Reviews

The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien

roisin_prendergast's review against another edition

4.0

Beautiful portrayal of womanhood in its various guises. I was really rooting for the main character Caithleen - flighty, dreamy and desperate to be loved - I sensed from the get-go her path was never going to be straightforward. Her friend Baba is a stark representation of the other kind of woman - equally lonely and lost but with the confidence and wit to gloss over it. The blend of sadness with girlish humour is what creates this story's expertly crafted and lingering pathos.

alishaabrahamsreads's review against another edition

4.0

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen and The Great Awakening by Kate Chopin had an Irish love child that the reader got to see grow up and stumble around a bit. 

Perf example of: I support women’s rights and wrongs 😵‍💫

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

hegesteindal74's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

cseibs's review against another edition

4.0

Been meaning to read this for a long time and glad I finally got around to it. O'Brien writes with an honest and unvarnished girl's voice that isn't romanticized or moralized. I think there is something in Caithleen and Baba that every girl can relate to, whether an Irish country girl or not. Also, just terrible how Elena Ferrante totally ripped off The Country Girls (and poorly to boot) for her Neapolitan series.

tonyriver's review against another edition

3.0

Interesting period and place. A sometimes bleak, but well written book primarily focusing on the two girls appearing throughout the trilogy, worthwhile rad and better than the three stars I’ve given it. I just did not enjoy it as much as I felt it should without being able to put my fingers on it. Maybe that the girls/women had so little agency in their lives - so much of their time and still contained by their gender. Definitely breaking out though at times. Such an era of changes.

colorfulleo92's review against another edition

4.0

I've got a soft spot for books set around 1900s revolving women/girls and their life and struggles. This one was set in 1960s and was as intriguing and filled with interesting moments and readable characters. Need to look if Edna O'Brian have written anything more after this. Have back in my !one that I've seen a book recently by Her.

dar_muzz's review against another edition

5.0

I am giving this book 6 stars. A truer coming-of-age tale has never been writ. Oh, the curse of being an observant and perceptive child! - having such an awareness of the foibles of the adults entrusted with looking after you. Knowing your best friend is cruel and manipulative but keeping her anyway because you get something out of the friendship too. Wanting to be a good girl and a bad girl at the same time. Noting the disappearance of your own innocence. Pressing forward with your life but occasionally being knocked for a loop by vivid memories. Wanting to be in two places at the same time. There was hardly a page I didn't think, "Yes, that's exactly how it is!" (This would also have been influenced by my strict Catholic upbringing).

I saw a new line of reprinted paperbacks of Edna O'Brien's books when I was in the UK in April. I hadn't encountered the author before yet I wanted to buy them all! I resisted and went back home, vowing to read them from my own public library. Now I am thrilled to be able to move on to the two sequels and the rest of Ms. O'Brien's oeuvre.

jmarsh4ll's review against another edition

4.0

A beautiful, sad, hilarious book! Baba Brennan is Irish literature’s biggest arsehole. Menace.

cmcgarvey50's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

ursulab's review

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0