"Do You Have a Smoke?" – Stations by Louise Kennedy Book Review
'Do you have a smoke?'
When Róisín meets Red for the first time, he's sitting on a stone wall, and she's supposed to bring a letter from his girlfriend, Tina, Róisín’s bully. Instead of reading the letter, Red stuffs it into his pocket and starts asking Róisín questions. Seeing more in each other than their small town allows, they soon develop a close friendship. Promising each other eternal friendship, the two witty teenagers drift together and then apart and together again like nutshells on a wave.
After an eventful evening, Red has to leave their small Irish hometown and goes to London. The two start corresponding through letters. When Róisín visits him there, she discovers he's squatting in an abandoned house. Living together with Barry, who they used to go to school with, Greg, an American college dropout and speed junky, and panic-ridden greyhound Wilbur.
But he's not quite the same Red Róisín used to know. His path has become dark, and she never realised just how many demons actually haunt him.
Growing into a still angry woman, Róisín has to realise that there are some fates you just can't change. And some people who just don't want to be found …
Róisín is the voice of a self-centred, sharp teenager who overlooks so many things because of her own selfishness. Always angry at her parents and the world, she alienates most of the people surrounding her. Also often overlooking the struggles of the ones dearest to her.
Róisín stands for so many women who are smarter than their peers ought them to be. Too smart for her own good. Despite her tendencies of being unlikable at times, she takes the reader in and makes them want to root for her. Róisín wants to belong so desperately that she never quite fits in anywhere.
Red is representative of many first crushes that are idolised and never quite reciprocated. His fate is one of many, while still being heartbreakingly personal.
Stations (German title: RED) by Louise Kennedy took me, as a reader, into a completely foreign reality. One of Irish immigrants in England in the 80s and 90s, and also of Northern Irish people during the Troubles. Louise Kennedy manages to make the reader feel the cold, smell the weed and taste the beer.
If you'd like to read more about how much of Louise's own history can be found in Stations and what led her to becoming a writer, look forward to an exclusive interview with THE UNSEEN, coming soon.
REVIEW BY
Philine
I love expressing myself through writing. But also through fashion and art. My body is a museum for all the cool tattoo artists I've come across. As a booklover and helpless (hopeful) romantic I love to indulge in the sweeter stories of life. Writing is my way of empowering women and fighting the patriarchy. I also want to bring the joy and community of female friendships to everyone through my texts. Your online bestie if you will, that shares the best books, crafts and maybe a recipe from time to time.
