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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
A novel written in the 70’s about Ireland in the early 20’s, with much to say, or ask, about the U.S. in 2023. Farrell is a great find, and I’m anxious to read his other books about the slow, painful death of one colonial empire. Like frogs in a pot, as they say.
The book was interesting but the pacing was too slow and it seemed like it was going to be the final blow to my already dwindling reading momentum
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Troubles by J.G. Farrell
A dark farce in which Farrell’s portrayal of the fast-decaying Majestic Hotel mirrors England’s rapidly crumbling rule in Ireland. Tragedy is presented mainly as farce, with a heavy surreal dose to some of the set pieces. The allegory is not exactly subtle.
While I found the pacing is a little slow at times, and the fusion between a comedy of manners and gothic horror (of sorts) did not always land as intended, I enjoyed this one well enough.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½
A dark farce in which Farrell’s portrayal of the fast-decaying Majestic Hotel mirrors England’s rapidly crumbling rule in Ireland. Tragedy is presented mainly as farce, with a heavy surreal dose to some of the set pieces. The allegory is not exactly subtle.
While I found the pacing is a little slow at times, and the fusion between a comedy of manners and gothic horror (of sorts) did not always land as intended, I enjoyed this one well enough.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½
This was a real thicket at times, but I'm glad I read it. 3.5
(My book club pick for the Booker Prize category.)
(My book club pick for the Booker Prize category.)
While I read the first part of the book I thought it would make a great Wes Anderson movie. Crumbling hotel, a cast of quirky people. However, the book got darker as the political unrest got more violent and one of the main characters became more and more unhinged. By the end I was unsettled at best and any humor I found in the characters and setting was long gone. Still a great read.
I read an abridged version of this. That’s a bit of a problem. As it is, this was like an old fashioned soap opera featuring British loyalists at a once grand, but now dilapidated hotel in Ireland with the Irish Civil War in the background. There are some darkly funny parts, but I can’t help but believe I missed a lot.
The best novel I've read about the Irish War of Independence, and the first Irish novel I've read about the war from the perspective of the Protestant Irish. I really appreciated reading a novel from this perspective, it was completely different than most of the novels I've read about Ireland for this reason. This novel focuses on a British Major after WWI, come to Ireland to marry a girl he had been writing letters to throughout the war. He ends up staying at the hotel her family runs while another war creeps up on him and Ireland. His loyalties are torn between the country he is from and just finished fighting for, and the country he moved to with his betrothed's family and the girl he loves.
I enjoyed that the author included news articles (real or fake I'm not sure, but they were certainly based in fact) on events that were happening both in Ireland at the time and throughout the British empire. However, I found the book to be long and meandering, lacking in excitement (there's only really action in the final 20 pages), and also lacked firm time markers--I had no idea what year it was throughout most of the book, which would have helped my grasp on how things were progressing in the war.
Because I set this book down for awhile, it was hard for me to appreciate a lot of the underlying metaphors since I lost some of my reading momentum. There was definitely an interesting metaphor throughout the book where the Major's love for Sarah, (who was Catholic) stood for the dysfunctional, at times abusive relationship between Britain and Ireland. The crumbling hotel, the "Majestic," is a sad and pitiful old relic, which obviously represents the British empire, which (as we see through news articles and characters discussing it in the book) has obviously seen better days.
Overall I appreciated the new perspective on this Irish war, but the book was a bit too slow at times.
I enjoyed that the author included news articles (real or fake I'm not sure, but they were certainly based in fact) on events that were happening both in Ireland at the time and throughout the British empire. However, I found the book to be long and meandering, lacking in excitement (there's only really action in the final 20 pages), and also lacked firm time markers--I had no idea what year it was throughout most of the book, which would have helped my grasp on how things were progressing in the war.
Because I set this book down for awhile, it was hard for me to appreciate a lot of the underlying metaphors since I lost some of my reading momentum. There was definitely an interesting metaphor throughout the book where the Major's love for Sarah, (who was Catholic) stood for the dysfunctional, at times abusive relationship between Britain and Ireland. The crumbling hotel, the "Majestic," is a sad and pitiful old relic, which obviously represents the British empire, which (as we see through news articles and characters discussing it in the book) has obviously seen better days.
Overall I appreciated the new perspective on this Irish war, but the book was a bit too slow at times.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Interesting. More here: https://ahotcupofpleasureagain.wordpress.com/2024/10/19/1970-classic-club-troubles-by-j-g-farrell/
This tour-de-force firmly established J.G. Farrell on the long list of extraordinary Irish novelists. The story of a dilapidated mansion/hotel on the Irish coast begins in 1919, with the arrival of a English army Major straight from the front in World War I, come to see his “fiance,” the daughter of an extremely eccentric British nationalist and owner of the hotel, whose extreme views on the Irish and on Sinn Fein in particular (the action takes place on the eve of the Irish War of Independence) as 'untermenschen’ is a full-throated reflection of English attitudes in this period and of bigots everywhere and throughout time. The novel chronicles the demise of the hotel, the perfectly named Majestic, whose past glory, present state of near ruin, and retinue of cast-off characters still clinging to a past that is long gone, stand as pathetic mirrors to the fading of the British Empire. A wonderful, comic, beautifully written gem.