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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
This is more than just another collection of Irish stories about endlessly getting drunk!
Anyone who grew up, as I did, in a God-forsaken provincial town in Ireland where there isn't much to do except get drunk and where sex, if it ever happens at all, is a squalid, unpleasant, guilty affair, will feel uncomfortably back home, reading these deeply absorbing stories, some of which are very short and some long enough to be called novellas. Colin Barrett plays with language very skilfully: his "Diamonds" begins like a delightful half-parody of Raymond Chandler before settling into a strange, hopeless tale of chaotically large families, illegitimate, unwell chldren, and futile murder. Barrett loves language and can write with great lyricism and playfulness; his ability to describe a face or a person, or a river at night, or a squalid unsuccessful pub, or somebody's Adam's apple, will hold you spellbound and fascinated, but sometimes all of this hopeless pathos, this ultimately barren drinking and kicking, describes an Ireland that feels like the dog-end of a Europe that's come to an end here, petering out until it's washed away in the ocean. You wonder if that's all there is, in those towns; but I find this world of working-class young Irishmen and Irish women, out on an alienated edge where whatever's happening in the world is happening somewhere else, far more gratifying and gutsy than the work of certain other effete Dublin writers. I expect and hope for more from Mr. Barrett.
Anyone who grew up, as I did, in a God-forsaken provincial town in Ireland where there isn't much to do except get drunk and where sex, if it ever happens at all, is a squalid, unpleasant, guilty affair, will feel uncomfortably back home, reading these deeply absorbing stories, some of which are very short and some long enough to be called novellas. Colin Barrett plays with language very skilfully: his "Diamonds" begins like a delightful half-parody of Raymond Chandler before settling into a strange, hopeless tale of chaotically large families, illegitimate, unwell chldren, and futile murder. Barrett loves language and can write with great lyricism and playfulness; his ability to describe a face or a person, or a river at night, or a squalid unsuccessful pub, or somebody's Adam's apple, will hold you spellbound and fascinated, but sometimes all of this hopeless pathos, this ultimately barren drinking and kicking, describes an Ireland that feels like the dog-end of a Europe that's come to an end here, petering out until it's washed away in the ocean. You wonder if that's all there is, in those towns; but I find this world of working-class young Irishmen and Irish women, out on an alienated edge where whatever's happening in the world is happening somewhere else, far more gratifying and gutsy than the work of certain other effete Dublin writers. I expect and hope for more from Mr. Barrett.
Histórias vulgares sobre gente vulgar, relatadas com uma crueza desarmante, colocam Colin Barrett na minha lista de autores a seguir.
Uma colecção de contos sobre situações mundanas, desenroladas em ambiente Irlandês, com uma prosa ora directa ora a puxar pelo lado mais poético mas que se lêem muito bem.
Uma colecção de contos sobre situações mundanas, desenroladas em ambiente Irlandês, com uma prosa ora directa ora a puxar pelo lado mais poético mas que se lêem muito bem.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes