This is a novel about forgiveness, mental illness, trauma, families, relationships, resilience-- there is a lot going on here. It is the late sixties, early seventies, New York City. Francis Gleeson meets Brian Stanhope the first day of their first walking beat as police officers, both rookies fresh out of the Academy. They are paired for a few weeks, then go on with their lives and careers. Each is dating, soon to be married, and will be looking for homes out of the city. Francis marries Lena, a Polish-Italian girl from NYC; Brian chooses Anne, a nurse from Ireland. Through casual discussion, they come to buy homes in the same town, Gillam--more coincidentally, their homes are next door to one another. Also coincidence, each couple has a partner immigrated from Ireland: Francis Gleeson from Galway, and Anne Stanhope is from Dublin. Each leave Ireland for individual reasons, but we see the unresolved results of leaving family and homeland forever. The families each go their own way, mainly due to Anne's cold, and increasingly off behavior. The sole link is the firm friendship between Anne's only child, Peter, and Lena's third daughter, Kate. This relationship is the center around which the story revolves. That, and the terrible tragedy that changes all of their lives.

Spoiler alert: I cannot go further without mentioning the tragic event that ends the first 100 pages, the central event of the novel-- So here it comes. Peter and Kate are fourteen, and they sneak out at midnight to spend a few moments alone together. They realize that their friendship is about to change, as they declare their feelings for each other and share a kiss-- the Romeo and Juliet moment before tragedy falls, and circumstances out of their control ruin their chances at a easy, happy life. Anne's increasingly strange behaviors become more unpredictable, more violent. When the families discover that their children have snuck out together, Anne and Brian erupt into a terrible fight. Brian retreats, and Anne takes out his loaded service revolver. Peter runs to the Gleeson house to call 911, assuming that she will harm herself, and Francis Gleeson goes next door to intervene. As Francis enters the home, as he has been trained to do, Anne pulls out the gun and shoots him in the face. Francis survives, but everyone is forever changed.

Keane does an amazing job of picking up these shattered pieces, and seeing what these families do to put their lives back together. Each character's adjustments to the trauma are believably drawn. Romeo and Juliet do not choose phony death to escape their circumstances-- rather, they each go to college, choose careers, but cannot help but be pulled back to one another. All must be confronted and resolved, however, if further trauma and tragedy are to be avoided. It is easy to see how unresolved trauma can become generational in its influence. Events that occurred a generation or two ago can have consequences manifest today, if not dealt with. We cannot push these away, thinking we can power through them, even if we are good people. Peter and Kate, both good people, learn that the true happiness they crave cannot be achieved until the events of the past are faced, and dealt with. There are consequences, although none are their fault, they will bear the burden, face up, and confront them at last. That is the only way, and fairness does not enter into it. Romeo and Juliet could have had a life, if they had Peter and Kate's courage, resilience, and fortitude. While this novel may sound like a normal family drama, it is handled in a deeper, thoughtful way--therefore I highly recommend it.