You will smile and cry when reading When All Is Said. You can't help but love Maurice Hannigan the 84 year old Irish man who is telling his life story one evening through the five toasts he raises sitting in the bar of an Irish hotel.

The book is written in the form of a letter to his only son who lives in America telling him things he has never been able to say in person. Maurice's wife, Sadie, died two years before and he finds life difficult as a widower. A cantankerous farmer and solitary soul, he has risen from a poverty stricken childhood to become a prosperous man. Through his five toasts Maurice reveals the secrets he has kept and the sorrows he has suffered without being maudlin or self pitying.

Two minor things jarred for me: firstly no elderly man would use the awful American term 'from the get-go' (twice in Chapter Three: 'We'd been trying of course, from the get-go'; 'From the get-go Sadie was convinced of it' which reveals a young editor perhaps not noticing?) The second is that in order to tell the reader, Maurice 'tells' things to his son that he would have already been aware of. That's tricky and most readers wouldn't notice or care.

Ann Griffin is a wonderful Irish writer to add to my list of contemporary fiction authors. Her characterisation and sense of place are second to none and I highly recommend When All is Said for its beautiful writing. A perfect read for fans of Elizabeth Is Missing, The Thing About December and Bitter. Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton/Sceptre for the opportunity to read and review it.

Firstly I would like to thank Net Galley, the publishers, and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a free and honest review.

I loved it. It's a story set in Eire; it's about 84 year old Maurice, sitting on a bar stool reflecting on his life by thinking about five people who had made up his world. It's a very moving and sad story but so very well written and very readable. I galloped through it and even shed a tear or two in places. I was interested to see John Boyne's name included in the Acknowledgements as a supporter of Anne Griffin; he is one of my favourite modern authors and his most recent book is my top read so far in 2018. Anne Griffin is not far behind. Five solid stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this book to read in exchange for an honest review. Honestly, I didn't get on too well with it. I feel like I should have done in the sense that the general genre I typically enjoy and I love Irish literature but somehow the story just didn't grab me as much as it could have done.

I do want to award it more than one star partly because the writing was very good and it's also an original story, I don't think I've come across similar before and maybe if i give it another chance at another time I might enjoy it more.

The concept of a man toasting five different people and describing their stories is a good one but parts were long-winded.

I really enjoyed this book. 84 year old Maurice Hannigan is spending the evening toasting the 5 people who have made a difference to his life. He lost his wife 2 years ago, and can't live without her. We know what he is planning to do at the end of this day, and that makes everything more poignant. This is the story of his life, warts and all. A lovely story. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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Beautiful, touching and poignant, 'When All Is Said' centres on Maurice Hannigan.

Maurice spends the evening reflecting on his life, toasting five special people: his brother Tony, daughter Molly, sister-in-law Noreen, son Kevin, and his beloved wife Sadie. With each toast we learn more of Maurice's life story, his rise to riches, and the feud with the neighbouring landlords, the Dollards.

At turns heartwarming and sad, this is written so beautifully, you can hear the strong Irish lilt of the narrative at all times. Highly recommended.

This is a great book. It is all about Maurice and his life. As the reader I was able to relate to the story. I throughly enjoyed reading this.
I had a eARC of this from both NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton in exchange for my review

Gruff old Irish farmer, widowed for a couple of years, contemplates his life, its highs and lows, the people he loves and has loved, events that have shaped his and others’ lives, and it makes for an absorbing read. Regrets? He has a few and thinks about trying to put things right where he can. I enjoyed this story and came to care about the characters very much indeed, especially Maurice himself who is self-aware but not self-pitying, and is really just a wise old man, content with his lot but bereft of the love of his life. It is emotionally engaging without being overly sentimental and I find that unusual these days. Superb writing in that beautiful Irish way I admire so much.

This review seems a little thin but I’d hate to give anything away and urge you to immerse yourself in Maurice’s story. I can’t fault this book and would recommend it without hesitation.

This is a gem of a book. I laughed and I cried my way through it. The story of Maurice's life is beautifully told. I could imagine him sitting in the bar of the hotel. I could imagine his surroundings and I could almost taste the whiskey. I have been in hotels like this in Ireland and I could visualise this one. There has been so much love in his life and so much sadness. His story is simply and beautifully told. This book will stay with me for a long time and I will definitely be raving about it for a long time as well.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for my copy.

This is the story of Maurice Hannigan's life, told when he is an old man, through the people he remembers as he drinks five toasts to them in the bar of the local hotel which has played a big part in his life. It is poignant and compelling and in the style of the most accomplished Irish writers. Anne Griffin says she has had advice and support from her friend, John Boyne, who is a favourite author of mine. I believe this is her debut book. I hope she writes another one with the depth and truth that this one has.

I loved this book - once I had started hearing about Maurice’s life I wanted to keep reading. Heartwarming, poignant and life affirming. A joy to read.

Beautifully written you fully appreciate the highs and lows of his life as he toasts the five people who had such an impact on him. I soon realised what the ending would be but wanted to journey with him.

My thanks to Sceptre and Netgalley for the copy of this ebook in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
A point to note; I do not do spoilers or dwell on the plot and story. If you want these I suggest you read the publisher's blurb and other reviews - my interest is in the author and her/his craft.
Well, pull up your chair closer to the fire - prepare to read the book in one session. This is literature, this took me back to my youth when I was first discovering the pleasures of reading. Anne Griffin is a talent she has honed her craft a winner all the way to the line, for a debut it is a wonder.
I cannot recommend this volume enough. Buy it and treasure is - you will not regret it. Bring on the next novel.

Totally totally magnificent. I don’t think a book has provided me such an emotional punch since I read Five People. Maurice’s voice is so convincing and the raw honesty leaves you breathless.

A story mainly told in the narrative, with little dialogue. Maurice Hannigan, an old man reminiscing about his life and events which he went through that shaped his life, and made him the man he became. A man of his time!
Not the type of book that I would usually choose to read, but almost from the beginning I became completely immersed in Hannigan’s story, his family, relationships, experiences at school, and the harsh, challenging land which he worked so hard on.
Hannigan has always been a strong character, though at certain points in his life has come close to breaking. The story completely draws you in with the author’s skillful, emotive writing. One minute you like this tough, strong character who has suffered hardship and cruelty, then at times, you think he has been too harsh.
A complex character! But there is also subtle humour in the story. One minute you are feeling deep empathy for this likeable character, then laughing out loud at some of the events that Maurice is recalling. The chapter about Norissa, (his wife’s sister), is particularly amusing. I recommend this wonderful story, and would love to read other books by this author.

In Anne Griffin's debut novel Maurice Hannigan, an elderly farmer from County Meath sits in a hotel bar and looks back on his life. He's seen Ireland change around him and his own fortunes steadily rise while those of the Dollards, the family on whose grand estate he worked as a boy, have declined in inverse proportion.

As the country has grown from agricultural backwater to Celtic Tiger and then slumped back to the reality of post-financial crisis Europe, Maurice, clever at business but not always emotionally articulate, has been left stranded, first by the emigration of his son and then by the death of his wife.

The outstanding thing about this novel is the voice. Cynical and sentimental

funny and poignant Maurice Hannigan's lyrical vernacular is the voice of a generation of Irishmen that is passing away.

This book reminded me a bit of The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
Maurice is looking back on his life while he’s sat at a bar. I enjoyed each chapter dedicated to a different person and learning about his life as he grew up. The ending was expected but it was an nice book to read, and I connected well with the characters.

.75 stars

Ahhh... this was lovely.... considering it was fairly obvious to me all along where it was heading.
It's quite something to reflect back on your life,choose 5 people who were big parts of it...and so tell your life story through theirs.
I felt a positivity running through this book,there was a lot of love shared,and it was all rather heart warming.. even to an old cynic lime me.
Didn't quite make me cry... but a bit more and I might have.

An emotional book in which the main character, Maurice, revisits his life in the bar of the local hotel. He has several regrets after a loving but tragic childhood and beyond, he has made mistakes but has the determination of self preservation. Each chapter is written with a different drink in hand and each is dedicated to someone from his past. It is a strong story about grief and loneliness

The story of his life unfolds beautifully and is totally captivating in the writing style. Maurice is a salt of the earth Irish farmer, with a rough exterior but underneath the seemingly uncaring, built up shell it's apparent he cares deeply about his past and painfully revisits it whilst talking in his head to his son. This is the only way he can express himself as he on the exterior is a grumpy old man. It is an incredibly moving read, heartrendingly intense in places as Maurice unravels his past as all is not what it seems on the surface when he makes fresh discoveries about it. It is not all doom and gloom as there is the underlying current of love and contentment with a touch of dry humour. One could imagine Maurice in old age and how everything conspired to the make the man he became.

A heartbreaking and heartwarming story, beautifully told. Maurice, an old man now, sits at the bar toasting the most important people in his life, all of whom have passed away bar his son. He visits his past life through his memories of each of them, regretting words not said and often those he did say. Maurice is a flawed human being - difficult, grumpy, tight-fisted - all by his own admission. We learn through his retelling of his life how loved he was, however. His parents, brother and sisters, wife and son, loved him and cared about him. His problem was that he found it difficult to show them he felt the same way. We learn why he is the way he is and why he couldn’t change himself.

Beautifully written in the way only the Irish can write, this story tugged at my heartstrings the whole way through. From his childhood, Maurice remembers his mother laughing when she saw a banana for the first time.

“My mother looked at it and laughed. Clear and melodious it was, like a song thrush. As each member of the family arrived to see the peculiar-looking fruit, my mother’s laugh started up once more. I willed others to come so she wouldn’t stop. I moved as close to her as I could, to taste and feel her happiness. I remember my head pushed in against the material of her apron, closing my eyes to hear her joy and feel her body vibrate. Irresistible.”

An easy 5 stars from me and I look forward to reading more by Anne Griffin. With thanks to Hodder & Stoughton/Sceptre and NetGalley for a free review copy.

This is the story of Maurice Hannigan, as told by himself, as he toasts five of the people he loves the best in a local hotel one Saturday evening, two years after the death of his wife. Maurice is set in his ways, rough around the edges, sharp and shrewd but as he considers his life and his loves he re-evaluates choices long made and a character long-settled and wonders if things might have been different, if he could have been different.

It’s no wonder that When All Is Said sparked a four-way bidding war between publishers. While Anne Griffin’s roots as an award-winning short story writer can be seen in the episodic structure of the narrative (any one chapter would be a beautifully self-contained story in its own right) it’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel. The self-assured writing, so confident in its style and voice is what makes it so powerful and so convincing, that this isn’t the voice of 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan is hard to believe.

The toasts are a clever device, as well as an intensely moving one. They help to break up the stream-of-conscious narrative, telling each story in turn, though not consecutively, and slowly bringing out the connections between people and events and allowing Maurice (and his reader) to reconsider aspects from different angles and see things afresh. This is the very heart of the story as he measures himself against those he has loved the best, and even those he has hated, and considers how they have helped to make him the man his is. There is an often brutal honesty in his evaluation and a lack of sentimentality and self-pity that sometimes bleeds into something like self-loathing but his recollections and his regrets are suffused with such love that it never becomes overwhelmed by bitterness.

Maurice is haunted by regrets and mistakes and even his former triumphs and his character is so multi-facets, flawed and ultimately human that he stays with you long after the story comes to a close. This is a story about love and loss, family and grief with a wonderful texture of time and character. It is a heart-breaking but far from humourless study of humanity and happiness and the difficult road of both.

I really enjoyed this book. What a character Maurice is. It was a joy to read, full of hope, dreams, love, loss, regret, whatifs. So well written. I would thoroughly recommend this book. Thanks to Netgalley for my free copy.