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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A young Catholic woman and a married English Protestant twice her age. She's a school teacher and barmaid, he's a barrister, who asks her to come teach him and his friends Irish once a week. Against the backdrop of car bombings and IRA assassinations, they carve out a precarious, delicious little space for themselves. But the backdrop was never really backdrop was it?
My knowledge of the Troubles is pretty surface-level so there were a few things I had to google while reading this to get the characters situated in their proper social context, but once I'd wrapped my head around that and the story really started to sing. I don't have much time for books that are only love stories (cba with Sally Rooney, no matter how good her writing is) and I wasn't sure how much it'd go beyond those bounds so I got close to putting it down around halfway through, but I'm glad I didn't because the way the threads draw together at the end (devastating) made it worth my while.
The title fits the novel well, invoking a legal or social transgression (often a victimless crime more about exercise of power than about collective good) as much as a moral or religious straying, and in the book you can feel Cushla's desperate hope to see her actions as morally forgivable even if those around her would frown upon them. The reckoning is in being forced to reappraise your trespasses in light of their consequences, and finding your previous interpretation to be naive and delusional. Cushla's movement through this reckoning, and her embarrassment, rage, and sense of injustice at having to see herself through different eyes is so utterly emotionally believable. Heartbreaking and gorgeous writing.
Being raised Catholic made it easy to understand the religious content of Trespasses even though I am American and don’t understand why the Catholics and Protestants have such a difficult time getting along in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
So hard to get through the first 2/3 of the book but the ending was worth it
dark
emotional
Too `mature` for me. Not being able to relate made it fairly uninteresting and writing style somewhat pissed me off.
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
such a weird writing style, you have to focus like crazy on this book but the ending is phenomenal!!
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book covers Cushla's affair during the Troubles. It provides an interesting insight into a community and its history. However, the story got a little boring about half way through.