Scan barcode
stephh's review against another edition
3.0
Set in Derry, Reading in the Dark is a coming of age story, stretching from the main character's boyhood in the 1940s up to the 70s. With a background of The Troubles, the book dips into a lot of Irish folklore and the need for small town gossip. The reader starts the book innocent of any knowledge of the boy's family history, as the boy does himself, but as the book progresses the darkness and violence of the past leaps out in suspicions and confidences told to the boy by his family.
Following an unnamed main character makes you a little distanced from the story in my opinion, but it almost serves as a reminder that this could be any Derry child growing up in the Troubles. At the heart of the novel is religious and familial divide. It opens up to the reader how fraught these times were, and how knowledge is not always a good thing.
There have been suggestions that the book is too similar to Seamus Deane's own upbringing and early life for it to be anything more than a memoir. Whether there's any truth to this or not, I enjoyed the book in its relative simplicity. We followed a boy starting (and struggling) to understand the world in which he lived, his loss of innocence and introduction to politics. It's a good read if you want a fairly simple insight to life as a child during the Troubles, and I enjoyed it although I didn't find it very gripping.
Following an unnamed main character makes you a little distanced from the story in my opinion, but it almost serves as a reminder that this could be any Derry child growing up in the Troubles. At the heart of the novel is religious and familial divide. It opens up to the reader how fraught these times were, and how knowledge is not always a good thing.
There have been suggestions that the book is too similar to Seamus Deane's own upbringing and early life for it to be anything more than a memoir. Whether there's any truth to this or not, I enjoyed the book in its relative simplicity. We followed a boy starting (and struggling) to understand the world in which he lived, his loss of innocence and introduction to politics. It's a good read if you want a fairly simple insight to life as a child during the Troubles, and I enjoyed it although I didn't find it very gripping.
riannereads's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
paula8books's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
sophiaf97's review
5.0
I have a feeling that this book will stick with me for quite some time. Beautifully written, and beautifully experienced.
kelly_twardziak's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fionnchu's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A crafted memoir from "The Troubles" and before, from an author from the North of Ireland--a critic who's not Seamus Heaney!
eyegee's review
3.0
Could not get into this book for some reason. With so many other ones waiting on the shelves, I reluctantly put this one aside to try again later.
shirley_maclame's review
3.0
Structured more like a memoir than a novel. I read on Wikipedia, after reading it, that the story of the unnamed boy is very similar to the life of the author. If that is true, then it explains a lot. The main narrative is about the boy's family secret, and those parts of the book kept me engaged. However, there were many parts of the book that were just individual accounts of the boy's life, and although I appreciate that they were trying to give an impression of life in Northern Ireland, I probably would have put the book down before finishing if it weren't for the main narrative. Generally well written, but the paragraphs that take up an entire page caused me a bit of strain.
beckyjenson's review
2.0
Assignment for my book club. Somewhat tragic and yet boring at the same time...
babblingbooks's review
4.0
Haunting tale of a family twisted by secrets and a society in conflict with itself. Set in Ireland in the 1940s and 50s Reading in the Dark follows a young, unnamed, Catholic boy growing up during one of the many periods of violent conflict between the Protestant and Catholic communities.
"It was a city of bonfires. The Protestants had more than we had. ... triumph of Protestant armies at the Battle of the Boyne, liberation of the city from beseiging Cathoic armies, and burning of traitor Lundy's effigy who tried to open the gates to the Catholic enemy."
The Derry of this tale is a dark place, deeply divided and filled with fear. There is little trust between friends or even family members and secrets are tearing everyone apart. So much of the story is about those secrets, and the way they can twist relationships and people, rotting them from the inside out, poisoning people against eachother, spouse against spouse, parent against child, and children against siblings.
Deane also weaves in the legends of Ireland. Ghosts haunt people, fairies linger, dreams take on lives of their own, and echoes of long forgotten warriors remain in the land.
"Freedom. In this place. Never was, never would be. What was it anyway? Freedom to do what you liked, that was one thing. Freedom to do what you should, that was another. Close enough to one another and far apart as well"
The story is dark, and not at all happy. There is so much tension and betrayal, so much fear and sadness, that it is not a happy read. But in many ways it is still an enjoyable one. The way Deane writes is so vivid, with unusual descriptions which perfectly evoke a particular mood or moment. I wasn’t at all surprise to find that he was a poet of renown, because there is a lyrical quality to the writing the leans towards poetry in parts.
I loved this book for its atmosphere. I felt tossed onto the streets of Derry, violence simmering just below the surface of every interaction.
My only real criticism of it is how misleading the blurb of my edition was. It spoke of a young boy living half in a fantasy world via his dreams and half in the world of conflict and lies he physically inhabited. It suggested that these two worlds were on a collision course. But in reality that is only vaguely true of the first section of the book and in no way encapsulates the domestic focus of this tale.
"It was a city of bonfires. The Protestants had more than we had. ... triumph of Protestant armies at the Battle of the Boyne, liberation of the city from beseiging Cathoic armies, and burning of traitor Lundy's effigy who tried to open the gates to the Catholic enemy."
The Derry of this tale is a dark place, deeply divided and filled with fear. There is little trust between friends or even family members and secrets are tearing everyone apart. So much of the story is about those secrets, and the way they can twist relationships and people, rotting them from the inside out, poisoning people against eachother, spouse against spouse, parent against child, and children against siblings.
Deane also weaves in the legends of Ireland. Ghosts haunt people, fairies linger, dreams take on lives of their own, and echoes of long forgotten warriors remain in the land.
"Freedom. In this place. Never was, never would be. What was it anyway? Freedom to do what you liked, that was one thing. Freedom to do what you should, that was another. Close enough to one another and far apart as well"
The story is dark, and not at all happy. There is so much tension and betrayal, so much fear and sadness, that it is not a happy read. But in many ways it is still an enjoyable one. The way Deane writes is so vivid, with unusual descriptions which perfectly evoke a particular mood or moment. I wasn’t at all surprise to find that he was a poet of renown, because there is a lyrical quality to the writing the leans towards poetry in parts.
I loved this book for its atmosphere. I felt tossed onto the streets of Derry, violence simmering just below the surface of every interaction.
My only real criticism of it is how misleading the blurb of my edition was. It spoke of a young boy living half in a fantasy world via his dreams and half in the world of conflict and lies he physically inhabited. It suggested that these two worlds were on a collision course. But in reality that is only vaguely true of the first section of the book and in no way encapsulates the domestic focus of this tale.
More...