Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
[1960] Banned in Ireland for "sexual imagery and national critique." Hard to believe. Three distinct phases: the childhood of the two best friends in the country as young teens, then their time of schooling in the convent, and then their escape to Dublin as eighteen year olds. The relationship served as an interesting twist because of the cruelty that one shows to the other, particularly in childhood. They grew through that, though, and the relationship seemed more believable to me later. Not a lot happens but what does happen wasn't predictable, which I really liked.
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
fast-paced
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Country Girls is the third novel I've read by Edna O'Brien. I enjoy her writing and will read more of her stuff. It is very approachable and readable. This one is one of those good old 1001 books to read before you die, so it also has that going for it.
Kate and Baba (Bridget) are best friends from rural Ireland in the 1950s. As teens, they are sent to a convent school that they get kicked out of. They go to larger towns and cities, finding jobs and romantic entanglements. The book is about the experience of lower-class Irish Catholic girls/women of the time and their coming of age and "loss of innocence," as it were ...The good and bad choices they make and how they impact their lives.
Kate and Baba (Bridget) are best friends from rural Ireland in the 1950s. As teens, they are sent to a convent school that they get kicked out of. They go to larger towns and cities, finding jobs and romantic entanglements. The book is about the experience of lower-class Irish Catholic girls/women of the time and their coming of age and "loss of innocence," as it were ...The good and bad choices they make and how they impact their lives.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
.5 :)
A distinctly Irish coming-of-age story that journeys from the repressive Catholic convent upbringing to the much dreamed of escape to Dublin. What I'm sure will stick with me most is Edna O'Brien's prose, truly is a thing of beauty--airy and lighthearted yet by no means simplistic; The Country Girls feels lively and teenagerish, but there's no denying its poignancy. With O'Brien, it's all in the details.
A distinctly Irish coming-of-age story that journeys from the repressive Catholic convent upbringing to the much dreamed of escape to Dublin. What I'm sure will stick with me most is Edna O'Brien's prose, truly is a thing of beauty--airy and lighthearted yet by no means simplistic; The Country Girls feels lively and teenagerish, but there's no denying its poignancy. With O'Brien, it's all in the details.
Interesting inside perspective on Ireland in the 50s, the dubious role of men is more felt than understood bei women; the naivity of the I-narrator and the unopposed mobbing of the girlfriend is a bit unnerving with time; you have to remind yourself again and again that this view used to be revolutionary.