Kissed by the Angels

What is your personal grievance? Do you consider yourself to be too fat, or too thin? Too tall, or too short? Do you have ginger hair, or not enough hair? Have you unwanted birthmarks, freckles or moles? Are your hips too wide, your posterior too plump, or do you possess a tubby tummy you cringe at each time you steal a glance in the unforgiving mirror? We all have grievances with ourselves, don’t we? We all have birthmarks, whether concealed or visible, psychological or physical. Orlagh Emmet certainly does. Orlagh being the protagonist of the novel, ‘Kissed By The Angels’. A narrative, which, in one hundred and fifty thousand words transports the reader on an inspiring odyssey, which journeys through the valleys of Orlagh’s trials and over the mountains of her tribulations. One witnesses her fervent spirit, which has been strengthened by a myriad of mentors, both celestial and mortal, prevail in the ominous face of adversity, which invariably encounters her each day, as she makes her pilgrimage through life - being different.

We initially meet Orlagh Emmet while she is encapsulated within the arms of the carefree ambience of her devoted Irish family, unaware of the inauspicious presence of the port-wine coloured birthmark, which is situated on her right cheek, chin and neck. Desperately wishing to emulate her elder brothers, Orlagh is overwhelmed with excitement at the mere thought of starting school. Unfortunately, upon entering the classroom her dream day is expeditiously devastated when she experiences hostility towards her markings in the form of taunts from a corpulent boy. Subsequently a fracas ensues. The altercation provokes the reviling boy to proclaim, ‘You’ve had it, Ribena Face’. These were the final words uttered to Orlagh, at the end of her first day of school. Confounded and anxious Orlagh’s enthusiasm was obliterated. Despite not informing her parents of the unfortunate incident, due to her uncharacteristic, melancholic demeanour they suspected that adverse attention had been drawn to her birthmark. That evening her father, a proficient raconteur, enlightened Orlagh, in his mesmerising Irish manner as to why her markings existed. On the evening of her birth, while she lay in the crib next to her mother, a golden ray of light appeared from the ceiling. Out of that lambent light five tiny cherubs emerged, each one kissing her face and bestowing upon her the honour of being one of God’s chosen few; and thus left upon her a port-wine coloured birthmark, so they could differentiate her from the rest. A year or so passes until Orlagh witnesses these pious beings for herself. While undergoing cryotherapy treatment in an attempt to remove her birthmark, they appear to her. From that time on the angels continue to sporadically surface, each time metamorphosed into an unlikely angelic form and invariably under different circumstances. At each apparition the angels relay an enigmatic snippet of philosophical information, which she has to decipher and analyse in order to aid her out of the dilemma she is encountering and consequently lead to the discovery of her divine destiny. Plato, Socrates, the bible, Saint Patrick, Saint Columb, Tao te Ching, and many more are applied to assist in her destiny discovery. All of the virtuous information is locked away in her subliminal memory until the time arises when she needs to open that locked box full of infinite knowledge and use it to her advantage, although primarily she must find the key. Orlagh battles through the anguish of adolescence, metaphorically and in substance. Battling in the figurative sense by overcoming the pain while enduring numerous treatments to eliminate her birthmark, from cryotherapy to radiotherapy and onto laser treatment, and battling in actuality when she finds solace in the sanctuary of her father’s boxing club, where her frustrations are pounded away and her dreams and desires contrived. The boxing gym introduces many unforgettable and loveable characters. Most notably, the comely, Emmet O’Malley, who upon joining the boxing club from Ireland immediately becomes, what she considers as her unobtainable love interest. One observes their relationship develop into an inseparable bond. Orlagh’s first bra, first boyfriend, first kiss and any other supplementary information which can be obtained, are all experienced under the scrutiny of her beloved boxing brotherhood. She entertainingly endeavours to find the balance between upholding her tom-boyish status, and for the benefit of Emmet, retaining her femininity. The noble art of pugilism is entertainingly explored and demonstrated as we follow the progress of some of her father’s boxers, most prominently, Orlagh’s brothers, Emmet O’Malley, and, Orlagh herself. Other than the obvious attainment of physical strength and fitness the boxing gym is another essential vehicle for Orlagh on the road to the acquisition of ultimate mental strength. The boxing gym also exhibits the amicable integration of the multicultural working-class society of late twentieth century England. One can obtain a sense of each specific time period through references directed at: sweets, toys, music and fashion popular within which ever particular decade the story is involved; which in ‘Kissed By The Angels’ are the 1970’s, 1980’s and early 1990’s - striking a nostalgic chord in the reader’s mind.

‘Kissed By The Angels’ is a unique coming-of-age novel with a spiritual, inspirational and intellectual edge. If prospective readers experience grievances of their own, they can remove Orlagh’s problems and replace them with their own difficulties, and discover help, empathy and support within the pages of ‘Kissed By The Angels’.