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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
4.5 Stars
This book was exceptionally well-written. Even though he writes long-winded sentences, I felt like they really fit with the story and allowed his writing style to shine. He also has such a knack for creating incredibly detailed, emotionally complex characters in a very small amount of pages. Each of these perspectives was fleshed out, and I felt emotionally connected to all of them. These characters come from such different walks of life, but Ryan gave each one of them equal care and attention. It is amazing just how well he is able to write such different characters. Additionally, the way the three story lines converged in the end was just perfect.
I would highly recommend this book, and I can't wait to read the rest of Ryan's books.
This book was exceptionally well-written. Even though he writes long-winded sentences, I felt like they really fit with the story and allowed his writing style to shine. He also has such a knack for creating incredibly detailed, emotionally complex characters in a very small amount of pages. Each of these perspectives was fleshed out, and I felt emotionally connected to all of them. These characters come from such different walks of life, but Ryan gave each one of them equal care and attention. It is amazing just how well he is able to write such different characters. Additionally, the way the three story lines converged in the end was just perfect.
I would highly recommend this book, and I can't wait to read the rest of Ryan's books.
what a gobsmacker of a book. how can donal ryan deliver such a moving story in less than 200 pages? from a low and quiet sea is a fairly simple story, with simple characters, and a simple plot, and simple coincidences--and yet it manages to tear out your ribs and grip your heart and squeeze. ryan's prose is one of the best types of lyrical and descriptive i've ever read. in so few words, he manages to evoke thoughts you once had but never quite fully examined, and to have those thoughts laid out before you on the page gives you a certain kind of nakedness.
Let's be honest. The book is bad.
There are better books about refugees. For example, [b:Illegal|35963837|Illegal|Eoin Colfer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1502203198s/35963837.jpg|57522645] (it is better, but still not great).
The authors stream of consciousness is annoying, the metaphors are weak and typical. It feels like reading some average writing for school based on the news, but for some reason is forced to write 200 pages.
Additionally, all those useless details that don't add anything to the story, such as mentioning that one of the terrorists had German accent. (But why, how did he guessed, what about others, why Germany and not UK?) The iPhone is mentioned on two consecutive pages. Is it to show that those people were rich?
Nothing much happening in first part, I haven't finished the book, because my friends told me it wouldn't get better.
I haven't finshe
There are better books about refugees. For example, [b:Illegal|35963837|Illegal|Eoin Colfer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1502203198s/35963837.jpg|57522645] (it is better, but still not great).
The authors stream of consciousness is annoying, the metaphors are weak and typical. It feels like reading some average writing for school based on the news, but for some reason is forced to write 200 pages.
Additionally, all those useless details that don't add anything to the story, such as mentioning that one of the terrorists had German accent. (But why, how did he guessed, what about others, why Germany and not UK?) The iPhone is mentioned on two consecutive pages. Is it to show that those people were rich?
Nothing much happening in first part, I haven't finished the book, because my friends told me it wouldn't get better.
I haven't finshe
A story about three men, all connected in some way.
- Farouk, his wife, and their daughter are putting their lives in grave danger to escape their war-torn country in search of a better life in Europe.
- Lampy (Laurence) is 23, and feels like his life is going nowhere. All around him he sees his friends graduating from college, while he's still living at home with his mother and grandfather, mourning the loss of the woman who broke his heart.
- John is coming to the end of his life, and is confessing to the sins he believes he committed throughout his lifetime. He's reminiscing about regrets, choices, and the bad things he has done.
I'm a sucker for Donal Ryan, as I've probably said every other time I've reviewed one of his books. I think this is his best yet. When I realised how the men were all connected, I felt that tug at my heart, that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, that punch to the gut that Donal is so good at delivering. He sneaks up on you and hammers your soul.
You'll regret nothing by reading it, and if you've never read anything by this author you're missing out, he's wonderful and he's one of the best at writing about the scourges of rural Ireland.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to the publisher for granting me approval to read this via Netgalley. I've pre-ordered a hard copy to sit alongside his other works on my shelf, this is one I'll read again.
- Farouk, his wife, and their daughter are putting their lives in grave danger to escape their war-torn country in search of a better life in Europe.
- Lampy (Laurence) is 23, and feels like his life is going nowhere. All around him he sees his friends graduating from college, while he's still living at home with his mother and grandfather, mourning the loss of the woman who broke his heart.
- John is coming to the end of his life, and is confessing to the sins he believes he committed throughout his lifetime. He's reminiscing about regrets, choices, and the bad things he has done.
I'm a sucker for Donal Ryan, as I've probably said every other time I've reviewed one of his books. I think this is his best yet. When I realised how the men were all connected, I felt that tug at my heart, that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, that punch to the gut that Donal is so good at delivering. He sneaks up on you and hammers your soul.
You'll regret nothing by reading it, and if you've never read anything by this author you're missing out, he's wonderful and he's one of the best at writing about the scourges of rural Ireland.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to the publisher for granting me approval to read this via Netgalley. I've pre-ordered a hard copy to sit alongside his other works on my shelf, this is one I'll read again.
From a Low and Quiet Sea is Donal Ryan’s 4th novel but my first experience reading the author, and while my poor rating of this book has made me think twice about reading his other work, there is a constant in all of them that draws me in: Ryan’s writing is beautiful and lyrical without being “heavy”, blending the right amount of readability with literacy. It also helps that the book is just over 200 pages, making it a quick read: I found myself page-turning it, devouring it before I realised it was over.
However, upon finishing the book and sitting down to think about it, I realised it wasn’t the best reading experience. The book is separated into four parts, each of about 40 pages, and we follow three seemingly unconnected men: Farouk, a Syrian refugee; Lampy, a twenty-three year old irish boy; and John, a lobbyist. Their sections are all around the same length, all unassumingly following their day-to-day lives and some of their backstories through a sort of reminiscence. The fourth and last part is when we find out how they are all connected -- and it was definitely my least favourite part of the book, likely the reason I have rated it as low.
The question of what makes a good novel can be long debated and will likely find very different answers, from reader to reader: sometimes it’s the plot that matters, sometimes it’s the character, other times is the writing. I fall mostly on the last two: writing is important to me, followed by characters and lastly, by the plot. With that said, I could only find one of those things in the book, the writing but, even that wasn’t, in my opinion, strong enough to excuse the one-dimensional characters and the thinly veiled plot (or lack thereof).
I think this is one of those instances where the size didn’t help it at all: writing shorter books is perhaps harder than writing longer ones, but this one could benefit from it by exploring its characters more in-depth, letting us know them more, enough that the events in the last arc would matter.
Overall, I thought the first part (Farouk’s perspective) was definitely the weakest (which is a shame, considering how interesting it could have been if the author spent a little while longer with it), as well as the last. I’m a big fan of the structure of this novel, how characters apparently unrelated turn out to have so much in common (see [b:Cloud Atlas|49628|Cloud Atlas|David Mitchell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406383769s/49628.jpg|1871423], one of my favourite books of all time), but in this case, the author’s attempt to make it an interesting revelation felt sappy and forced to me, reverting what little faith I had in it back to nothing.
However, upon finishing the book and sitting down to think about it, I realised it wasn’t the best reading experience. The book is separated into four parts, each of about 40 pages, and we follow three seemingly unconnected men: Farouk, a Syrian refugee; Lampy, a twenty-three year old irish boy; and John, a lobbyist. Their sections are all around the same length, all unassumingly following their day-to-day lives and some of their backstories through a sort of reminiscence. The fourth and last part is when we find out how they are all connected -- and it was definitely my least favourite part of the book, likely the reason I have rated it as low.
The question of what makes a good novel can be long debated and will likely find very different answers, from reader to reader: sometimes it’s the plot that matters, sometimes it’s the character, other times is the writing. I fall mostly on the last two: writing is important to me, followed by characters and lastly, by the plot. With that said, I could only find one of those things in the book, the writing but, even that wasn’t, in my opinion, strong enough to excuse the one-dimensional characters and the thinly veiled plot (or lack thereof).
I think this is one of those instances where the size didn’t help it at all: writing shorter books is perhaps harder than writing longer ones, but this one could benefit from it by exploring its characters more in-depth, letting us know them more, enough that the events in the last arc would matter.
Overall, I thought the first part (Farouk’s perspective) was definitely the weakest (which is a shame, considering how interesting it could have been if the author spent a little while longer with it), as well as the last. I’m a big fan of the structure of this novel, how characters apparently unrelated turn out to have so much in common (see [b:Cloud Atlas|49628|Cloud Atlas|David Mitchell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406383769s/49628.jpg|1871423], one of my favourite books of all time), but in this case, the author’s attempt to make it an interesting revelation felt sappy and forced to me, reverting what little faith I had in it back to nothing.
THIS BOOK JUST CRUSHED ME.
Basically, this book is split into four parts- the first three are each about different men, and then the last one connects their stories together.
The first one follows a man who is trying to escape Syria with his family during a war. The second story is about a boy who lives in Ireland who is dealing with what to do with his life, to put it simply. The final story is a man confessing his sins and asking for forgiveness.
I did not see the ending coming at all, though. It really came out of no where and broke my heart. I could not believe it. This was really well done and I now want to read more by Donal Ryan!
Basically, this book is split into four parts- the first three are each about different men, and then the last one connects their stories together.
The first one follows a man who is trying to escape Syria with his family during a war. The second story is about a boy who lives in Ireland who is dealing with what to do with his life, to put it simply. The final story is a man confessing his sins and asking for forgiveness.
I did not see the ending coming at all, though. It really came out of no where and broke my heart. I could not believe it. This was really well done and I now want to read more by Donal Ryan!