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Summary
Summary
"This is a big-hearted belly-laugh of a book, told with wit and poignancy. Family secrets, laughter and tears, shocking reveals, and an uplifting ending make this a story to savor--and share."--Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost and Found Bookshop
An accomplished storyteller returns with her biggest, boldest, most entertaining novel yet--a hilarious, heartfelt story about books, love, sisterhood, and the surprises we discover in our DNA.
Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother's death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren't quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature.
But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she too is a Sweeney sister.
When Washington, DC based journalist Serena Tucker had her DNA tested on a whim a few weeks earlier, she learned she had a 50% genetic match with a childhood neighbor--Maggie Sweeney of Southport, Connecticut. It seems Serena's chilly WASP mother, Birdie, had a history with Bill Sweeney--one that has remained totally secret until now.
Once the shock wears off, questions abound. What does this mean for William's literary legacy Where is the unfinished memoir he's stashed away, and what will it reveal And how will a fourth Sweeney sister--a blond among redheads--fit into their story
By turns revealing, insightful, and uproarious, The Sweeney Sisters is equal parts cautionary tale and celebration--a festive and heartfelt look at what truly makes a family.
"Dolan uses her experience in podcasting with her own sisters to craft believable women characters who worry about real problems and use wry humor to push through dark moments . . . . A warmhearted portrait of love embracing true hearts."--Kirkus
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Dolan (Helen of Pasadena) weaves together in this breezy tale the stories of three sisters whose family is disrupted after the death of their famous father. While Liza, the oldest daughter of acclaimed author William Sweeney, meets with potential clients in her Southport, Conn., gallery, she receives word of William's fatal heart attack after years of heavy drinking. While the middle sister, Maggie, a talented artist also living in western Connecticut, struggles with depression and making ends meet, youngest Tricia has distinguished herself with a successful law career. Brought together in Southport to hear the will, the sisters learn that William had another daughter two years before Liza, and they close ranks against their half-sister, whom they've long known as Serena Tucker, who was raised as an only child next door to the Sweeneys. With Serena in Southport for the wake, the sisters feel threatened by any claims or intrusions into their family. Their struggle to believe that William had another child drives them to search for a missing manuscript, which they expect would provide definitive answers to the four women's questions about their father. While Dolan's prose lacks verve, the juicy sibling rivalry propels the pace, and the presence of Serena helps the sisters form new bonds among themselves and with the outsider. This endearing story of sisterhood delivers on its promise. Agent: Yfat Reiss Gendell, Foundry Media. (Apr.)
Kirkus Review
The Sweeney sisters gather in Southport, Connecticut, for the funeral of their father, Bill Sweeney, a brilliant writer. An unexpected guest at his wake, however, will shift the foundations of their lives. Not yet lucky in love, all three sisters have nonetheless landed on their feet. Liza, the eldest, has lived a safe, comfortable life in her hometown, married to boring Whit Jones after Gray Cunningham broke her heart. But she's created a successful career with her Sweeney Jones Gallery, selling work by local artisans, including Maggie, the middle Sweeney daughter, who has put years of wild living behind her. Tricia, the youngest, ended up in New York City, working for a prestigious law firm after her graduation from Yale. When their father's lawyer reveals that a newly discovered half sister may lay claim to part of Bill's estate, the sisters realize that the woman at the funeral was no stranger. In fact, she was their childhood neighbor Serena Tucker, whose mother turns out to have had an affair with Bill, which Serena learned about after having taken a DNA test. Dolan (Elizabeth the First Wife, 2013, etc.) uses her experience in podcasting with her own sisters (Satellite Sisters and The Chaos Chronicles) to craft believable women characters who worry about real problems and use wry humor to push through dark moments. Faced with irrefutable DNA evidence, the sisters gently remind each other not to blame Serena, yet they brim with questions: Why did Bill pair up with Birdie Tucker, Serena's stiff, country-club fixture of a mother? Was their parents' marriage troubled? And why didn't Serena come forward sooner? Is she hoping to cash in on her famous father's death? Or is she going to put her journalism career to work and write a tell-all memoir? Struggling to remember her own childhood from a new perspective, Serena is anxious about fitting in with the tight trio of redheads. As the sisters get to know each other, they begin to restructure their family to include not only each other, but also new partners. A warmhearted portrait of love embracing true hearts. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Bill Sweeney is a literary giant until he passes away suddenly, leaving behind three grown daughters. Practical shop owner Liza, dreamy artist Maggie, and steadfast lawyer Tricia must come together at the family home on Willow Lane in Southport, Connecticut, to make the arrangements. As the women sort out the estate, they come upon several shocking truths, the most surprising of which is that there is another Sweeney sister. Thanks to a DNA test, neighbor Serena Tucker learned that her mother had a clandestine relationship with Bill. Now all four of the Sweeney sisters must grapple with their identities while also figuring out how to relate to one another. This is a layered novel, in which the reader uncovers the past along with the daughters. The omniscient point of view allows the reader to see into Willow Lane through all eyes. Bill is a prominent presence without ever stepping onto the page, yet the novel's most important triumph may be its examination of how women gain the agency to break free from powerful men.
Library Journal Review
The Sweeney sisters' lives revolve around their father, Bill Sweeney, a much-heralded literary lion. When he passes away suddenly, they gather at the old homestead. Liza, the eldest, lives nearby with her boring husband and runs a successful art gallery that showcases some work by middle sister Maggie. Maggie is a free spirit who has had trouble with adulting. The youngest Sweeney, Tricia, is a fiercely competitive New York City lawyer. The girls gather for the reading of the will, and they learn that owing to one of those ubiquitous home DNA tests, there is another Sweeney sister, a half sister, DC journalist Serena Tucker. Bill's publisher is threatening to sue over an overdue memoir; the sisters are tearing the house apart to find it while simultaneously trying to process their newest family member, their parents' marriage, and all their other problems, with a lot of love and laughter. VERDICT It's been a while since Dolan's last novel, Elizabeth the First Wife, but this humorous, heartfelt family story is worth the wait. Will appeal to fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Elizabeth Berg. [See Prepub Alert, 10/14/19.]--Stacy Alesi, Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Lib., Lynn Univ., Boca Raton, FL
