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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
sad
tense
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
This is a cracking collection of stories. It took me longer to read than I anticipated - I read some of the stories months ago and put the book aside. I wasn't comfortable in the world Barrett creates, or with his characters (mostly young) leading dead-end lives in a fictional Irish town. Life's crap, violence frequent, ugliness endemic; these people have no prospects and for the most part no escape. But the writing - the writing is absolutely beautiful. Such finely crafted sentences, such careful attention to detail, imagery that staggers you. I ended up reading several of the stories twice and will undoubtedly go back to them.The story I loved most was probably technically a novella - Calm with Horses - about an ex-boxer and hired thug called Arm. Like Cormac McCarthy, Barrett can write viscerally about brutality and murder one moment, and yet there is tenderness and raw beauty a moment later.
I had expected a lot more of this given the hype. I got through it far too fast - not that it's a page turner but you end up reading more to unveil an actual plot or selling point. There is none really. None of the characters are particularly memorable. It gives off a semblance of grittiness when in fact it's just mundane and common sense driven. It tells the reader everything that was abundantly obvious before reading.
There are some characters in these stories that I found to be unnecessarily far-fetched. There is a superfluous attempt to make a lot of their stories overly dramatic, but this just results in dull personalities without much dept.
I felt Barrett was at best when giving himself more room to develop the character, such as with Arm in Calm with Horses. I could just as easily picture him acting awkwardly in the home of his ex lover as I could see him beating Flannigan, the perceived villain of the story. Yet, like the rest of the book that novella is blanketed in hyperbole and might have been a bit more impressionable with a bit less drama.
I felt Barrett was at best when giving himself more room to develop the character, such as with Arm in Calm with Horses. I could just as easily picture him acting awkwardly in the home of his ex lover as I could see him beating Flannigan, the perceived villain of the story. Yet, like the rest of the book that novella is blanketed in hyperbole and might have been a bit more impressionable with a bit less drama.
My husband loves this collection and has talked it up to a lot of people. (We actually almost named our kittens Rooney and Barrett; I assume Rooney does not require explanation.) And actually, now that I'm thinking about it, Irish art dominated a lot of our winter: Colin Barrett but also Banshees of Inisherin and Aftersun. Maybe we should have named them Mescal and Rooney. OR, Mescal and Phoebe. Except their siblings. Okay, this is going off the rails, but what I'm trying to say is if you liked those films, as I did, you'd like this collection, too.
All that said, I also need to admit that, for me, Barrett stories slip by like water. I felt the same way about Homesickness. I find them moving while I'm reading them, but once a story is done, I have a hard time remembering anything that happened. I couldn't tell you a single thing about Homesickness -- except that the characters are gritty and impulsive and feel, for lack of a better description, really real. Same goes for Young Skins.
There is an exception: I'll always remember the car flip proposal in "The Clancy Kid," the first story in this collection.
All that said, I also need to admit that, for me, Barrett stories slip by like water. I felt the same way about Homesickness. I find them moving while I'm reading them, but once a story is done, I have a hard time remembering anything that happened. I couldn't tell you a single thing about Homesickness -- except that the characters are gritty and impulsive and feel, for lack of a better description, really real. Same goes for Young Skins.
There is an exception: I'll always remember the car flip proposal in "The Clancy Kid," the first story in this collection.
At most moments, it felt like nothing more than gritty-young-guy stories. It has its shining moments, however; and I liked thinking about it as a contemporary comparison to Dubliners.
dark
medium-paced
Ugh. Was hoping for delightful Irish humor and storytelling. Not that. Dark, horrid, violent, and dystopian stories. The writer can write; no doubt. Just made me angry because I did not get what I was seeking. Reviews have been wonderful, but I do not get it. The book made me angry. Where did these good reviews come from?
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
medium-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