'A Greyhound of a Girl' - what a sweet dream of a novella.
A harrowing yet simple, wonderful and softhearted dream that can be experienced in a day; a single afternoon.It reads like a classic children's story, that could easily be adapted into an animated film by the likes of Studio Ghibli. Oh, but wait - it was adapted into an animated film, which was co-produced between seven European countries, in 2023. I loved it, and it was the sole reason I wanted to check out the source material.
'A Greyhound of a Girl' is about four generations of women in Ireland - twelve-year-old Mary, her mother Scarlett, her mother Emer, and her mother Tansey. It is also a ghost story. But not like any you've ever seen before.
It is magical realism; dreamlike, yet utterly human, touching, heartwarming, and heart-wrenching. And very funny - the dialogue between these women is great. They are a family - I could read their banter and anecdotes all day (as a UK reader, I let the Irish phrases flow through me like a river). Truly there is nothing like the bonds between mothers and daughters. They should be this positive and full of love. It's natural.
With the rustic countryside, farming, and seaside settings, and the themes of family, coming-of-age, change and moving on in life, reading this novella practically transported me back to my own childhood. It certainly made me appreciate and cherish, more than ever before, the family I have left. It also made me sad that I can never go back in time to further appreciate the days of my youth and the people who were around during that period of my life. But the past is the past. It is just memories.
Strong and distinct memories, and foggy and unclear memories that are still there, and still at your core and your heart, nonetheless.
We can only move forward, and do what we can now. The loved ones we lose, and leave behind, we will be keeping them in our hearts and memories, for the rest of our lives.
Short and compact that it is, 'A Greyhound of a Girl' is not perfect. At the beginning it is established that Mary is deeply upset because her best friend Ava moved away, and she wants to be a chef - a world famous chef, in fact - but these facts about her are not mentioned again once the ghost story/hospital story/road trip story is properly set in motion. Mary's father and two older brothers are not given much of a presence, even for a book that is strictly about mothers and daughters. I guess the boys staying at home while the girls go off on an exciting, paranormal, impromptu adventure is an understated subversion. Though there are still little bits of sexism sprinkled throughout, especially in the historical flashbacks. There's a line on page 44 about Mary and Scarlett watching 'a film that only women and girls liked.' What film is that? What does that even mean? This is perhaps the only indication where I can tell 'A Greyhound of a Girl' was written by a man. The repetitiveness in the dialogue about Mary being "cheeky" (meaning: honest and having a personality) gets old and annoying fast, too. In additional annoyance: the film does the same.
It's funny: in the book there are moments, character details and characters that are not included in the animated film, which has its own moments, character details and characters added in that are not in the book. Even the greyhound and general dog elements - the meaning behind the title - these are tweaked; different in each version. Overall, the film is a good, thematical, theatrical, feature-length adaptation - 4/5.
As for the book, it is good as well. I adore this piece of magical writing. It helped pull me out of a reading slump and made me want to try new things again - and not just in reading material, but in life. A life well lived.
'A Greyhound of a Girl' is so uplifting and beautiful.
I highly recommend the highly original story, however it is told.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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