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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Melody is pregnant and has told her husband he is not the father. This raw, viceral novella follows the weeks of her pregnancy, her interactions with the judgemental community around her, with the exception of her father, his acceptance and her feeling of how she has disappointed him, keeping her away from the one person who might provide her solace.
Instead she begins to spend time with a Traveller girl Mary, who has her own set of circumstances that are causing her to suffer, circumstances that she did not bring upon herself, and yet her community too is judging her harshly, violently for.
The two woman come together and bear witness to each others days and provide some semblance of support for each other, leading up to the inevitable birth, the symbol of new life, a new beginning.
Absolutely stunning, I could not put this down, my only regret that it was all over so quickly. I'd read Donal Ryan's debut [b:The Spinning Heart|15995144|The Spinning Heart|Donal Ryan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349169242s/15995144.jpg|21753684], which I enjoyed, but this was exceptional.
Instead she begins to spend time with a Traveller girl Mary, who has her own set of circumstances that are causing her to suffer, circumstances that she did not bring upon herself, and yet her community too is judging her harshly, violently for.
The two woman come together and bear witness to each others days and provide some semblance of support for each other, leading up to the inevitable birth, the symbol of new life, a new beginning.
Absolutely stunning, I could not put this down, my only regret that it was all over so quickly. I'd read Donal Ryan's debut [b:The Spinning Heart|15995144|The Spinning Heart|Donal Ryan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349169242s/15995144.jpg|21753684], which I enjoyed, but this was exceptional.
Ohhhhh this short novel has left me with feelings and I don't know how to articulate these feelings, because I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this novel just yet!
What I do know is that there is something hauntingly beautiful about this novel - the plot is not one that would normally entice me, but when I did pick this up, I couldn't help but be intrigued and pretty much captivated by the plot and the characters, which I believe was encouraged by Donal Ryan's stream of consciousness prose, as this style of prose seemed to propel the plot and its intensity forward and took you along with it.
What I do know is that there is something hauntingly beautiful about this novel - the plot is not one that would normally entice me, but when I did pick this up, I couldn't help but be intrigued and pretty much captivated by the plot and the characters, which I believe was encouraged by Donal Ryan's stream of consciousness prose, as this style of prose seemed to propel the plot and its intensity forward and took you along with it.
Die Geschichte ist einzigartig, speziell, sehr intensiv. Eine gewisse Traurigkeit ist spürbar.
Das Buch lässt sich relativ zügig lesen. Mich störte allerdings, dass die wörtliche Rede nicht gekennzeichnet wurde. Das machte das Lesen etwas umständlich.
Das Buch lässt sich relativ zügig lesen. Mich störte allerdings, dass die wörtliche Rede nicht gekennzeichnet wurde. Das machte das Lesen etwas umständlich.
this book was gorgeous, however i think i read it at the wrong time ... couldn’t connect to the characters or the plot at all !!!
Great writing! Subtly lyrical and poetic and still honest.
But I need to re-read the book to understand how I feel about it. I know for sure that I’d appreciate this book far more after I distance myself from it and read it sometime(months?years?) later.
But I need to re-read the book to understand how I feel about it. I know for sure that I’d appreciate this book far more after I distance myself from it and read it sometime(months?years?) later.
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-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
"Martin Toppy is the son of a famous Traveller and the father of my unborn child. He's seventeen. I'm thirty three. I was his teacher. I'd have killed myself by now if I was brave enough. I don't think it would hurt the baby. His little heart would stop with mine. He wouldn't feel himself leaving one world of darkness for another, his spirit untangling itself from me."
Wow. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting, the writing style was captivating and the characters were so well developed and complex.
I really appreciated Donal Ryan's writing style. He writes in a way that is very much like a stream of consciousness, with sentences that just run on and on. Also speech marks were not used during the dialogue and I surprisingly didn't have any trouble getting used to it. It worked really well with the feel of the story. Also I loved that the chapters were told by the week of Melody's pregnancy. I thought that it was a really nice touch.
Donal Ryan's characters are a triumph. Melody is one of the most flawed people I have ever read about, she has done some pretty despicable things, yet I still managed to feel compassion for her. That is a such testament to Ryan's ability as an author.
What a lovely, surprising and heartfelt book. I would definitely recommend it.
PS. I need to read more stories by Irish authors set in Ireland! I really connected with the references and language/slang and it all just felt so natural and cozy to me.
Wow. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting, the writing style was captivating and the characters were so well developed and complex.
I really appreciated Donal Ryan's writing style. He writes in a way that is very much like a stream of consciousness, with sentences that just run on and on. Also speech marks were not used during the dialogue and I surprisingly didn't have any trouble getting used to it. It worked really well with the feel of the story. Also I loved that the chapters were told by the week of Melody's pregnancy. I thought that it was a really nice touch.
Donal Ryan's characters are a triumph. Melody is one of the most flawed people I have ever read about, she has done some pretty despicable things, yet I still managed to feel compassion for her. That is a such testament to Ryan's ability as an author.
What a lovely, surprising and heartfelt book. I would definitely recommend it.
PS. I need to read more stories by Irish authors set in Ireland! I really connected with the references and language/slang and it all just felt so natural and cozy to me.
I was so disappointed by this.. I had heard so many good things about the book and Donal Ryan. But when I read it for myself, I never felt any sort of connection to the story or characters at all. I did appreciate that Melody was unabashedly flawed, and she really owned it. So that was nice. But otherwise? Not good. Wouldn’t even recommend. Very sad.