The beautiful thing about literary fiction is that it allows you to see the truth more clearly than you can in your own life and in greater crispness than any memoir can ever capture. Ask Again, Yes tells of two families living next door to one another. Both fathers are cops. One family has three girls, the other family has a single son, Peter. The book follows the families from before marriage until their children are adults themselves.
To share too much of this story would be a disservice to the reader and the discovery that takes place along the journey, but I will say that it’s quite clear early on that something isn’t quite right with one of the mothers. There is a silence that overcomes the conversation whenever the subject of Peter’s parents comes up. One suddenly realizes that there is something they withhold from conversations, never before noticing that they are leaving that person out of their life stories, as if they exist without them. Friends don’t come over. There is a degree of embarrassment and even if something is a secret, everyone knows. It’s out of respect that they don’t bring it up, but they know. Excuses are made when comments do come and loneliness thrives in living a life where you can’t share your true self. It reminds me of a George Orwell quote from 1984,
“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”
There is so much truth in this novel as it explores love, forgiveness, healing, family, and friendship. Please read it and feel all the feelings.