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WILD DECEMBER
Edna O'Brien
Houghton Mifflin, 2000, $24.00, 259 pp.
ISBN: 0618045678

Joseph Brennan and his sister Breege have always lived in Cloontha, Ireland just like generations of Brennans before them. Joseph remains a bachelor because no woman can compete with his love for the land. Their close relationship changes when the Brennan siblings meet Australian Mick Bugler, who has recently inherited a nearby farm from a deceased relative.

Joseph and Mick initially get along quite well until the ancestral dispute between their families over land drives a wedge between them. However, Breege is attracted to the handsome newcomer who admits he has a fiancee waiting for him Down Under. As she falls in love with the Australian, she tries to reconcile the differences between Mick and her beloved brother, who will do anything to keep his innocent sister from being hurt by the "Despoiler".

WILD DECEMEBR is an excellent character-driven piece that will thrill fans of relationship dramas. The splendid story line is entertaining, as Ireland becomes vividly alive through the writer's pen. The three prime protagonists are fully developed so the audience understands their motives even as Edna O'Brien keeps her plot consistent to their individualism and their interrelationships. Readers who enjoy an Irish relationship drama will gain immense pleasure from Ms. O'Brien's novel.

Harriet Klausner


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