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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, War
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
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
I started off really liking this book, it's told in 4 parts, with three separate stories coming together in the last one. I really liked the first part, but it went quickly downhill from there, with language and some immorality. And then the first story was barely tied in at the end, but it was an interesting way to show how each person has a complicated history but there is redemption and repentance for everyone. I thought the writing style was beautiful and thought-provoking, I just couldn't get past some of the crass parts.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
reflective
sad
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
Pros: Individual character stories were interesting.
Cons: Writing was confusing at times.
Cons: Writing was confusing at times.
emotional
reflective
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:
Complicated
From a Low and Quiet Sea is Donal Ryan’s 4th novel but my first experience reading the author, and while my poor rating of this book has made me think twice about reading his other work, there is a constant in all of them that draws me in: Ryan’s writing is beautiful and lyrical without being “heavy”, blending the right amount of readability with literacy. It also helps that the book is just over 200 pages, making it a quick read: I found myself page-turning it, devouring it before I realised it was over.
However, upon finishing the book and sitting down to think about it, I realised it wasn’t the best reading experience. The book is separated into four parts, each of about 40 pages, and we follow three seemingly unconnected men: Farouk, a Syrian refugee; Lampy, a twenty-three year old irish boy; and John, a lobbyist. Their sections are all around the same length, all unassumingly following their day-to-day lives and some of their backstories through a sort of reminiscence. The fourth and last part is when we find out how they are all connected -- and it was definitely my least favourite part of the book, likely the reason I have rated it as low.
The question of what makes a good novel can be long debated and will likely find very different answers, from reader to reader: sometimes it’s the plot that matters, sometimes it’s the character, other times is the writing. I fall mostly on the last two: writing is important to me, followed by characters and lastly, by the plot. With that said, I could only find one of those things in the book, the writing but, even that wasn’t, in my opinion, strong enough to excuse the one-dimensional characters and the thinly veiled plot (or lack thereof).
I think this is one of those instances where the size didn’t help it at all: writing shorter books is perhaps harder than writing longer ones, but this one could benefit from it by exploring its characters more in-depth, letting us know them more, enough that the events in the last arc would matter.
Overall, I thought the first part (Farouk’s perspective) was definitely the weakest (which is a shame, considering how interesting it could have been if the author spent a little while longer with it), as well as the last. I’m a big fan of the structure of this novel, how characters apparently unrelated turn out to have so much in common (see [b:Cloud Atlas|49628|Cloud Atlas|David Mitchell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406383769s/49628.jpg|1871423], one of my favourite books of all time), but in this case, the author’s attempt to make it an interesting revelation felt sappy and forced to me, reverting what little faith I had in it back to nothing.
However, upon finishing the book and sitting down to think about it, I realised it wasn’t the best reading experience. The book is separated into four parts, each of about 40 pages, and we follow three seemingly unconnected men: Farouk, a Syrian refugee; Lampy, a twenty-three year old irish boy; and John, a lobbyist. Their sections are all around the same length, all unassumingly following their day-to-day lives and some of their backstories through a sort of reminiscence. The fourth and last part is when we find out how they are all connected -- and it was definitely my least favourite part of the book, likely the reason I have rated it as low.
The question of what makes a good novel can be long debated and will likely find very different answers, from reader to reader: sometimes it’s the plot that matters, sometimes it’s the character, other times is the writing. I fall mostly on the last two: writing is important to me, followed by characters and lastly, by the plot. With that said, I could only find one of those things in the book, the writing but, even that wasn’t, in my opinion, strong enough to excuse the one-dimensional characters and the thinly veiled plot (or lack thereof).
I think this is one of those instances where the size didn’t help it at all: writing shorter books is perhaps harder than writing longer ones, but this one could benefit from it by exploring its characters more in-depth, letting us know them more, enough that the events in the last arc would matter.
Overall, I thought the first part (Farouk’s perspective) was definitely the weakest (which is a shame, considering how interesting it could have been if the author spent a little while longer with it), as well as the last. I’m a big fan of the structure of this novel, how characters apparently unrelated turn out to have so much in common (see [b:Cloud Atlas|49628|Cloud Atlas|David Mitchell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406383769s/49628.jpg|1871423], one of my favourite books of all time), but in this case, the author’s attempt to make it an interesting revelation felt sappy and forced to me, reverting what little faith I had in it back to nothing.
Quaint and quiet.. tidy and poetic.. and as lovely as the prose was, there was something that prohibited me from really caring about any of the characters, save Farouk.