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vicjp's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
jacolienversteeg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cozyreadings's review against another edition
4.75
It seemed both proper and at the same time deeply unfair that so much of life was left to chance.
Picked this up because I saw the trailer for the movie and was intrigued.
This is an absolute gem. Reading as if it's a sweet Christmas story, it actually packs a big punch, looking at human nature and the daily life of a father of 5 daughters. It also, and most importantly, looks at how corrupt and hypocritical church can be, and how one good deed and one good person can change the course of someone's life. How good morals are taught, and how a God fearing town can ignore those in need, going to mass every Sunday and believing that they are good people.
It's based on the Irish Magdalene laundries, which were institutions ran by Catholic orders "housing" (can't really call it housing if you know what those poor girls went through) girls who had "fallen from Grace". The book manages to include a lot in a very short amount of pages, posing the question: would you do what Bill did, doing a good thing no matter the consequences, or would you turn a blind eye?
Picked this up because I saw the trailer for the movie and was intrigued.
This is an absolute gem. Reading as if it's a sweet Christmas story, it actually packs a big punch, looking at human nature and the daily life of a father of 5 daughters. It also, and most importantly, looks at how corrupt and hypocritical church can be, and how one good deed and one good person can change the course of someone's life. How good morals are taught, and how a God fearing town can ignore those in need, going to mass every Sunday and believing that they are good people.
It's based on the Irish Magdalene laundries, which were institutions ran by Catholic orders "housing" (can't really call it housing if you know what those poor girls went through) girls who had "fallen from Grace". The book manages to include a lot in a very short amount of pages, posing the question: would you do what Bill did, doing a good thing no matter the consequences, or would you turn a blind eye?
caroo1212's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
flahri's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
leoneptune's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
benplatt's review against another edition
4.0
A small book about small defeats and small attempts to make things better. Keegan's writing is extraordinarily clear and evocative, managing to cover a lot of ground in this short novella. Christmas and the convent are wonderfully sketched, although characters such as Eileen, Furlong's wife, feel less thoroughly considered. Nevertheless, there is an impressive economy of storytelling and beauty of language in these pages, imagining a small moment of redemption amidst a much larger structure of violence.
mariadonnamc's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
amyroseh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75