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katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Coming of age in Ireland. With shattered innocence and a sense of humour.
A little like Roddy Doyle, Kevin Maher mixes the tragic with the comic and makes Jim a hugely sympathetic narrator and protagonist. The Fields charts his adolescence, as the only boy in a house filled with sisters, IRA sympathisers all around, and a terrifyingly leery priest - Father O'Culligeen. Jim navigates his horrific journey through his story with dark humour and you really want him to succeed.
I wasn't as keen on the second act. When Jim ends up in London meeting some hippie-types, I felt the book lost its focus, but Maher brought it together for a good ending.
For a book they you can laugh at, you may need a warning that rather dark subjects are herein present, sometimes quite upsetting but Jim carried us through with his eternal cheery nature.
Very good debut, would read more by this author.
Coming of age in Ireland. With shattered innocence and a sense of humour.
A little like Roddy Doyle, Kevin Maher mixes the tragic with the comic and makes Jim a hugely sympathetic narrator and protagonist. The Fields charts his adolescence, as the only boy in a house filled with sisters, IRA sympathisers all around, and a terrifyingly leery priest - Father O'Culligeen. Jim navigates his horrific journey through his story with dark humour and you really want him to succeed.
I wasn't as keen on the second act. When Jim ends up in London meeting some hippie-types, I felt the book lost its focus, but Maher brought it together for a good ending.
For a book they you can laugh at, you may need a warning that rather dark subjects are herein present, sometimes quite upsetting but Jim carried us through with his eternal cheery nature.
Very good debut, would read more by this author.
mikewa14's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this tale of growing up in 80s Ireland, but there were a few too many strands to the story
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/the-fields-kevin-maher.html
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/the-fields-kevin-maher.html
roamingthemoors247's review against another edition
4.0
perfectly Irish. The voice is hilariously fresh and sad and the most realistic teenage boy's voice I have heard in quite some time. I am so happy I won this book on the giveaway!!
katmackie's review against another edition
4.0
I received my copy free through the Goodreads First Reads giveaways.
Tackling issues like abortion rights and sexual abuse at the hands of a priest certainly take some nerve, especially for a debut novel. But somehow, Kevin Maher manages this with an overall sense of optimism throughout his coming of age tale, The Fields . While the subject matters covered may be heavy in nature, don't expect something that will bog you down. Maher creates an interesting space between cause and effect, all with the realistic thought of "what if" placed delicately in the foreground.
It's a book that swiftly begins with death before you're fully introduced to the protagonist, young Jim Finnegan, and the simple act of imagining a different ending to the one that's transpired. And it ends, without giving too much away, with a similar train of thought, better articulated, from the perspective of one much changed and with an elegance to prove it. The narration of the story by fourteen year old Jim convincingly portrays an Ireland from the perspective of one just trying to become an adult. And as this natural task becomes more complicated, so does the story.
I was pleasantly surprised by Maher's success at maintaining a humorous atmosphere, even when painting dark visuals. And all the while the story sustains it's realism, never becoming too improbable. His descriptions of Ireland in the 80's are fun and fond, and the dialect is extremely readable. I somehow managed to keep the Irish accent going in my head as I was reading and I'm absolutely terrible at doing that usually! I believe where it falls short is in the development of the cast around Jim. While he grows into a more realized form of himself, others are left behind and even forgotten. This may be legitimate, and even realistic, but in the end Maher is telling us a story and I don't think it was beneficial to the plot to let some fall wayside.
I recommend this novel to those who enjoy strong characters facing adverse and relevant conflicts but with a wit that sets them apart. Maher successfully captures this vitality, as well as it's opposite, while managing to support an entertaining story without feeling sorry for the fractures along the way.
Tackling issues like abortion rights and sexual abuse at the hands of a priest certainly take some nerve, especially for a debut novel. But somehow, Kevin Maher manages this with an overall sense of optimism throughout his coming of age tale, The Fields . While the subject matters covered may be heavy in nature, don't expect something that will bog you down. Maher creates an interesting space between cause and effect, all with the realistic thought of "what if" placed delicately in the foreground.
It's a book that swiftly begins with death before you're fully introduced to the protagonist, young Jim Finnegan, and the simple act of imagining a different ending to the one that's transpired. And it ends, without giving too much away, with a similar train of thought, better articulated, from the perspective of one much changed and with an elegance to prove it. The narration of the story by fourteen year old Jim convincingly portrays an Ireland from the perspective of one just trying to become an adult. And as this natural task becomes more complicated, so does the story.
I was pleasantly surprised by Maher's success at maintaining a humorous atmosphere, even when painting dark visuals. And all the while the story sustains it's realism, never becoming too improbable. His descriptions of Ireland in the 80's are fun and fond, and the dialect is extremely readable. I somehow managed to keep the Irish accent going in my head as I was reading and I'm absolutely terrible at doing that usually! I believe where it falls short is in the development of the cast around Jim. While he grows into a more realized form of himself, others are left behind and even forgotten. This may be legitimate, and even realistic, but in the end Maher is telling us a story and I don't think it was beneficial to the plot to let some fall wayside.
I recommend this novel to those who enjoy strong characters facing adverse and relevant conflicts but with a wit that sets them apart. Maher successfully captures this vitality, as well as it's opposite, while managing to support an entertaining story without feeling sorry for the fractures along the way.
snoakes7001's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this - well-written, good characters and story. The only reason I gave it a 4 rather than a 5 was that I found the ending a little disappointing. That's probably just me though. I'd definitely read something by Kevin Maher again.
bgg616's review against another edition
2.0
The narration and story are UNeven a lot of the time. There are parts that are very unbelievable and left me wondering what the point was. Nonetheless it had some entertainment value. I felt that publisher decided to hype this book for some reason. The author was born in Dublin but now lives in Britain - maybe he has connections there.
* I edited this to change even to uneven. Boy I need to read more carefully. Also I changed my rating from 3 to 2 stars.
Looking back at this I want to add that a friend who grew up in inner Dublin hated this book. It was widely hyped in Ireland when first published, but didn't take off - apparently because readers didn't take to it.
* I edited this to change even to uneven. Boy I need to read more carefully. Also I changed my rating from 3 to 2 stars.
Looking back at this I want to add that a friend who grew up in inner Dublin hated this book. It was widely hyped in Ireland when first published, but didn't take off - apparently because readers didn't take to it.
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
3.0
Three and a half stars if I could...
The book follows a young boy, Jim Finnegan, through his early adolescence in Ireland during the eighties. The book starts with a punch, with the family cat being hit by a car and a young girl being hit in the face with a hockey ball all in the first few pages. The drama never ceases, as we become involved with Jim and his family of five sisters, and a paedophile priest who lures Jim into becoming an altar boy so that he can have his wicked way with him. Along with the torrent of sexual abuse that comes his way, Jim also falls in love for the first time with an older girl called Saidhbh (pronounced “sive” like “hive.”) Although the novel is incredibly disturbing because of the subject matter, the author manages to keep things light, with a sense of humour throughout, even in the darker and more shocking moments of the story.
The story is beautifully written with some wonderful memories of the eighties (Jimmy Somerville and the weird and wacky clothing get a mention), and the characters fantastically realised. However, I felt it really hit a bump with the ending which I was very disappointed by. I could almost deal with some of the spiritual and mystical parts… until it just hit my belief systems a bit too hard. (Somebody else please read it so I can talk about it with you!) Aside from that, it is a wonderful book which I would recommend and I think the author pulls off a dark subject with ease and panache.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.wordpress.com
The book follows a young boy, Jim Finnegan, through his early adolescence in Ireland during the eighties. The book starts with a punch, with the family cat being hit by a car and a young girl being hit in the face with a hockey ball all in the first few pages. The drama never ceases, as we become involved with Jim and his family of five sisters, and a paedophile priest who lures Jim into becoming an altar boy so that he can have his wicked way with him. Along with the torrent of sexual abuse that comes his way, Jim also falls in love for the first time with an older girl called Saidhbh (pronounced “sive” like “hive.”) Although the novel is incredibly disturbing because of the subject matter, the author manages to keep things light, with a sense of humour throughout, even in the darker and more shocking moments of the story.
The story is beautifully written with some wonderful memories of the eighties (Jimmy Somerville and the weird and wacky clothing get a mention), and the characters fantastically realised. However, I felt it really hit a bump with the ending which I was very disappointed by. I could almost deal with some of the spiritual and mystical parts… until it just hit my belief systems a bit too hard. (Somebody else please read it so I can talk about it with you!) Aside from that, it is a wonderful book which I would recommend and I think the author pulls off a dark subject with ease and panache.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.wordpress.com
hisdarkmaterials's review against another edition
3.0
So you get a ripping great story and this fucking gobshite of an author ruins the last quarter of the novel with total feckin' SHITE about auras and chakras and all of that bollix. He needs a kick up the arse for that. Not impressed at all.
leahlizzz's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book. Parts of the story were pretty disturbing and sad but the overall tone of the book is somehow still funny. I also really appreciated the specific "Irishness" of his writing style. I'm not sure how to interpret the very end of the story though, and that bugs me.
novelyon's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed The Fields. The novel's voice and setting are perfect. The narrator Jim's Irish accent and dialect shines through the narration, and is so bitingly sarcastic that even the darkest moments of the novel have levity. The setting, Dublin (and later London) in the 1980s, are key to Jim's narrative. I am not an expert of Irish or English history at the time, but the book illustrates the religious, devoted, loving, yet difficult, stifling, often oppressive nature of the community Jim lives in. Several moments in the novel Jim is not safe from harm and abuse, does not feel safe, and the setting highlights how difficult it is for him to break free from it due to living in The Rise, at this time. The voice and setting is what saves this novel from anything less than 4 stars.
The setting then helps to provide a narrative throughline that Jim is both child and adult. He is a 14 year old boy. Yet the abuse and problems he faces very quickly thrust him into an adulthood that he is not, and should not, be ready for at the age of 14. As the protagonist and narrator the reader is privy to his inner life, his thoughts, feelings, Jim's thoughts and even trauma can be raw and painful to read. However one cannot look away due to the excellence of the voice Kevin Maher employs for Jim. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the POV being so, so close to Jim and Jim only, that the other characters in the novel feel lacking. Yes, you are given hints as to why certain characters act the way they do: Mozzo's father was abusive. Saidhbh's father is an alcoholic and rumored to have ties to the IRA. And so on for other characters. In the end, however, they are just hints. Sections of the novel, especially the final third, feel lacking as they attempt to focus on characters like Saidhbh, yet their interiority is never truly touched upon the way that it is with Jim, by nature of the POV never straying from Jim's. At first one may think that is the point: Jim is again, just a 14 year old boy. There is only so much he can understand.
Unfortunately, the final act and ending of the novel fails to acknowledge Jim's coming of age and limited understanding in any meaningful way. Don't expect Jim to complete the transition from child to adult, or even from child to emotionally-healed child, in a satisfying manner. The novel will trick you into thinking Jim is close on to the verge of an emotional opening up and reconciliation only to have him literally use the power of chakra to solve his problems. It's disappointing, because I quite enjoyed the emotional and funny tale of an Irish boy trying his absolute best during the worst, worst time of life. A shame that the end of his story and development is more reminiscent of Sakura from Naruto than any real Irish boy of the 80s.
The setting then helps to provide a narrative throughline that Jim is both child and adult. He is a 14 year old boy. Yet the abuse and problems he faces very quickly thrust him into an adulthood that he is not, and should not, be ready for at the age of 14. As the protagonist and narrator the reader is privy to his inner life, his thoughts, feelings, Jim's thoughts and even trauma can be raw and painful to read. However one cannot look away due to the excellence of the voice Kevin Maher employs for Jim. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the POV being so, so close to Jim and Jim only, that the other characters in the novel feel lacking. Yes, you are given hints as to why certain characters act the way they do: Mozzo's father was abusive. Saidhbh's father is an alcoholic and rumored to have ties to the IRA. And so on for other characters. In the end, however, they are just hints. Sections of the novel, especially the final third, feel lacking as they attempt to focus on characters like Saidhbh, yet their interiority is never truly touched upon the way that it is with Jim, by nature of the POV never straying from Jim's. At first one may think that is the point: Jim is again, just a 14 year old boy. There is only so much he can understand.
Unfortunately, the final act and ending of the novel fails to acknowledge Jim's coming of age and limited understanding in any meaningful way. Don't expect Jim to complete the transition from child to adult, or even from child to emotionally-healed child, in a satisfying manner. The novel will trick you into thinking Jim is close on to the verge of an emotional opening up and reconciliation only to have him literally use the power of chakra to solve his problems. It's disappointing, because I quite enjoyed the emotional and funny tale of an Irish boy trying his absolute best during the worst, worst time of life. A shame that the end of his story and development is more reminiscent of Sakura from Naruto than any real Irish boy of the 80s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Alcoholism, Cancer, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Rape
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt