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hatseflats's review
5.0
The authenticity of Seamus Deane's writing is such that one would swear one were reading a memoir, not a novel. A cast full of memorable characters with some breathtakingly beautiful language. With themes around family secrets, shared and hidden, and the way memory is often not what it portends to be. A very nearly perfect piece of writing! This one will stay with you long after reading the last page and closing the book.
habmsm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Very poignant
booktwitcher23's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
ghostiesbookshelf's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
gerda7's review
2.0
I found this a difficult read. The fact that lives were blighted by 'the wrong man being shot' rather than the realisation that any violence has consequences, irked.
ronanmcd's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer - I know the author's family.
I have never read a book that more accurately evokes just what it is to be Irish. Secrets never to be shared that tear the owner in shreds, guilt from before birth, down trodden in their own back yard, catholic superstition, obedience and subservience, a distaste for it all without a taste or ability o change any of it. All the elements of Irishness are there.
But that's as it might be in any Irish book. This is so much more. Told with the disappearing innocence of a growing boy as a series of roughly chronological candid filled with reminiscing and stories of the past, it's the very telling, the eye on the phrasing and details that make it so compelling.
It's a beautiful, powerful and sad book, but one that brings the Irish state of being in the 20th century into a more poetic scrutiny than any i have read.
I have never read a book that more accurately evokes just what it is to be Irish. Secrets never to be shared that tear the owner in shreds, guilt from before birth, down trodden in their own back yard, catholic superstition, obedience and subservience, a distaste for it all without a taste or ability o change any of it. All the elements of Irishness are there.
But that's as it might be in any Irish book. This is so much more. Told with the disappearing innocence of a growing boy as a series of roughly chronological candid filled with reminiscing and stories of the past, it's the very telling, the eye on the phrasing and details that make it so compelling.
It's a beautiful, powerful and sad book, but one that brings the Irish state of being in the 20th century into a more poetic scrutiny than any i have read.
leighmayon's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
maryroseish's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0