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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Loved the references to Northern Spain, but really had a hard time connecting with any of the characters. The end, when the main character returns to Ireland, seemed a bit more convincing.
I read this book in the "winter of my loneliness" when I was exiled in North Carolina. The bleak starkness of the prose complimented my mood and the fact that the heroine has fled Ireland for the harsh climes of Spain resonated.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
While it has the prose and talent for which Tóibín has become recognized, this novel also has some aspects which mark it as a first novel. I had a little more difficulty getting into it than I usually do with Tóibín’s work, but fans of Tóibín will most likely enjoy it!
interesting debut novel examining emotions of leaving things behind and rediscovery
Colm Tóibín has recently been in the news for his new book, The Master which tells the story of Henry James, and is supposedly very good. I haven’t read it, so I don’t know :) But the publicity did encourage me to pick this book up when I spotted it in the library
His first novel, it tells the story of Katherine Procter who leaves her life in Ireland for Spain, leaving behind her husband and son as well as Enniscorthy. In Spain she finds romance, and a new life as an artist, but is constantly haunted by the past. Both her own history and that of Miguel’s experiences during the Spanish Civil War. The book starts off in 1950, a fact I really should have paid a little bit more attention to, otherwise I wouldn’t have been so surprised by certain things. But once I checked the date I was sorted.
It is a wonderful read, a great exploration of memory and the impact of the past. Nothing is really resolved, or changed. There is no happy ever after, but it isn’t a depressing book. The language is great, especially many of the descriptions of the light. There are no real explanations offered, it is up to the reader to discover the links between the characters
His first novel, it tells the story of Katherine Procter who leaves her life in Ireland for Spain, leaving behind her husband and son as well as Enniscorthy. In Spain she finds romance, and a new life as an artist, but is constantly haunted by the past. Both her own history and that of Miguel’s experiences during the Spanish Civil War. The book starts off in 1950, a fact I really should have paid a little bit more attention to, otherwise I wouldn’t have been so surprised by certain things. But once I checked the date I was sorted.
It is a wonderful read, a great exploration of memory and the impact of the past. Nothing is really resolved, or changed. There is no happy ever after, but it isn’t a depressing book. The language is great, especially many of the descriptions of the light. There are no real explanations offered, it is up to the reader to discover the links between the characters