involved.

Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe, the publishers, for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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