I must admit that my feelings are so conflicted about this story.
I couldn't get into the first half at all, I had to stop reading it several times after just a few pages or a chapter. I just couldn't understand what exactly I was reading about but after the tenth time picking it up, and paste half way through, everything started to make sense and I'm so happy that I didn't give up in the end and finish the story.
It's challenging for sure but very good overall. Can't say I really enjoyed the characters or their buildings throughout the story but I'll definitely recommend this story to all my book friends.

Ask Again, Yes – is about two families, The Stanhope’s and The Gleeson’s.

Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope meet at Police training college, they end up at the same precinct in New York, early 90’s and walk the beat together. though initially friends – they tell each other about their girlfriends, who become their wives, then impending births. They move on in their careers, and although are no longer as close, they remain, colleagues, they become neighbors.

Lena & Francis have lived on the street for some time, when Anne and Brian move in next door. Lena already has a daughter and another on the way. Anne says she’ll have a child soon, and although Lena keeps an eye out, there’s no sign of a baby next door. Until Lena notices one day, that Anne’s car is home a lot and then see the baby, a boy, Peter.

Six months later Kate is born to the Gleeson’s – Natalie and Sara now have a baby sister. Due to their age Kate and Peter become friends, much to Anne’s dislike and tells Peter to stay away from Kate. It’s hard when you live next door to avoid someone, so their friendship continues. As they grow Peter’s feelings for Kate increase and Anne can see this, he longs to spend time with Kate and relishes warm evenings spent outside with her.

Its becomes clear that Anne clearly has mental illness issues – depression, anxiety, and personality disorders that make her paranoid. Annes increasing insecurities bring further problems for the Stanhope’s and over time Brian tries to leave, taking Peter with him, but the bad winter stops them getting out of town, so they return.

These episodes continue until one day Anne tells Peter that he won’t be going back to school, or see Kate again. Peter gets a note to Kate to meet him and what happens after this causes even further distress for both families. Peter ends up going to Manhattan with his father and living with his uncle George, this carried on until Peter was old enough to gain a full scholarship to University and leave. Whilst he was there, he got a taste for having a drink at the end of the day and after a few too many one day, he writes Kate a letter, saying how he felt and that he missed her. Kate writes back and they meet up, nothing has changed between them, and before long they are a couple and despite the problems this entails, they overcome them, its not all smooth, there are a few bumps in the road, but Mary Beth Keen writes these glitches about love, relationships, and family seamlessly into what turns out to be a heartfelt story of how love, understanding, patience, and forgiveness can, and does solve so many hurtful situations in life, that we can all learn a lesson from Ask Again, Yes.

One of the best books I've read this year.

Ridiculously enjoyable with complex characters and and an intricate plot all wonderfully wound together. I'll be recommending this to everyone.

5 stars.

When tragedy struck neighbours and best friends Peter and Kate their lives changed forever. Although children aren’t to blame for the sins of their parents, this book shows just how much of a knock on effect it has on family lives. Forced apart by tragic circumstances Peter and Kate still find their way back to each other and make their own little family. This book is a real rollercoaster of emotions as Peter, Kate and their families try to come to turns with the tragedy that was to affect all their lives for many years to come.

A wonderful family saga which swept me up and gripped me from the very first page. When Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, two rookie cops in New York, first meet little could they imagine the paths theirs and their children’s lives would, intertwined, take. Brian’s son Peter and Francis’s daughter Kate are born within 6 months of each other living in next door houses but into very different families. Peter’s mother Anne suffers from a mental illness while Kate’s family is loving and steady. When tragedy strikes, little could those involved know how they would emerge. I couldn’t put this book down, so caught up in the lives of these two families and their journeys did I become. Heartbreaking, sweeping in scale and ultimately redemptive this novel and its characters will stay with you long after you finish the final page.

This is perhaps one of the most hyped up novels I can remember in recent times, and after reading it, I have to say I can see why!

I will admit, it took me a while to get into this, as I'd just read a bunch of thrillers so the completely different writing style took some time to adjust to. However, once I got into it, I was captivated.

I will say, its not one of those books that builds towards a big finale. Instead, its more of a slow burn, which I personally loved.

I've seen a lot of hype around for this new release. Its beautiful, unique cover caught my eye initially and I'm so happy there was a beautiful, thought-provoking story inside to match.

From the very beginning of the novel, I felt immersed in the atmosphere. Keane is based in New York and she truly brings it to life, capturing the hectic heat of the city and the changing seasons throughout the story. We meet Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope first, two city cops who are partnered up near the beginning of their career and later become neighbours. As their family grows up, tragedy strikes, affecting Francis, Brian, their wives and their children all in their own ways. The novel then follows each character throughout their lives, with alternating narratives allowing intimate glimpses into how the events affect each individual.

"She'd learned that the beginning of one's life mattered the most, that life was top heavy that way."

In this respect, this novel is similar to life. Unlike most fiction, the author doesn't save the dramatic event for a final twist, she hits us with a shocking, violent act early on, and then spends the rest of the story unpicking the ramifications of that event across the characters' lives. It's a frank, honest look at regret, blame and forgiveness between a small cast of characters across two families living in New York.

Keane challenges prejudices and lays her characters bare exploring all angles of each situation in this quietly moving novel, from the hard-hitting topics of alcoholism and mental illness, to more subtle questions of blame, responsibility and how childhood can affect a person throughout their life. We're given a harrowing portrait of life with mental illness in a time when diagnoses and treatments were not as openly available. Alcoholism is also explored, with a frank look at perceptions of what a 'typical' alcoholic would look like.

What I loved about this novel is how real it feels; even though it deals with a fair amount of tragedy it never feels over-dramatic and the cast of characters are so authentic with their messy, complicated lives and relationships. But, for such heavy subject matter, this novel is undeniably immersive and readable, and the resilience of the characters and their stories leaves the reader with a sense of hope.

Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes is the story of two families, neighbours in upstate New York, and how life can change in an instant but may take a generation before things begin to heal.

Although some characters in Mary Beth Keane’s novel are either cops or work together with the NYPD, we don’t see much of them at work, beyond the opening scenes. Instead, we see them as their family sees them; we see them at ease, at home. Yet their sense of duty and of wanting to do a good job that comes from being on the force filters through into their home lives and is a recurring theme throughout the novel.

The book jumps forward in time in places and there are shifts in perspective between a number of characters but Keane handles most of these changes smoothly. The benefit of these head changes was being able to see the same event from different angles, and consider a person’s behaviour not only as they perceived it but also how others viewed it.

No one character in Ask Again, Yes is ever wholly good or bad, always right or wrong, and as Keane moves between them, she’s able to show this only too well. I had a better feel for the families and their changing dynamic for her doing so, and while I didn’t always agree with what they were doing or how they were behaving, I could go some way towards better understanding their actions and choices.

Keane explores some important issues here: she looks at the immigrant experience, what’s left behind, and our scope for reinvention and a fresh start; life-altering trauma; mental health; alcoholism; being a child navigating a turbulent home life; the strong bonds of early friendship; the difference between choosing to walk away and seeing things through together; the power of love, family and interpersonal relationships, and how they can lead to forgiveness and even help pave the way towards redemption.

Ask Again, Yes not only shows how life is often a struggle but also how together we can be resilient, where we form these powerful connections. I was moved to tears when I eventually unlocked the significance of its title. Keane’s novel is an involving and ultimately redemptive family drama.

Ask Again, Yes gives us a view into the lives of two families intertwined with each other through tragic events. The story starts in the 70s with Francis and Brian, rookie beat cops in New York, and their budding private lives leading them to marriage and home ownership. It seems idyllic and what every young adult strives for but as their stories develop life is not as simple as it appears. Children are born, or not born, and time moves on to reveal deeper, more troubling fissures in their relationships and lives. One day things go horribly wrong and all illusions of peace are shattered. Each family works to pick up the pieces as best they can and the reader witnesses the aftermath and how it brings them to current day.

What I loved about Ask Again, Yes was the time spent, and the specific focus on, each character during the novel. We see what occurs through the eyes of each character at points of time that matter most to each. Their thoughts, feelings and observations give an added dimension to the troubles they face. I loved Kate and Peter, the children of Francis and Brian. Their Romeo and Juliet story fills in the gaps in a satisfactory way that seems as if it will lead to a jolly happily-ever-after finale but that is not the case. Their adult lives find them in new, uncharted waters that bring them to the breaking point.

It sounds so simplistic but it isn't. The ending lingers in the mind and I have been thinking about it ever since. The characters and their situations feel real as they experience a number of heavy issues that might make anyone crumble. The warmth of the strong Gleeson family dynamic resonates and nurtures all these characters even whilst being tested. A truly lovely story that will stay with me for some time. I cannot rate it high enough. Thank you.

Ask Again, Yes alights on different characters in the Gleeson and Stanhope families at various points through several decades. This approach is interesting, but also frustrating. The novel begins with Francis Gleeson in the 1970s, newly over from Ireland, who decides to become a cop. It’s a familiar story but it’s nicely done, in particular Francis’ observations both of New York and his colleagues. He gets married and moves his wife upstate – not her choice but she goes along with it.

Then, just as we’re getting into the dynamics of Francis, his wife, and their oddly hostile neighbour, Anne, the story jumps to the next generation and follows the friendship between Anne’s son Peter and Francis’s daughter, Kate. This, for me, was a less interesting and fairly predictable relationship, but it has consequences that form a key turning point in the book. This leads to the separation of the two friends in adolescence and a dramatic change for both families.

I enjoyed the combination of close observation and grand scope, particularly in the early part of the book. One thing that set it apart was that, although the men in the two families were police officers, very little of the novel takes place while they are at work. You see them at home, as their families see them.

Peter is an interesting and sensitively drawn character, particularly the way he reacts to the challenges in his young life. We see the people who should have cared who look the other way, and the surprising generosity of others.

Despite all that, I was disappointed in the book. Kate never came alive for me and I was unconvinced by some of the events which kept the destinies of the two families entwined. In An American Marriage such ever-tighter ties highlighted the constraints upon the protagonists, but in Ask Again, Yes they felt contrived and not embedded in the characters or their stories.

I found the second half of the novel a slog. Earlier on I felt the author just about got it right in introducing stock elements to the story but drawing out the unique aspects of the characters. However later on I felt like I was on a very long journey to a place where I’d been too many times before.

This book was at times slow reading skipping from one year to then a few years later. Seeing the children mainly Pete and Kate growing up. The Stanhope and the Gleesons living next door to each other for several years, the tragedy that split them. I’m not sure that I felt any of the characters actually endearing. The way years jumped by was difficult to follow at times as you would wonder what happened in between those years but then obviously if every year was covered the book would have been far too long.

The writing is good but I found it difficult to really lose myself in the story unfortunately. But this is just my opinion I’m sure many others will love it. I just like a faster paced book

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for letting me have a copy of this book for an honest and unbiased review.

A storyline based round two juxtaposed families across a 40 year span whose lives are intimately an£ delicately bound together. Work colleagues, neighbours and family ties. The two families provide very different homes for their off spring. One secure and living while the other is chaotic and marked by the mothers mental health. The only son Peter, of the Stanhope family is a lifelong friend and later husband of the youngest of the Gleeson girls Kate. The individuals experience harrowing times and the author tackles the issues of mental health and addiction sensitively demonstrating the effects..
I enjoyed reading this book which was in no way harrowing and was interestingly told from the characters different perspectives through the chapters. An interesting title choice too the significance of which dawns towards then end of the book

This domestic drama focuses heavily on the minutiae but also expands thoughtfully on several major themes, including love, relationships, forgiveness, mental health challenges, addiction, falling from grace, redemption and beginning again.

Relationships between neighbouring families, the Gleesons and the Stanhopes, are strained and severely tested following a shocking event that significantly alters the trajectory of their connection to one another, causing long-lasting wounds and pain.

Nothing is quite the same afterwards for newly romantically inclined close childhood friends, Peter and Kate, because they are forced to go their separate ways. Yet they retain a strong emotional link to each other that doesn't go away.

This results in them reconnecting years later, and getting married, to the dismay of their respective families. But their union is fraught with challenges as Peter begins to react adversely to the long-term effects of his estranged parents' erratic behaviour and the way it impacts him later on.

The past has a way of catching up with us, just as it does for the major players here. Yet it also brings a degree of wisdom, reflectiveness and insight that was missing before when serious mistakes were made.

This novel shows that there are no perfect parents or families and pain is present in all our lives. However, if we earnestly and wholeheartedly seek to make amends, and try to be the best for our loved ones, it might be enough to help us stay loving and close.

Told tenderly through various characters' perspectives, and over several decades, the scope of this enjoyable book is rich in scope but succeeds in being highly relatable. If, like me, you love slowly unfolding family dramas written with intrigue, insight and depth, then this would be a perfect read for you too.

With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Ask Again, Yes is about the Gleeson family and their neighbours the Stanhopes. Years earlier Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope were partners for six weeks in the LAPD. Francis got married to Lena and they moved to surburbia. Francis and Lena went on to have two daughters in quick succession. When Lena was pregnant with her third daughter, Brian and his pregnant wife Anne moved into the house next door.

Anne was very cold and didn't want to make friends with Lena or the other neighbours. Anne gave birth to Peter and Lena has Kate six months later. As children Peter and Kate became best friends, Anne suffered from mental health issues and Peter confided in Kate about his troubles at home. One night a terrible tragedy occurred that rocked both families for years to come.I

I didn't dislike this book but It was a slow burner, and could of been shorter.. It took me four days to finish and I really had to force myself to read each night.

The story covered the lives of the characters in the intervening years, such as adultery, cancer and alcoholism.

I enjoyed reading about Peter and Kate and how their lives went on different paths after the shooting. I really liked Peter and surprised he turned out so well after being abandoned by his father. I also Francis who was a strong family man who adored his family.

Ultimately this was a book about love and redemption. I would definitely read another book from this author.

This is an epic story covering 40+ years of two families and their intertwined lives. Big stuff happens (I won't give a spoiler, don't worry!) that impacts everyone massively.
You get to know the various family members - but it really centres around Kate and Peter, with everyone else ensemble members.
Whilst I wanted to read on and find out what happened - it was all a bit dull and slow moving. I kept waiting for something exciting to occur - but I kept waiting!
I guessed what the title of the book referenced - but expected it to be a direct quote - but it wasn't quite - which just seemed odd (or badly edited?)
Maybe I'm just not a literary fiction kind of girl - and I am sure some people will really enjoy it - but it just didn't really float my boat.
But thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance review copy!

Ask Again, Yes is a book that you will fly through, the chapters are long so saying just one more chapter will take up more time than you thought and by the time you know it, it is the early hours of the morning.
The book moves along from 1973 to present very well, it is about families, neighbours, friends and the problems that brings. The two families are brought together through tragedy that is hard to forgive and the adults ignore one another leaving it to their children born six months apart to find a friendship with one another to the disapproval of one of the mothers.
This was a decent thriller, it was slow moving at times, more so at the beginning but nothing too bad, I haven’t gone into the storyline as this one needs to be read with as little knowledge of the plot line as possible so you can enjoy the full thrilling effect and the fabulous way it has been written.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin, Michael Joseph for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I found this quite difficult to read. The story seemed to take an inordinate amount of time to actually go anywhere.

Due to this the storyline didn't really capture my attention and this really disappointed me.

Two families, two generations. This is a story about trauma, loss, damage, loyalty, and ultimately love.
Ask Again, Yes is beautifully written. I felt Mary Beth Keane knew her characters and their communities inside and out, and I was able to understand and ultimately accept them all.
An understanding of the impact of early life on the people we become is so evident in the book. This is well observed and expertly shared by the author.
I will remember this book.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review #AskAgainYes for #NetGalley

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
Blurb
A gripping and compassionate drama of two families linked by chance, love and tragedy

Gillam, upstate New York: a town of ordinary, big-lawned suburban houses. The Gleesons have recently moved there and soon welcome the Stanhopes as their new neighbours.

Lonely Lena Gleeson wants a friend but Anne Stanhope - cold, elegant, unstable - wants to be left alone.

It's left to their children - Lena's youngest, Kate, and Anne's only child, Peter - to find their way to one another. To form a friendship whose resilience and love will be almost broken by the fault line dividing both families, and by the terrible tragedy that will engulf them all.

A tragedy whose true origins only become clear many years later . . .

A story of love and redemption, faith and forgiveness, Ask Again, Yes reveals the way childhood memories change when viewed from the distance of adulthood - villains lose their menace, and those who appeared innocent seem less so.

A story of how, if we're lucky, the violence lurking beneath everyday life can be vanquished by the power of love.
REVIEW
This story is about the importance of family and commitment and hard work and facing problems. The Gleeson Family wrap you in their warmth and routines comparing to Peter Stanhope and his family - a totally different family structure. It demonstrates how we are all a product of our upbringing but also teaches how we can deal with problems we have through no fault of our own.
I was wrapped into this community and found myself mentally trying to support them through adversities. A powerful tale of growing and forgiveness and love.

This is a solid read, demanding full attention and not a book you can lightly skip through.

Moving out of the city, newlyweds Lena and Francis look forward to settling into their new home in the suburbs and raising a family there. When another young couple move into the house next-door, Lena makes friendly overtures but finds herself swiftly rebuffed. However, as both their children grow up, their lives are bound to overlap and mingle - with unforeseen consequences for them all.

This is a packed read. Full of information and detail, it's one I found myself really absorbed into in a very short time. Not only did I like the characters and found that they interested me, I was also interested in each of them and where it was all heading. Could I have guessed? No, definitely not. This is very much a family saga but with lots of extras and I found it both mysterious and surprising, holding my focus all the way through. If you love a good saga, then you can't go far wrong with this one. It's certainly brought Mary Beth Keane to my attention and I'll be keeping an eye out for any future novels from her. I consider this easily a four star read.

My thanks to publisher Michael Joseph for my copy via NetGalley. All stated opinions are both honest and entirely my own.