👩‍👩‍👦 REVIEW 👩‍👩‍👦

The Amendments by Niamh Mulvey
Publication Date: 18th April

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

📝 - Nell and her partner Adrienne are about to have a baby. For Adrienne, it’s the start of a new life. For Nell, it’s the reason the two of them are sitting in a therapist’s office. Because she can’t go into this without dealing with the truth: that she has been a mother before, and now she can hardly bring herself to speak to her own mother, let alone return home to Ireland. The Amendments recounts the life of three generations of Irish women, each with their own story of motherhood, family, religion and morality, as Nell comes to terms with what her future holds.

💭 - This book tackled the theme of motherhood in a different way to others I have read, and it was something I found very interesting. Each woman is developed in such detail, and I really appreciated the depth of the characters, as it felt no one character was skipped over or simply used as a plot point with no real meaning. The writing felt very purposeful, and I appreciated that the take on religion and morality was not in a black-and-white way, but more realistic in the flaws of everyone. One I’d definitely recommend for those interested in themes of motherhood, tied in with inter-generational stories, religion and morality.

#theamendments #niamhmulvey #irishfiction #irishauthor #fiction

The Irish Eighth Amendment (1983) recognised the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn. In 2018 it was repealed - an astonishing change and one that indicated that Ireland had changed hugely , especially in its attitude towards women. I’m surprised that it took so long to see Repeal in fiction; Mulvey’s is the first novel I’ve seen of its kind in this respect. It’s also her debut, following on from her brilliant short story collection ‘Hearts and Bones’.

The Amendments revolves around Nell and her partner Adrienne, who are expecting a baby. In therapy, mandated by her partner, Nell has to confront the ghosts of her past, particularly her teenage years. Nell’s history, it transpires, is a dark one, filled with secrets that have tormented her since.

Through Nell’s story, The Amendments touches on women's rights, faith, religion, and relationships. There is a lot going on; not only does Mulvey tackle these big topics with nuance and compassion, but she also sends the reader swinging between 3 timelines, and the lines of 3 different women.

As well as Nell, who is ostensibly the main character, we spend a bulk of the book’s first third in the eighties with Nell’s mum Dolores, who dabbled in feminist activism when the 8th amendment first came into being, which had intense real-life ramifications for her and her family. Dolores remains part of the narrative in the other timelines, too, though she never takes the centre stage that Nell does. Lastly, we have Martina, an evangelical woman who works with a movement-stroke-cult to encourage young women to work within the church. Martina, like the other characters, is suffering a deep trauma, and has buried it under layers of religious fervour.


The book switches from the 1980s, to the 1990s, to 2008 and then 2018 and then back again - sometimes within the same chapter. Much as I enjoyed Mulvey’s commitment to showing the breadth of the narrative, I found it hard to keep track of where I was in time, and who was speaking, especially as we follow the same three women across multiple timelines.

The most clear-cut was Dolores’ story - ironically, perhaps as she was the character living in the most complicated time. Nell’s story was the most compelling; her story captures the confusion, tension, and pain that can be wrought when you feel like you do not belong in a time, place or culture.

Nell seeks somewhere to belong in The Movement, a slightly shady Catholic organisation, though ultimately this rings hollow for her, too.she’s a deeply traumatised queer woman trying to navigate her place in the world, having floated through life since an intense trauma when she was 15. This was all fascinating! But unfortunately I found Nell to be so passive that I struggled to connect with her.

Mulvey’s writing style is beautiful, fluid and sharp. I’ll continue to be an enormous fan of her writing but The Amendments didn’t quite hit the way I wanted it to - it dipped in the middle, and I felt the multiple timelines were muddled. Maybe I am suffering from post-Repeal burnout - honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised - because there’s a lot to love here, I just couldn’t connect fully with it.

This book- based on Nell’s story but also that of other women (her mother, partner, others in the feminist movement and church, across different periods of time in Ireland) had an interesting premise and I liked some of the points it made me think about. Unfortunately I struggled to like Nell and even towards the end couldn’t empathise with her. I liked Delores’ story more and would have preferred more from her perspective. Perhaps it’s my own privilege but aspects of the story seemed far fetched (Daniel’s suicide), though maybe there’s events that inspired the story and the acknowledgments managed light on that (I read an ARC via NetGalley which I was very grateful for but had no acknowledgements). All that being said I couldn’t stop coming back to this book and finished it in 3 days.

How do you navigate a world in which you feel like, in some fundamental way, you don't belong? What kinds of things might you do to fit in, only to spend your life running away, literally or figuratively, from the consequences of those actions, large and small? For the women in this book, these are huge questions that have serious impacts on their lives even as the culture changes around them in profound ways.

Although most of the story is set in Ireland, the book opens in a therapist's office in London, where Nell and her pregnant partner Adrienne are attending their weekly appointment. It's clear that Nell is running from her own feelings and hiding her discomfort with the idea of being a mother, admitting this to no one but herself. Shortly thereafter, we meet Dolores, Nell's mother, and learn some of her story, along with that of her mother, Brigid. Along the way, Some of Nell's friends are introduced, some of whom will play a major role in subsequent events and some of whom will be more peripheral. One thread running throughout these women's stories is the massive cultural changes taking place in Ireland regarding the role of the church, women's reproductive rights, attitudes towards gay people, family roles, and more. The title refers to the various amendments around abortion that were voted on in different decades, which may lead to the impression that the book is primarily structured around these events. It is true that this is an underlying theme, but for me it was mostly in the background and wasn't the primary focus.

This is an excellent book. Niamh Mulvey skillfully captures the confusion, tension, and discombobulation people feel when the culture is changing around them in ways that strike at the heart of their essential identities. She also beautifully illustrates the pain of feeling like there is nowhere to belong, to always feel peripheral, to feel misplaced, and to desperately seek out groups and people who will provide some sense of security and belonging. The role of shame in this book cannot be understated--particularly for women--and shame plays a big role in the events that unfold for all the women. For some, overcoming their shame is the main work they have to do.

This is a fine book. The writing is beautiful. I found the characters and their issues to be very relatable, even though my background is quite different from theirs. The larger themes are some I have struggled with in my own life. In fact, much of my life was shaped by people trying to run away from their shame and pain, which didn't work and only made things worse. As a result, I found the characters and their actions very believable. This is a book that is well worth reading and I highly recommend it.

What a wonderful book. I’d really like to thank the publisher and writer for an ARC in return for my honest review. This has been one of the occasions where it has been a genuine privilege and pleasure to read the work in question.

The book is not a light hearted romp through the Irish countryside. We’re dealing with heavy themes here including abortion, infant loss, suicide, alcoholism and religion. Despite all this however, Mulvey manages to write a book which isn’t dreary or difficult to get through. Although the themes are difficult, the characters are real and relatable and I was rooting for them, and the story sweeps through time in a back and forth that makes every chapter feel fresh.

There’s a lot to be said for the character development. Each main character goes through massive changes, without becoming disingenuous. Everything rings very true. The depiction of life in a small Irish town is absolutely bang on and the struggles of each character were so layered and easy to invest in.

The story is so rich, the writing really does it justice. I really highly recommend this book.

This really did feel like an important book, one that examined not just our own insecurities, doubts, passions and fears, but that also look at those of Ireland as a whole. A big state of the nation book with much to say, and a brilliant way of saying it.

Mothers and daughters, England and Ireland, religion and the right to choose. Back and forth in time, between the institution and the repeal of the 8th amendment, a story of strong women. Plenty to think about.

The Amendments - Niamh Mulvey

Another strong voice in the Irish fiction canon of the moment. Mulvey’s short story collection is well worth a read and this is her debut novel. Centred around the lives of three generations of Irish women at the time of each moment of decision on abortion within Ireland. Without giving too much of the plot away each woman brushes up against the question of abortion in a personal way and in their relationships with each other. Mulvey’s real thematic strength within the novel is talking about perceptions of Irish womanhood both at home and abroad within the last half-century. She brilliantly subverts the traditional view that each previous generation is more conservative and that beliefs around abortion can be lazily categorised by age. In particular she captures the pressure to perform a version of Irishness to outsiders once each woman leaves the country that creates a sense of individualism within each of the characters and helps this to be a personal story against a political backdrop rather than a polemic.

I would say it’s a novel of ideas rather than one that completely immerses you in the narrative. The cost of all this subversion of where you expect the plot to go is perhaps that events and choices feel a little random but that doesn’t stop it from being a novel that has a strong and certain sense of itself. It’s an interesting first novel but it feels as though Mulvey is still feeling her way around the form and that her best is yet to come.

An intimate portrait of the lives of three women woven across 40 years of Irish history, told through the lens of sex, religion, and motherhood with compassion and honesty. This novel takes the struggle for reproductive rights in Ireland as its backdrop and framing device as the reality of this struggle plays out in the lives of Brigid, Dolores, and Nell at different points in time. Mulvey has crafted an impactful debut, a coming of age concerned with the impact of choices made and choices taken away, and how there can be no escaping the sins of the past without first confronting them, and yourself.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this arc.

This book is serious perfection. I love the reflection of how Ireland has changed and how far we've come in such a short space of time. But it's also a reminder of how much further Ireland has to go in terms of women's rights.

The Amendments is Niamh Mulvey’s debut novel and is very much a female story, a very Irish story.

At the crux of this multigenerational saga is the institution and repeal of Ireland’s 8th amendment - which recognised “the equal right to life of the pregnant woman and the unborn”.

Our story weaves from the 80s to the present day and back again as we observe the lives of several women. The pivotal focus is on Nell, her partner, Adrienne, and her mother, Dolores.

Nell and Adrienne are expecting their first child. For Adrienne, it’s the start of a new, joyous family life. For Nell, it’s the reason the two of them are sitting in a therapist’s office, for Nell is harbouring a secret - she was a teenage mother in Ireland, and she’s dealing with plenty of residual trauma. For Nell to move forward, she must confront a painful past.

The Amendments is a cracking read, but it does lack some cohesiveness due to the sheer volume of social history and issues covered - there’s content enough here for a series, never mind one book. Saying that the story is utterly compelling and wholly engrossing.

Mulvey deftly uses strong but compassionate characterisation to bring the experience of Brigid, Dolores and Nell to life, painting a carefully nuanced picture of the significant societal and cultural changes over their lifetimes.

This is not a light read, and there may be triggers for some, but if you want to dive deep into the hearts and minds of some strong, interesting women, The Amendments is an excellent option.

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy, as always, this is an honest review.

4⭐

The Amendments is the first novel from Irish author Niamh Mulvey, following on from her short story collection ‘Hearts and Bones’, which I enjoyed.

In The Amendments we meet three women; Nell, living in London, about to have a baby with her partner Adrienne, and absolutely dreading the new arrival.
Nell has buried her own history of being a teenage mother in Ireland in the early 2000’s but until she confronts her past she can never move on with the great life that she’s so close to achieving.

We also meet Nell’s mum Dolores, who dappled in feminist activism in 1983 when the 8th amendment first came into being, and then follow her through the rest of her life to the present day.

Lastly, we have Martina, a member of religious group “The Hermanos”, evangelical women recruiting teenage girls to follow a Catholic lifestyle. She has her own history of teenage trauma that comes to the fore as she works with a younger Nell.

The book weaves in and out through these timelines; the 80’s up to the present day and back again and it can be a little confusing to keep track at times. I probably enjoyed Dolores’s back story the most as the early 80’s in Ireland really was such a complicated time for women. I think the author did a great job of expressing that through Dolores.

My main criticism is that there’s a lot going on here; a variety of social issues seen through the lens of a changing Ireland, still struggling under the weight of the Catholic Church and the stigma and shame that church has bestowed upon Irish women.

I do think it’s clever that the author chose to tell the recent history of Ireland through these three women, but wish it had been slightly more cohesive. That said, Mulvey writes beautifully and I’ll happily read whatever she writes next.

With many thanks to @netgalley and @panmacmillan for the opportunity to read #TheAmendments, all opinions are my own, as always. The Amendments is available to buy on the 18th of April.

What a fantastic debut novel. Set in Ireland from the 1980’s to present day it tells the story of a mother and a daughter and their individual coming of age experiences. Using religion, sex and gender as the main themes this isn’t the usual ‘Irish’ novel but instead is a refreshing take on women’s rights.

I loved this multigenerational story set across Ireland and London over the span of roughly thirty years, with a woman and her mother both reflecting on what motherhood means to them, set against the backdrop of the long struggle for reproductive freedom in Ireland. The characters are vivid and compelling and, unusually for a novel of this type (of which there seem to have been many this year), I didn't prefer one viewpoint over the other, I was always happy to see b0th characters in their own time period when their chapters appeared. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Irish Eighth Amendment (1983) recognised the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn. In 2018 it was repealed allowing for terminations in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy marking a significant shift in Irish abortion laws, giving women more control over their reproductive rights

The Amendments is an extraordinary debut novel that revolves around Nell and her partner Adrienne, who are expecting a baby. This leads Nell to confront her past, particularly her teenage years. It touches on women's rights, faith, religion, and relationships. It’s a really interesting and significant read but not a cosy snuggle up with a book read.

This book is absolutely brilliant!!!
The 8th amendment unleashed years of shame and torture upon the mná of Ireland, and this book explores that through different timelines, from the 8th amendment being included into the constitution, to it being repealed, and how it had different impacts on different generations of women.
In particular, I loved the character of Nell who was endlessly relatable and compassionate. The character writing across this book was excellent, the story was strong, and Niamh's writing is so endearing and tender it was an absolutely stellar read.

I saw somebody highly rate this on Bookstagram, but cannot recall who, sorry. It did propel it up my TBR list, and I’m wondering is it too early to have a favourite book of the year. I was glued to it.
This is a very female story. It’s a very Irish story, and laden with Irish history. It’s multigenerational. We largely hear the stories of Dolores and her daughter Nell. And another character Martina who is midway in age between mother and daughter. I don’t really want to tell the story as it needs to be revealed to the reader. It is about lives that don’t follow a predefined linear path. It’s how speed bumps knock you off course.
I could not believe this was a debut author (1st fiction novel, although she does have a short story book). The writing is scarily perceptive and you feel like you are the person as you read the story. It is so well told.
This is not a light read, do not pick it up if you want escape, but do if you want to dive deep into the mind and emotions of some strong characters and see how they deal with life’s curveballs.
Published by Pan MacMillan, out on the 18 April 2024. I was given a free digital copy from the publisher via @netgalley

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy.

3.5/5

Anchored around the institution and repeal of Ireland’s 8th amendment - which placed the rights of the unborn on a par with the rights of the pregnant woman - this book tells the story of Nell and her mother Dolores and their relationship to men, sex and religion.

The book really excels in its depiction of Dolores in 80s and early 90s Ireland, an Ireland of big families and priests poking their noses in and women pushing boundaries against what they saw as the small lives of their mothers. Mulvey doesn’t demonise these women, she humanises them and highlights the good and bad of their lives and in contrasting Dolores Dublin activist life with that of her mother Brigid, Brigid kind of comes out on top.

Nell’s section is far less compelling, even tho an absolute TON of stuff happens. Nell is a clever girl who doesn’t quite fit in with her peers, she joins a religious organisation and in doing so gains the confidence to direct the school play and meet a boy. This unfolds in a traumatic way and her plans to become a doctor are derailed, with her ending up in London and the book opening on her therapy session with her pregnant girlfriend.

The book is most successful when its telling a story, when its focusing on creating a picture of a place and time, and least successful when it just throws issue after issue at the reader. Promising debut, but needs some pruning.

Lots of issues tackled here, and most of them done very well I felt.
The strongest part of the story for me was Nell, I felt I connected with her from the opening.
A book that gives plenty to think about in terms womens rights and progress.

Book blogging is a serious business. You have to read greedily, rapidly, objectively. So therefore, it was a genuine pleasure to read this. And if I had read it for pleasure, I’d class it as one of the best novels of recent years. I certainly don’t think I’ll read better in 2024.

It’s a family story, with Nell and Adrienne about to become parents; with Nell’s life, mirroring that of her Mother Dolores. Measured against this is about forty years of Irish history and how women interact with other women. But it’s broader than that, looking at the fulfilling of fighting with your own past when you could just settle for being happy.

For this of you who like comparisons, it has the wabisabi of Kate Sawyer, with the precision of Anne Enright. And as the latter is one of my favourites, I’ll say that she has that precise, slightly aloof edge to her prose. For her first proper novel, this is a stunning debut. My thanks go to Picador for a review copy.