Good Eggs is a debut novel by Rebecca Hardiman. It is a story of three generations of the Gogarty family in Dublin, Ireland that is told with enough humor to make it endearing. While the main characters all have issues, they are generally “good eggs” who deserve a second chance.
The eighty-three-year-old widowed grandmother of the family is Millie Gogarty. The story starts with Millie shoplifting a greeting card she didn’t need from a local store. Her son, Kevin, picks her up from the police station with the understanding she will allow a part-time caregiver into the home. After another incident occurs later in the story, Kevin describes his mother as “a thief, (an arsonist?), a misanthropic malcontent, an exaggerator of mammoth proportions, a driver of sane sons to vivid fantasies of matricide.”
Kevin Gogarty is fifty-years-old, and recently unemployed after working for a celebrity news magazine. He is not up on his skills in digital publishing and is having trouble finding new employment. His wife of twenty years is very successful and travels often for her work. They have two sons and sixteen-year old twin girls. One of the twins, Aideen, has been acting out to the point where she is sent to a local boarding school. Upon checking Aideen into the new school, Kevin becomes attracted to the young receptionist and starts pursuing her. Aideen’s only friend at school is a trouble-maker who drags Aideen down with her.
After the shoplifting incident, Kevin hires Sylvia, an American to be the caregiver. Millie enjoys Sylvia’s company. Aideen starts a sweet teenage romantic relationship with Sylvia’s nephew who has come to Ireland with her. Kevin fires Sylvia against Millie’s wishes. Then Sylvia tells Millie of an urgent medical need, and Millie gives Sylvia most of her savings. Afterward, things really start to fall apart for the Gogarty family. Two of the members take a surprise trip. In the end, it mostly works out for this family that is bound together by love.
The eighty-three-year-old widowed grandmother of the family is Millie Gogarty. The story starts with Millie shoplifting a greeting card she didn’t need from a local store. Her son, Kevin, picks her up from the police station with the understanding she will allow a part-time caregiver into the home. After another incident occurs later in the story, Kevin describes his mother as “a thief, (an arsonist?), a misanthropic malcontent, an exaggerator of mammoth proportions, a driver of sane sons to vivid fantasies of matricide.”
Kevin Gogarty is fifty-years-old, and recently unemployed after working for a celebrity news magazine. He is not up on his skills in digital publishing and is having trouble finding new employment. His wife of twenty years is very successful and travels often for her work. They have two sons and sixteen-year old twin girls. One of the twins, Aideen, has been acting out to the point where she is sent to a local boarding school. Upon checking Aideen into the new school, Kevin becomes attracted to the young receptionist and starts pursuing her. Aideen’s only friend at school is a trouble-maker who drags Aideen down with her.
After the shoplifting incident, Kevin hires Sylvia, an American to be the caregiver. Millie enjoys Sylvia’s company. Aideen starts a sweet teenage romantic relationship with Sylvia’s nephew who has come to Ireland with her. Kevin fires Sylvia against Millie’s wishes. Then Sylvia tells Millie of an urgent medical need, and Millie gives Sylvia most of her savings. Afterward, things really start to fall apart for the Gogarty family. Two of the members take a surprise trip. In the end, it mostly works out for this family that is bound together by love.