Scan barcode
carlyoc's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I really liked the first section that takes place in Ireland. I felt like I was learning about the history of the country even though it was fiction, taking time to google tidbits to see if they were true. I learned that Jews have lived in Ireland for centuries and about the Year of Slaughter in the 1740s in which extreme and long-lasting cold weather caused famine and epidemics a century before the Great Famine. The dynamic between the Protestants, the Catholics, and those still connected to the old Pagan ways was really interesting.
Once Cormac headed to America, his interactions with the enslaved Africans felt very white savior-y. I was squicked out by him lusting after an enslaved woman on the ship who ended up dying at sea and the fact that his Black companions during the revolutionary war end up so grateful that he treats them like human beings that they grant him immortality. The author also uses the N word in dialogue. Although much of the book takes place during the time of slavery, I think the author could have made his points about the dehumanization of Black Africans without using that word so much as a white author.
I also did not like how the author writes about women. Every single female person in the book is either of sexual interest to Cormac or his literal mom. The sex scenes felt so objectifying, especially the first one when an old lady turns into a literal goddess to sleep with him and "make him a man."
I did appreciate the ending and Cormac's growth from blindly following tradition and oaths to forging his own path.
Once Cormac headed to America, his interactions with the enslaved Africans felt very white savior-y. I was squicked out by him lusting after an enslaved woman on the ship who ended up dying at sea and the fact that his Black companions during the revolutionary war end up so grateful that he treats them like human beings that they grant him immortality. The author also uses the N word in dialogue. Although much of the book takes place during the time of slavery, I think the author could have made his points about the dehumanization of Black Africans without using that word so much as a white author.
I also did not like how the author writes about women. Every single female person in the book is either of sexual interest to Cormac or his literal mom. The sex scenes felt so objectifying, especially the first one when an old lady turns into a literal goddess to sleep with him and "make him a man."
I did appreciate the ending and Cormac's growth from blindly following tradition and oaths to forging his own path.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Slavery, Death of parent, Sexual content, and War
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
Content warning: graphic description of the plane crashes into the twin towers on 9/11 and the immediate aftermath
More...