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birdsandships's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Grief, and Self harm
not_another_ana's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This is a female text, written in the twenty-first century. How late it is. How much has changed. How little.
This is difficult to describe in an easy accessible way. Think of a long form Youtube essay, the kind that lasts 3 hours, the kind that revolves around a topic so specific, so niche that can only be made interesting in the hands of a person plagued by the subject. I say this as a positive but also as the only way I feel I can capture the obsession and care you can pick up from these pages. Doireann Ní Ghríofa first heard of Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill as a child growing up in Ireland, and though the years grew consumed not only by her poem, Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire, but by Eibhlín herself. In this book the author masterfully merges her obsession and what she discovered of this woman with her own life, her beliefs, her fears, and big events that marked her.
As the author mentions time and time again: This is a female text. The inciting incident is the near loss of a baby by Doireann and her need for retaking control in some way of her life and her routine. It's powerful and defiant but still intimate. The author unspools her life for all to see, just as she scrutinizes histoy for morsels of Eibhlín. It's so lyricial and full of rhythm, in a way only a poet could weave, that at points I felt hypnotized. I grew as obsessed with this long death Irish woman as the author did.
Since it was so intimate and personal I was able to understand while not actually relating to the author's struggles. Even the long sections about breastfeeding weren't a chore because of how honest they were told. I do, however, think that it could have been a bit shorter. It was difficult to mantain the whimsy and interest at some points because of the repetition. Even though it wasn't perfect in my eyes I don't believe I will ever stop thinking about it. Every time I put down my thoughts, like in this review, I will be haunted by the idea of it being a female text.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Murder, and Car accident
Moderate: Miscarriage and Sexism
Minor: Animal death
alexisgarcia's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hmmm this wasn’t exactly what i was expecting but it definitely wasn’t bad. this was a type of book i’ve never read before. this was incredibly interesting but a think a tiny bit repetitive and drawn out?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Grief, and Murder
maddiep333's review
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Gore, Car accident, Chronic illness, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, and Pregnancy
feralbookwife's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Just when I was ready to take a break from memoirs, this one knocked my socks off. Went into this one completely blind, just liking the title and cover style, and could not have picked a more poignant book. This is a powerful, deeply honest text with lots of tears along the way.
CW: animal death, pregnancy, birth trauma, murder, violence, sexism, mental health, autopsy
CW: animal death, pregnancy, birth trauma, murder, violence, sexism, mental health, autopsy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Grief, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Car accident, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Colonisation, and Child death
hanz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Interesting and strange book. I think the blurb is misleading and the book is more memoir than about Eibhlín Dubh, but it is partly about the authors relationship to Eibhlín Dubh and the poem Caoineadh Art Uí Laoghaire. It is also about motherhood, pregnancy and obsession and about connecting to women throughout history. I enjoyed it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Grief, Murder, and Miscarriage
aisclaradm's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Just incredible. No words for it except incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Misogyny, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, and Medical content
Moderate: Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Sexual content
lifeinsherds's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This is one of those books I wish I could read for the first time again. I remember deciding to read this book because of the gorgeous cover and I haven't read a lot of Irish fiction. This novel absolutely blew me away. It's a quiet little book that makes such massive and important statements about the expectations of motherhood and growing up from a protagonist who is looking back on her own past. She further relates her own past and present limitations (and small joys) with those of an Irish poet who lived centuries before her.
Part memoir, part historical fiction, this book stunned me with every chapter. There is not one thing I would have wanted different from this book. And this is the author's prose debut!
Part memoir, part historical fiction, this book stunned me with every chapter. There is not one thing I would have wanted different from this book. And this is the author's prose debut!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Pregnancy
Moderate: Cancer and Child death
Minor: Death, Violence, and Suicide attempt
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A Ghost in the Throat is an utterly gorgeous book that spoke to me on so many levels. It’s a memoir about the author’s fascination with the poem “ Caoineadh Áirt Úi Laoghaire”, her determination to translate it to English and to find out more about the life of the poet eighteenth century noblewoman Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill. This is set against the broader background of the author’s own life, especially the all-encompassing years of parenting young children. It’s been nearly two decades since I was the mother of a baby or small child yet this book instantly transported me back there - the delightful (for me - I know I’m fortunate in my experience) rhythm of breastfeeding, the drudgery and repetitiveness of many days balanced against the overwhelming love for the small people in your care. As a historian (again in a former life - this one closer to thirty years ago) I could sympathise with her frustrations regarding the limitations of traditional sources when it comes to learning about the lives of women. I loved the ways she attempted to fill in the gaps, using her knowledge and experiences as the basis for informed imaginations. As a feminist I loved the constant refrain “this is a female text” and the widening conceptions of what a text is and what stories deserve to be told.
If you don’t speak Irish do yourself a favour a listen to the audiobook to hear the poem read aloud in its original language. It’s lushly beautiful. Then listen to the author’s translation. It’s so powerful - the love, passion, grief and desire for revenge are so raw and palpable. Life has not yet delivered me that sort of grief and yet I felt it in my bones.
I just adored this book. It cleverly took several disparate strands, and wove them into a gorgeous tapestry using the most exquisite prose - the author is also a poet and it shows in the best way. This book is stunning, unique and all sorts of other gushy wonderful adjectives. Many thanks to @cheriebooksreadthisyear whose review put this one on my radar. I’m so glad I finally read it.
If you don’t speak Irish do yourself a favour a listen to the audiobook to hear the poem read aloud in its original language. It’s lushly beautiful. Then listen to the author’s translation. It’s so powerful - the love, passion, grief and desire for revenge are so raw and palpable. Life has not yet delivered me that sort of grief and yet I felt it in my bones.
I just adored this book. It cleverly took several disparate strands, and wove them into a gorgeous tapestry using the most exquisite prose - the author is also a poet and it shows in the best way. This book is stunning, unique and all sorts of other gushy wonderful adjectives. Many thanks to @cheriebooksreadthisyear whose review put this one on my radar. I’m so glad I finally read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Cancer and Suicide attempt
cereads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Violence, Grief, Death, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt