Reviews

There was a lot that I liked about this, and a little that I didn't. Firstly, I just thought this was beautifully written. I would read more by Kennedy for sure. This book really transports you to Belfast 1975 and paints a picture of sectarianism and anti Catholic sentiment, in ways that are both overt and powerfully subtle.
I wasn't gone on the Michael/Cushla storyline for a multitude of reasons (that I can't get into without spoiling it).

I didn't see the ending coming, but in hindsight the story was tee'd up well. This felt 50/50 character and plot driven, overall a good read.

pipjean14's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

natalie_rosemary's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

3.75

sweetry's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

hemloc's review against another edition

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3.0

Five reasons to read Trespasses:

1) One of the things this book makes very clear are the consequences of personal actions in this kind of environment. It's a point that is very well made.

2) The sense of place and time are perfectly captured. This is Northern Ireland in the 70s, when death and violence were incorporated into daily lives.

3) The characters are convincing. They feel real and are only heroic in the way any person can be, yet so few are. Getting to know them took no time at all.

4) It's educational.

5) It doesn't shy away from dark topics and is unflinchingly honest.

Four drawbacks to Trespasses:

1) There are no quotation marks, no way of distinguishing dialogue from the rest of the text. I got used to it, but even in the final chapter, I had to reread certain sentences because I mistook them for dialogue or did not recognise them as dialogue.

2) If you do not have some pre-existing knowledge of the politics and social situation surrounding the Troubles, you will struggle to understand what's going on.

3) The writing style includes a lot of fragmented sentences. I liked this on occasion, but it was done too often and frequently to describe uninteresting things.

4) I didn't get any sense of chemistry between the main character and the love interest.

zosiablue's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was one of those lovely surprises I put on hold 6 months ago & don't remember why, but I'm glad. It's a perfect slice in time (Ireland in the '70s), incredibly sexy and coming of age until it hits you that coming of age during The Troubles meant all that normal teenage fucking around had bigger implications. I got to one part towards the end and burst into tears because I should have seen it coming, the book warned me in a thousand ways, but the author's writing was so lush and cozy and subtle that I got complacent. Really beautiful.

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