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kelbi's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. Very Irish but that is a compliment. Excellent characterisations, good story line. Very well read on Audible,
christar_123's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a long time since I read a book where the author wrote so convincingly from different viewpoints and narrators' perspectives. When I first started reading, I was a little put off by the second chapter before I realized what what happening with the change of viewpoint (there is an unexplained "we" who narrates ONLY that one chapter, which still feels a little like an unresolved issue. However, I ultimately found it to be effective).
The story is told by the different Madigans and moves through time. We're given lots of details, daily life for a quick view into each person's life, then whisked away to the next person. This makes much of the first half of the book feel like a short story collection,almost by different authors! Seriously, Enright is great at using different narrative voices and it doesn't feel forced! Amazing!
I'm not a huge fan of the "scattered, damaged family epic" - the genre starts feeling similar after awhile (sorry Tolstoy!) but this one kept my interest. I think because of the changes in narrator and the exquisite, strange details: The mosquito nets Emmet needed in Mali, the way he felt betrayed by excesses at an indulgent airport; an overwhelming, scary foreboding at a doctor's office; a younger sibling's confusion awhen older ones are making unexplained changes.
The story is told by the different Madigans and moves through time. We're given lots of details, daily life for a quick view into each person's life, then whisked away to the next person. This makes much of the first half of the book feel like a short story collection,almost by different authors! Seriously, Enright is great at using different narrative voices and it doesn't feel forced! Amazing!
I'm not a huge fan of the "scattered, damaged family epic" - the genre starts feeling similar after awhile (sorry Tolstoy!) but this one kept my interest. I think because of the changes in narrator and the exquisite, strange details: The mosquito nets Emmet needed in Mali, the way he felt betrayed by excesses at an indulgent airport; an overwhelming, scary foreboding at a doctor's office; a younger sibling's confusion awhen older ones are making unexplained changes.
teachingkids1982's review against another edition
3.0
Ehh I started out thinking I’d like it I like character driven books I think the reason I ended up not liking it is it’s too whiny.. there was nothing endearing to save it in the end I don’t think I’ll read another by her..
bcgg's review against another edition
3.0
The BEST book I have read/listened to this year. So good in fact, I started listening to it a second time as soon as I finished! So many layers, such beautiful prose....What more can I say!
sammmmmadler's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lissalovestoread's review against another edition
1.0
I started this book three times and couldn't even make it through to the end of the 2nd chapter. The premise sounded interesting to me and I enjoy books that jump back and forth between characters as well as time. Plus, the time/place of chapter two---the late 80s/ early 90s during the AIDS epidemic in NYC---was one I rarely see in books, so I was interested in that as well. And yet despite all of this I just could not warm up to the overall style of writing or work up any interest in any of the characters.
I very rarely opt not to finish a book. In fact, this is the first book I've not finished since before I started adding books here in Jan. 2021. Typically I will slog through a book, even in I don't love it, because I really loathe starting a book and not finishing it. But in this case, 3 tries were enough for me. Maybe some time in the future I'll give it another go, but for now I'm giving the first 1.75 chapters 1 star, and placing it on my newly made "Did Not Finish" shelf here at Goodreads.
I very rarely opt not to finish a book. In fact, this is the first book I've not finished since before I started adding books here in Jan. 2021. Typically I will slog through a book, even in I don't love it, because I really loathe starting a book and not finishing it. But in this case, 3 tries were enough for me. Maybe some time in the future I'll give it another go, but for now I'm giving the first 1.75 chapters 1 star, and placing it on my newly made "Did Not Finish" shelf here at Goodreads.
kfw_1996's review against another edition
3.0
It was kinda an Irish, poor man's version of Franzen's The Corrections.
gracekennedyreads's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is similar to Anne Enright's other novel "The Gathering" in a lot of ways. It's also about an Irish family and, at the end, a gathering around the matriarch of the family.
It's also, supposedly, bleak, but I think my tolerance level for bleak and depressing is just very high (and very low for fluff). What this novel is not: exciting. What it is: very well-written. What this story doesnt have: an engaging story. What it does have: great character studies.
I mean, just read this blurb "Spanning thirty years and three continents, The Green Road tells the story of Rosaleen, matriarch of the Madigan family, and her four children"... This book is barely 300 pages long, how much of 30 years can you bring into this, and still make it ring true and full? Without losing focus?
In a way, it's almost like you're reading (good) short stories from different POVs, that are loosely connected at the end.
It's also, supposedly, bleak, but I think my tolerance level for bleak and depressing is just very high (and very low for fluff). What this novel is not: exciting. What it is: very well-written. What this story doesnt have: an engaging story. What it does have: great character studies.
I mean, just read this blurb "Spanning thirty years and three continents, The Green Road tells the story of Rosaleen, matriarch of the Madigan family, and her four children"... This book is barely 300 pages long, how much of 30 years can you bring into this, and still make it ring true and full? Without losing focus?
In a way, it's almost like you're reading (good) short stories from different POVs, that are loosely connected at the end.