Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Three stand-alone stories that come together dramatically in the last few pages. Sad.
It takes a lot of skill to write a novel, to use words to tell a story. But every now and then you read words on a piece of paper and as you're reading, you sense a raging storm of emotion right beneath the words. It's almost as if you read and slowly, but steadily, the words disperse one by one, until what they wish to reveal is there for you to see, like a ferocious river in which you momentarily put your hand and feel the cold, icy water coupled with the swirly and soft sensation it leaves as it curls around your hand and moves ahead.
Donal Ryan's From A Low And Quiet Sea feels exactly the same. A story of three different men with three different stories, with an ending that you will never see coming, this novel is an exercise in how to use concise, structured language to convey emotion by practically wringing out the strength from each and every word used. It's a beautiful and graceful piece of work, with a very clear sense of direction and it's clear that Ryan knows exactly what he's doing.
The stories are short, just fifty pages each, but so much happens to these men that the pages feel longer, like they have more substance to them. Ryan also concentrates a lot on the stream of their thoughts as their selves are thrown into one emotionally (or physically) perilous situation after the other. This combination of a story that is short but contains a lot along with a look in our characters thoughts makes for a deeply personal feel to the story, making it raw, emotional and honest and ultimately making the final twist more tragic.
It's always a fantastic experience to read a story by a writer at the top of their game and this is one of those times. Written and structured beautifully, along with fully fleshed out and relatable characters, Ryan gives us a very meaningful story that talks about human connection and how all that we do in our lives affects the world in ways we do not understand. This is a spell binding book and I might go as far as calling it a masterpiece. Five stars and no less.
Donal Ryan's From A Low And Quiet Sea feels exactly the same. A story of three different men with three different stories, with an ending that you will never see coming, this novel is an exercise in how to use concise, structured language to convey emotion by practically wringing out the strength from each and every word used. It's a beautiful and graceful piece of work, with a very clear sense of direction and it's clear that Ryan knows exactly what he's doing.
The stories are short, just fifty pages each, but so much happens to these men that the pages feel longer, like they have more substance to them. Ryan also concentrates a lot on the stream of their thoughts as their selves are thrown into one emotionally (or physically) perilous situation after the other. This combination of a story that is short but contains a lot along with a look in our characters thoughts makes for a deeply personal feel to the story, making it raw, emotional and honest and ultimately making the final twist more tragic.
It's always a fantastic experience to read a story by a writer at the top of their game and this is one of those times. Written and structured beautifully, along with fully fleshed out and relatable characters, Ryan gives us a very meaningful story that talks about human connection and how all that we do in our lives affects the world in ways we do not understand. This is a spell binding book and I might go as far as calling it a masterpiece. Five stars and no less.
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
Really interesting stories of three different characters, beautifully tied together at the end
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first story was very powerful. The other stories were less so, and all from a male perspective. Nicely written but overall the book wasn’t long enough. It takes the whole book for the characters to come together and when they finally do it’s the end of the book.
It’s a beautifully written book, I just found myself dragging my feet every time I tried to read it! 🤷♀️
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes