Things We Never Say (2013), Sheila O’Flanagan: Summary

Things We Never Say (2013), Sheila O’Flanagan: Summary

This fiction is published by Headline Review in Great Britain in 2014. The first time I read Sheila O’Flanagan novel and I enjoy it. The story is interesting but it seems the 504-page book it’s a bit too long to me.

Told in the third person perspective, the book is about family, greediness, forgiveness, and history. The author is an Irish and she depicts Irish history - the Magdalene Laundries and some the Irish characters. I love how the author links the Irish history to main character. This is well written one and the overall tone of the book is casual and the story is easy to read and understand.

Things We Never Say (2013), Sheila O’Flanagan: Summary

Back to Tipperary, Ireland 55 years ago, there were no many golden-haired, blue-eyed girls in the Midlands like Ita Dillon. It was hard for Fred Fitzpatrick to believe that his wife had gone. Ros had been the one to keep things going in the bad times, when money was scarce, when Fred was struggling to find customers. She was the one who had held the children together.

Fred dealt in security systems mainly car and household alarm. Old enough for pension, Fred, had finally decided cash in and lived in a good life. His eldest son, Donald was carrying on the family tradition by remaining sales director. The youngest of his three children, she had caused far more trouble than Donald and Gareth.

Suzanne was headstrong and opinionated. Having a father like Fred had isolated her and she found it hard to socialize with other girls of her age. Suzanne walked out of the house with all the money she had. She got on a boat to England. Her family had been looking for her, but nobody found him. She called Donald from London, asking him to tell their parents that she was a live and well.

Abbey Anderson was a part timer at an art gallery and also part-time nail technician in a beauty salon in San Francisco, California. She loved living with Cobey, a tall, lanky tour guide she had met at party six months earlier. Abbey moved in with him but he dumped her and left her some debts.

Her mother left her and chose to practice her nursing skill in Latin America. Ellen decided to take a job in a small clinic in Venezuela. Abbey’s grandparents came to America from Ireland in nineteen fifties, when her mother was a baby. They lived in Boston, when Ellen trained to be a nurse. She moved away to California where she met Abbey’s father.

They got married and worked together in Latin America, but he was killed before Abbey was born. Her father was killed in a car accident in terrible weather. Abbey and her mother moved often to somewhere in a different country till she was twelve. Abbey needed to get more of an American education. While they were in Latin America all her mother work was with the needy people but back in the States she got a job in a private clinic where she met Pete Caruso.

As always, there is Pete Caruso who came to her rescue. Her mother’s boyfriend had eventually moved on with his life and certainly no obligation towards her. Though Pete and his wife regularly asked her to dinner at his stylish house, Abbey strictly limited her visits. Pete and Claudia had a child together, Abbey was nothing more than a reminder of his past and the other woman in it.

Fifty five years ago mattered a good deal to Fred. He didn’t regret his marriage to Ros, or even the affairs that had peppered it. He had a full life, a happy life, but he couldn’t help regretting Dilly. He called his solicitor to accomplish the unfinished business hanging over him.

An Irish solicitor named Ryan Gillian just showed up on Pete Caruso house. He was sent by Fred to look for Ellen Connolly. Ellen’s father was dying. In protecting her mother, Abbey agreed to visit her grandfather.

James and Ellen Connolly adopted Abbey’s mother when she was a few week olds. Ita Dillon was only sixteen when she got pregnant. In Ireland, in fifties, it was a disaster, and she was sent to Magdalene Laundries. A girl who got pregnant outside marriage was a fallen woman who deserved punishment. Pregnant girls were sent to these institutions, which were run by religious order. The nuns pretty much considered the girls to be sinners who needed to be punished. They treated them badly. Ita Dillon went into labor and died soon after the baby was born. The baby was given up for adoption. James and Ellen were forties. It was very old as far as having a child. After the adoption, they emigrated to the States. James was an engineer. They didn’t have family in Ireland.

Ita’s parents and Fred wanted nothing to do with her. Fred got on with his life. He married Ros and had three children. He built up his business till he saw a documentary on TV about the Magdalene laundries. Fred felt guilty and he wanted Abbey and Ellen visited him. Fred died suddenly after met Abbey. Fred had been suffering from heart attack. Fred’s children were shocked to know Abbey Anderson and Ellen Connolly.

To all the Fitzpatricks, Abbey looked like Suzanne and their father. Fred wrote his will after Abbey Anderson agreed to meet him before she left the States. Fred left his estate and its contents to Abbey Anderson and Ellen Connolly. The Fitzpatricks  were in complete shock.

Ellen Connolly lived in a monastery and she was a Benedictine nun. Ellen was a widow and chose a proper Christian community of sisters. Donald and Gareth brought the will to court. The two brothers insisted the house was theirs and they offered a cash deal with Abbey to walk away of the house.

Donald was a divorced man with a demanding first family and extravagant second wife. He had debts and obligations and he need the house. Gareth’s financial crisis of last few years had caused him a lot of trouble. But of all the Fitzpatricks it was Suzanne who seemed to be least hostile and the most sensible. She looked like Ellen.

The Fitzpatricks took the will on legal battle and they win. Court overturned the will. Fred’s estate would be divided between Fred’s three children, Donald, Gareth, and Suzanne. The two brothers didn’t notice their wives gave Abbey a painting. Abbey didn’t recognize it was a Yeats, Jack Yeats was an Irish painter, the brother of W.B Yeats, the poet. The painting was sold five hundred thousand dollars in an auction.

Sekapur Sirih

Novel bergenre drama keluarga yang ditorehkan dalam bahasa bagus dan mudah dimengerti. Diterbitkan Headline Review di Britania Raya pada tahun 2014 dan pada tahun yang sama jua buku ini telah selesai saya baca, tentu saja ini pembacaan yang ke dua kali. Terjadi banyak pengulangan, sehingga rasanya tidak perlu 504 halaman. Mengesampingkan hal itu, plot ceritanya ini tetap menarik.

Berlatar waktu 55 tahun lalu dan masa kini serta berlatar di dua tempat yakni di kota Dublin, Irlandia dan San Fransisco, Amerika. Kisah Abbey Anderson dan keberadaan ibunya sebagai anak di luar pernikahan yang terungkap beberapa waktu sebelum meninggalnya seorang pengusaha kaya. Konflik pun terjadi saat pembagian harta warisan dan sang anak ternyata melibatkan diri hidup dalam komunitas biara. Keserakahan anggota keluarga yang menuntut surat warisan, ibu Abbey menyadari bahwa keluarga tidaklah sekedar genetika, namun kebersamaan dan kehadiran didalamnya.

Penulis O’Flanagan kelahiran Irlandia, mantan seorang pekerja bank yang memfokuskan dirinya menjadi seorang novelis. Ia banyak menyematkan budaya dan kehidupan Irlandia pada buku ini dan mengaitkan sejarah kelam Gereja di Irlandia dan juga masyarakatnya yang menghakimi gadis hamil di luar nikah.

Magdalene Laundries, sebuah tempat penampungan wanita hamil di luar nikah dikumpulkan dan dipekerjakan sebagai tukang cuci Magdalene yang dikelola oleh para biarawan. Para wanita itu mendapat perlakuan buruk karena sudah dianggap aib, dan tak jarang di antara mereka mati di lingkungan biara. Bayi-bayi yang mereka lahirkan pun segera diserahkan-“dijual” pada orang untuk diadopsi, dan tidak sedikit di antaranya dibawa menyeberang ke Amerika.

Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Indonesia: Things We Neer Say (Hal yang Tak Pernah Terungkap) karya Sheila O’Flanagan

Pada usianya yang ke delapan puluhan, Fred Fitzpatrick lebih banyak menikmati waktu di rumah. Kepergian istrinya membuatnya terpukul. Ibu dari ketiga anak-anaknya dan yang sekaligus mendukung membangun bisnisnya hingga menjadi pengusaha sukses. Dua anak lelaki dan Suzanne, putri bungsunya telah berumah tangga dan sibuk dengan kehidupannya masing-masing. Dua cucu remaja dari anak tertuanya Donald dan dua cucu lagi dari putranya Gareth yang beistrikan wanita Prancis. Suzanne putri satu-satunya kini menjadi janda, anak yang berbeda dari saudaranya. Pemberontak dan hidup mandiri dalam bisnis properti perhotelan.

Fred menempati rumah mewahnya di Dublin di kawasan elite yang telah lama diincar kedua putranya. Donald dan Garteh tengah bermasalah dengan keuangan, walau Fred sudah berulang kali membantu keduanya. Lewat tayangan televisi yang kerap menayangkan Magdalene Laundries-Tukang Cuci Magdalene. Sebuah tempat pencucian yang dikelola biarawati mempekerjakan para gadis yang hamil di luar nikah. Penghakiman dan penghujatan bagi gadis yang hamil di luar nikah oleh gereja dan masyarakat. Para gadis malang itu mendapat perlakuan kasar dan buruk dan bayi-bayi mereka diberikan pada orang lain.

Lelaki itu kembali mengorek kembali pada 55 tahun sebelumnya, kekasihnya bernama Ita Dillion termasuk dalam salah satu buruh Magdalene. Fred telah menelantarkan gadis cantik itu. Di ambang kematiannya ia menyuruh pengacaranya mencari keberadaan Ita dan bayinya. Didapati jikalau Ita telah meninggal dunia paskah melahirkan dan bayinya diadopsi sebuah keluarga Irlandia dan dibawa merantau ke Amerika.

Penelusuran pun mendapati nama Ellen Connoly dan tak lain adalalah ibunda dari Abbey Anderson. Gadis Amerika yang hanya tahu kalau akar keluarga ibunya dari Irlandia. Gadis berusia dua puluh tujuh tahun yang ditinggalkan oleh ibunya, Ellen memutuskan hidup dan menetap di sebuah komunitas biara.

Abbey hidup sendirian dan baru saja ditinggalkan oleh kekasihnya dengan setumpuk hutang.

Gadis lulusan seni dan menjalani dua profesi untuk bertahan hidup. Menjadi teknisi kuku di salon dan penjaga ruang pameran lukisan. Ia serba kekurangan secara keuangan. Ia kerap menolak kebaikan Pete Caruso, seorang pengacara. Mantan kekasih ibunya tetap memberinya perhatian.

Pete sudah menikah dan memiliki anak, namun ia tetap memperhatikan Abbey dan sesekali mengunjungi gadis itu. Pete sudah seperti ayah baginya. Ayah kandungnya telah meninggal sebelum Abbey lahir. Abbey Anderson benar-benar sendiri.

Ellen seorang perawat hidup dan tinggal di Venezuala sebelum kecelakaan merengut nyawa suaminya. Ellen pun kembali ke Amerika dan menjalin hubungan dengan Pete Caruso. Hubungan mereka kandas dan ia memutuskan kembali ke negeri Latin dan bergabung dalam pelayanan komunitas Kristen.

Ryan Gillian, pengacara yang diutus oleh Fred mencari putrinya. Pengacara muda itu memahami jika tidak mudah bagi Abbey menerima fakta baru tentang ibunya. Baginya kakek-nenek adalah Connoly, yang telah membesarkan ibunya. Kakek dan nenek Connoly sudah meninggal dan Ellen memutuskan meninggalkan Boston dan hidup di San Fransisco menjalani hidup sebagai perawat di sebuah klinik.

Tidak mudah juga bagi Abbey untuk menghubungi ibunya, karena aturan komunitas yang ketat. Setelah yakin dengan keterangan sang pengacara, Abbey akhirnya setuju bertemu dengan kakek Fred. Baru pertama kali dalam hidupnya menginjakkan kaki di Irlandia dan menyadari kakeknya adalah orang kaya.

Pertemuan pertama yang mengejutkan, bagi Fred, ia seperti melihat Ita Dilly pada diri cucunya Abbey. Bagi menantunya Lisette, ia seperti melihat Suzanne muda. Hanya beberapa saat berbicara dengan cucunya, Fred terkena serangan jantung dan meninggal. Donald dan adiknya Gareth sempat menuduh Abbey, namun dokter menjelaskan memang Fred sudah sering jatuh sakit dan kematiannya diakibatkan serangan jantung murni.

Tiba masa pembacaan surat wasiat dan pembagian warisan, kedua anak Fred dan menantunya sulit menerima wasiat ayah mereka. Rumah mewah milik ayahnya dilimpahkan pada putrinya Ellen Connoly dan cucunya Abbey. Abbey pun akhirnya menjelaskan keberadaan ibunya di biara, dan menjadi bahan lelucon bagi dua saudara lelakinya. Ellen tidak begitu kaget dengan keberadaannya sebagi anak adopsi. Sebelum meninggal ibu yang membesarkannya pernah mengatakannya. Ia sangat kecewa karena orang tuanya tidak memberitahukan orang tua biologis sejak muda. Ia terpukul dan sangat sedih mendapati ibu yang melahirkannya meninggal di Magdalene Laundries.

Sikap Suzanne sangat berbeda dengan dua saudaranya, ia lebih bisa menerima Abbey dan Ellen. Akhirnya kasus pun dibawa ke pengadilan, walau Ellen telah menawarkan setengah dari harga rumah diberikan pada ketiga anak-anak Fred. Surat wasiat itu dibawa ke pengadilan, dan diputuskan rumah itu jatuh pada ketiga anak Fred. Abbey dan ibunya menerimanya, mereka pun menyadari tidak bisa menjadi keluarga Fitzpatrick hanya dalam sekejap, sementara ketiga anak Fred memang benar keluarga Fitzpatrick. Ellen menjelaskan pada putrinya bahwa keluarga bukanlah sekedar genetika tetapi kebersamaan didalamnya.

Karena merasa bersalah telah mengambil uang dari brankas, yang seharusnya milik Abbey, kedua istri pamannya memberinya sebuah lukisan sebagai kenangan dari keluarga Fiztpatrick sebelum Abbey dan ibunya pulang ke Amerika. Rupanya lukisan itu adalah karya besar dari pelukis ternama, Abbey tidak menyangka harga lukisan terjual setengah juta dolar. Ibunya Ellen kembali ke biara dan Abbey membuka usaha salon sendiri.