When All is Said

By Anne Griffin, 324 pages, Thomas Dunn Books, 2019
Reviewed by Sue Fountain, April 22, 2020

When All Is Said by Anne Griffin is the Community Read for this year in Bend, Ore. (The public library sponsors this, and encourages everyone to read the same book.)

The story takes place during one day as an 84-year old man sits at an Irish bar alone and reviews his life. He drinks a special toast to five different people he has loved during his life. Through the accounts of each person we learn about the main character, his life, his regrets, and his revenge. Though at time he seems mean-spirited, there is also a great deal of unspoken joy within him. He tells his tale with honesty and empathy. As he says, “There was a love,” he admits, “but of the Irish kind, reserved and embarrassed by its own humanity.” At first I wasn't sure about this book, but the more I read the more involved I became with the main character. By the end I was right there with him and wished I could share a glass of that Bushmill he was drinking!