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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I felt as if this one should have been mind blowing. And it wasn’t. It took a long time to get interesting. I was finally getting into the last quarter of the book and then it ended. Just wish there was a way to bypass the first two-thirds. Expectations, blurbs, and posthumous prizes left me disappointed with this novel.
Added to the 1970 Booker Prize prompt as it won the Lost Man Booker Prize in 2010. See more information: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-lost-man-booker#:~:text=The%20Lost%20Man%20Booker%20Prize,of%20the%20year%20of%20publication.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A sort of magical realist tale about the final decaying and destruction of a famous hotel in Kilnalough, Ireland, and its inhabitants, during the early years of the Troubles in Ireland (1919-21). More, the residents and the hotel itself can be seen to represent the state of British (especially English) rule and presence in Ireland at the time. Farrell is clearly a fantastic writer, and this book, for all its slow pace and dark whimsy, is quite beautiful. At times both farcical and depressing, it is an incredibly interesting and engrossing read. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Marquez and magical realism. As I said, it can be a bit slow at points, and took a little bit of time to get into, but was quite rewarding by the end.
Were it possible for me to give this book a 5+, I probably would. I'm only an hour off of finishing the book, and basking in the glow/sadness that comes with the last page of a really great novel, I'm pretty sure that Troubles is a recent contender for my favorite books of all time shortlist.
As to the book itself, you can look at it a lot of different ways: a hilarious (often darkly so) portrait of a deeply eccentric family in trying times, a satirical send-up of the Gothic Big House book, a hotel farce, a dystopian comedy, a comment on the Lost Generation wrapped inside a critique of the Lost Generation all housed the greatest creaking, overdressed metaphor for colonialism I do believe I've ever come across. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.
As to the book itself, you can look at it a lot of different ways: a hilarious (often darkly so) portrait of a deeply eccentric family in trying times, a satirical send-up of the Gothic Big House book, a hotel farce, a dystopian comedy, a comment on the Lost Generation wrapped inside a critique of the Lost Generation all housed the greatest creaking, overdressed metaphor for colonialism I do believe I've ever come across. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.
See my review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/day-512-troubles/
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/day-512-troubles/
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm really not sure what to review this! I think in retrospect this novel is good, but it didn't blow me away. It's written well but does ramble on, to what effect I'm not sure. I think when you know the history of Ireland it's interesting to read this allegorically: the Major as British presence in Ireland but with no real understanding as to why they're there; Edward Spencer as the Anglo-Irish ascendancy, vitriolic against Irish rebels, unsympathetic and in denial about the crumbling of the pre-independence Ireland, much like the crumbling of the hotel. It felt like a faulty towers type situation with the hotel in particular especially as the long-term guests just accept the dire state of the place. The Major's inability to question what exactly is going on with Angela, his lack of interest in marrying her, his sudden obsession with Sarah and her distant regard for him in return all make for frustrating and interesting reading. One thing I took from this novel, however, was the comedy. I genuinely thought this book was laugh-out-loud funny at some many points, almost every page, and it was written so drily and subtly you could almost miss it. This made it more enjoyable for me. I think if read as a novel minus the allegorical connections then this is less interesting or at least perhaps less enticing. I read this for university so would not have picked it up otherwise, and unfortunately I'll not be picking up the other books in this trilogy!
slow-paced