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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
I really wanted to like this. I wanted to find it funny. But I didn’t. I found it just ok. I wish there was more from the Irish perspective. I also don’t love the POV of the book. Omniscient narrator perspective books are often a slog for me.
Kind of a master class of historical fiction and how to write individuals who are shaped by the larger forces of history. Eccentric characters falling apart (and physical slow decay) gives it a Gothic character and quite a bit of humor and irony.
One star off because it did drag at points. But I would love to finish the trilogy! I love the collapse of the British empire.
One star off because it did drag at points. But I would love to finish the trilogy! I love the collapse of the British empire.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Prettig traag boek over het verval van een wereldrijk. In dit geval het engelse, geillustreerd aan de problemen in Ierland. Niet de recente, die ook al het eufemisme troubles droegen, maar die van net na de eerste wereldoorlog. Het langzame verval wordt vooral geillustreerd aan een kolossaal gebouw, het Hotel Majestic, dat aan de kust herinneringen ophaalt aan zijn glorietijd. Die is voorbij: de enige gasten zijn oude dames van wie het merendeel de rekening niet betaalt. De eigenaar is overtuigd unionist en vooral bezig de Ieren als een lui en minderwaardig volk af te schilderen. Toeschouwer is de majoor, die wel wat nuance ziet, maar zijn halfhartige pogingen om de partijen te verzoenen gesmoord ziet in een onbeantwoorde liefde. Lekker leesvoer.
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
so agonizingly slow in the middle
dark
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A man goes to a hotel in Ireland to meet up with a woman he barely remembers but who he’s been corresponding with through the war and who signs off as his fiancée. He thinks those at the hotel are weird and deluded and should leave (given the troubles, given the place is falling apart), but over time becomes totally caught up in the hotel and enamoured by one of the local Irish women - mainly, it seems, because she loses interest in him. An allegory for the rise and fall of empire. Clearly meant to be funny, but didn’t really resonate for me - the light tone (and slightly absurdist nature of the whole thing) meant I never connected with any of the characters. Found it a bit of a slog.