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A Parting Glass – A Novel
By Author Tess Banion & Illustrator Paul Flinders
“It was beginning again.
Elizabeth looked around the room from face to face. She saw rage, fear, tears. She saw the monster; his face covered with hair and his nostrils flaring. His feet were heavy and thick, but he looked weak. She needed to run, get to her safe place. She moved back toward the closet and quickly disappeared."
“A deftly crafted and inherently engaging story of hope and transformation, “A Parting Glass” showcases author Tess Banion’s genuine flair for narrative driven storytelling. One of those rare novels that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf, “A Parting Glass” is unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Contemporary General Fiction collections.”~James A Cox, The Midwest Book Review
“Surrounded by monsters, in her home and at her school, imaginary and real, unwitting heroine Elizabeth O’Sullivan finds a unique way to deal with a not-so-happy childhood and a path to happiness. The reader is allowed a glimpse into Elizabeth’s world of make believe where Gary Cooper becomes her friend, a special nun floats and protects, and a paper saint dances and winks and makes her feel special. A compelling read from beginning to end.”
~Maureen Carroll
“This is a page turner. I hated to put it down! So descriptive, insightful and charged! The language is colorful and it brings the picture directly to my mind’s eye. This is my favorite phrase from the book: “Hurt sometimes came when she least expected it, based on some unknown feeling, and popped up like a jack-in-the-box. Hurt and fear, tied together.”
~Connie Shidler
“I read A Parting Glass all day yesterday. I did not pass GO, I did not collect $200. I only ate once, I did not pee because I was slightly dehydrated from non-stop reading. I could not put it down because I wanted to know more about the lives of this family, these kiddos. I wanted to know how their story ended.
“It was light and happy while at the same time heavy and dark. The characters were distinct, easily recognizable and consistent. I felt I knew them immediately. Their behavior and thoughts were insightful, delightful and sometimes heartbreaking. I laughed at out loud (here…alone in my house) several times or thought “that’s a good one”—I love the main character, Elizabeth, for being her perky, spacey and special little self.”
~Joyce Cussimanio
“Each character was fully realized, which is no small accomplishment when you are writing about a family with many children. I do believe the author hit this one out of the park as we used to say at our old softball games.”
~Kathy Sutton
“The relatable and comforting (at times painful and deeply penetrating) reliability to the Midwest catholic family life was truly charming and lovely to read. Like the feeling of being in a space you remember but have never been. I loved the description of thoughts turned into statements and the charming way things were described; the use of adjectives and descriptors, and subtle and witty humor. An enthralling journey of how a family dealt with pain and happiness together.”
~Liz Calloni
“I am blown away by this touching, strong, beautifully-written story. I want to wrap my arms around this family (not Junior) who I feel I have known but yet not really known. I honestly did not want to put the book down once I got started reading. As I read, I experienced a sense of concern and sadness that was quickly replaced with anticipation, excitement hope and finally joy. It’s a book I will long remember! Well done!”
~Debbie Wilson
Reviews
What a refreshingly different read! The subject matter is very heavy as the author tackles domestic abuse head on, however it is written in such a gentle, childlike way that it could have been written by Enid Blyton. It's the story of a young girl, Elizabeth, the fourth of five chil dren whose father is a drunken bully. It is not a sad story though. Elizabeth's spirit and energy are addictive and I could not wait to find out the ending. Poignant and dream like, what a way to tackle such a tough topic!
~Michelle S., NetGalley Reviewer
A Parting Glass: A Novel by Tess Banion is a bittersweet recounting of a young girl’s emotional, physical, and mental abuse by her father within their dysfunctional family. Elizabeth is just an imaginative, bright, eleven-year-old girl growing up in a railway town in rural Kansas with her four other siblings at the end of WWII. Life at home revolves totally around the moods of her diabetic father, Junior. At times, Junior can seem like a sweet, loving, husband and father but once that red mist descends the entire family knows exactly what to do and how to handle the situation, as best children can. For Elizabeth, who faces torment at home as well as at her strict Catholic school, where one of the nuns clearly has it in for her, she has adopted a world of fantasy where she can run away and hide to escape the evil monsters that seem out to get her. As she and her siblings grow older, it seems her brothers are reaching the point where they may start to fight back and especially protect their poor mother against her extreme abuse by Junior. Is this family heading for a final reckoning that will see them escape from the never-ending torment of abuse? Can Elizabeth rely on her “saints” -the sweet nun, Sister Mary Rose, or perhaps the kind policeman to be the family’s savior - or will they all have to rely on each other to find a way out of this mayhem?
A Parting Glass is a theme that many readers will sadly identify with and for that reason alone is a powerful and compelling read. Author Tess Banion has created a cast of characters that ring true and in Elizabeth she has a wonderful young girl who feels apart from the world and the torment being foisted upon her. She has found a way to supersede the worst of the abuse by looking inside herself and creating a world that she is comfortable living in. The author did an amazing job of building heightened tension in the narrative that beautifully matched the explosive changes in Junior’s psyche, where he could turn on a sixpence from being loving and caring into the monster that Elizabeth so feared. I particularly enjoyed the close relationships the siblings had with each other. With adversity comes a drawing together, a feeling of all-for-one and one-for-all, which was the recurring thread of this story. Banion captured perfectly the helplessness of the battered woman and her children – especially in this time period when the male was king and what he said was law. Add to that the not-so-subtle misogyny of the Catholic church and you have a recipe for dysfunction. A weak, frustrated and emotionally damaged male family head is all that is required for an explosive and violent tale. This was both a heart-rending and heart-affirming novel and the author has done extremely well in presenting an easy-to-read and extremely relatable story. This is one book I can highly recommend.
~Grant Leishman, Readers’ Favorite
Tess Banion Audiobook Launch Event Recording
Meet the Author
Tess Banion
Tess became a storyteller at the age of two.
It took her many more years to test her writing skills for real. She grew up in a nice size Catholic family with three brothers and a sister. Her first novel is based on truths, half-truths, and flat-out lies.
She has raised two children and helped sustain a marriage of 37 years. She’s gone to school (got a couple of Masters), worked in politics, changed careers and found her calling. This is her first novel but not her last. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas.
Listen to Tess speak about her book on Timeline Radio!
Tess is introduced in minute 20 of the recording.
