Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a great book to close out the year. It made me want to hug all my family close and tell them how much I love them.
Each of the characters had their own fully fledged stories that could stand alone as a short story but that also fit with the stories of the other characters and when they got together, the combination was electric. Add into this some beautiful prose that envisions the wild Irish coast and we have a very special book indeed.
Each of the characters had their own fully fledged stories that could stand alone as a short story but that also fit with the stories of the other characters and when they got together, the combination was electric. Add into this some beautiful prose that envisions the wild Irish coast and we have a very special book indeed.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved it. My favorite book group read in many months and one of the better books I have read this year. Family drama at its restrained finest. I loved that mom Rosaleen was crotchety and temperamental. Recommended.
My last book group read in Seattle! I will miss seeing, and discussing books 'n more with, this incredible group of ladies.
My last book group read in Seattle! I will miss seeing, and discussing books 'n more with, this incredible group of ladies.
Promising at the beginning, but soon started falling short of the expectations it had created.
Maybe there are just too many characters to get a bit deep into any of them, or maybe none of them is interesting enough, or we are not made to see how they could be interesting.
It's the first book by Anne Enright I read, and I don't know if I'm going to read any others. Difficult to empathize with Rosaleen, the mother, and with any of ther children as well, no matter how different they all turn out to be.
Maybe there are just too many characters to get a bit deep into any of them, or maybe none of them is interesting enough, or we are not made to see how they could be interesting.
It's the first book by Anne Enright I read, and I don't know if I'm going to read any others. Difficult to empathize with Rosaleen, the mother, and with any of ther children as well, no matter how different they all turn out to be.
So much of this dysfunctional Irish family felt familiar. The mirror shown to the human condition in such a quiet and insular space is pointed and fantastic.
The Green Road is such an Irish novel (not that I'm an expert in Irish lit- yet, ha!) but it encapsulates everything you know about Ireland (clichés like alcohol and immigration included).
I could totally and uncomfortably relate to the Madigan family, at some point I had the weird feeling that maybe in another life Ann Enright met my maternal grandmother and based Rosaleen's character on her. I also fell in love with the Madigan children, somehow I feel the girls are portrayed in much more depth, though, weirdly enough, Dan's chapter is definitely my favourite and probably the best piece of prose I've read this year. I especially loved Constance, she reminded me a lot of my mother, with her devotion to the family, putting herself second for the sake of others and all that.
Pick this up, you won't be disappointed. Unless family dramas are not your cup of tea.
I could totally and uncomfortably relate to the Madigan family, at some point I had the weird feeling that maybe in another life Ann Enright met my maternal grandmother and based Rosaleen's character on her. I also fell in love with the Madigan children, somehow I feel the girls are portrayed in much more depth, though, weirdly enough, Dan's chapter is definitely my favourite and probably the best piece of prose I've read this year. I especially loved Constance, she reminded me a lot of my mother, with her devotion to the family, putting herself second for the sake of others and all that.
Pick this up, you won't be disappointed. Unless family dramas are not your cup of tea.
The Green Road is about an Irish family and spans three decades, beginning in the 1980s. The story is then split in to two parts. The first part is an installment from the point of view of each of the children in subsequent time periods and each portion could be read as a standalone short story: Hanna as a young girl in Ireland in the early 1980s, Dan as a young man in New York in the early 1990s, Constance as a middle aged mother in Ireland in the boom years of the late 1990s, Emmet as a middle aged relief worker in Africa in the early oughts and finally their mother Rosaleen in the present day. The second part of the book is when the now adult children gather together one last time for Christmas before their mother sells their childhood home.
I found the writing to be interesting in a stream of consciousness way. It required me to pay close attention because I had to fill in certain gaps in the narrative. But ultimately the book left me a bit cold. I think part of my problem is that the first section really is like a string of short stories, and even though they are cohesive and hang together, short stories are simply not my preferred format.
I found the writing to be interesting in a stream of consciousness way. It required me to pay close attention because I had to fill in certain gaps in the narrative. But ultimately the book left me a bit cold. I think part of my problem is that the first section really is like a string of short stories, and even though they are cohesive and hang together, short stories are simply not my preferred format.
I hated all the characters and only kept reading because I was holding out hope that something was going to happen. At one point I was praying for the mother's death. I'm really confused by the many five star reviews. What am I missing?