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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Three stories.
Three men.
One ending.
Donal Ryan is an incredible writer. The beauty of his words and the empathy in his writing is simply incredible. The way he is able to look into his characters' souls and write of events spanning from great loss to every-day, mundane things and events in such a lyrical way is just awe-inspiring.
Three men.
One ending.
Donal Ryan is an incredible writer. The beauty of his words and the empathy in his writing is simply incredible. The way he is able to look into his characters' souls and write of events spanning from great loss to every-day, mundane things and events in such a lyrical way is just awe-inspiring.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wasn’t engaged with the second two perspectives which made me not care about most of the book. I’d actually originally given up on the book but came back and finished it quickly to give it a second chance but it still wasn’t the book for me.
I received a free copy of this book from Penguin Ireland in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
This book centres around three different men who have all lost their way in life, and are recovering from heartbreak and loss. And how their lives are all connected in small ways.
This book was, as I predicted, beautiful written in raw, honest and sometimes disturbing ways by Donal Ryan. Ryan has a strange ability to really lay open the heart and souls of his characters, from their good bits to their flaws. This book in particular had some unlikable characters who often did or thought things that made me feel really uncomfortable. I actually felt a little bit confused about my feelings for the book until the last few pages, and the skill that Ryan was able to grab all these floating threads in the story and weave them together really quickly for an almost solved but still terribly open ending which is both genius, and infuriating.
I think Lampy may have been my favourite in the story but he’s probably who I was able to relate to the most - being a young 20-something Irish millennial with all of his future in front of him and no idea with what to do with it. I loved his sweet interactions with the people he drove around, and I felt uncomfortable with his anger issues and his actions and thoughts towards Chloe and Eleanor - the girl who broke his heart, and his rebound.
John was definitely the most unlikeable and whose story I couldn’t really understand or connect with until the very end. Some of the stuff he did in his life was really despicable but of course, we were suppose to feel that way. Ryan never pretends his characters are perfect, in fact they are perfectly imperfect and it’s one of his greatest strengths as a writing and I love it.
Farouk’s story was obviously the saddest but I definitely felt like I, as a reader, was held at a distance from him. I liked the glimpses of him at the end of the story, and it definitely made me feel better and hopeful for him.
While this book was not my favourite of Ryan’s so far, I was intrigued until the end, and I loved the journey.
3.5 stars
This book centres around three different men who have all lost their way in life, and are recovering from heartbreak and loss. And how their lives are all connected in small ways.
This book was, as I predicted, beautiful written in raw, honest and sometimes disturbing ways by Donal Ryan. Ryan has a strange ability to really lay open the heart and souls of his characters, from their good bits to their flaws. This book in particular had some unlikable characters who often did or thought things that made me feel really uncomfortable. I actually felt a little bit confused about my feelings for the book until the last few pages, and the skill that Ryan was able to grab all these floating threads in the story and weave them together really quickly for an almost solved but still terribly open ending which is both genius, and infuriating.
I think Lampy may have been my favourite in the story but he’s probably who I was able to relate to the most - being a young 20-something Irish millennial with all of his future in front of him and no idea with what to do with it. I loved his sweet interactions with the people he drove around, and I felt uncomfortable with his anger issues and his actions and thoughts towards Chloe and Eleanor - the girl who broke his heart, and his rebound.
John was definitely the most unlikeable and whose story I couldn’t really understand or connect with until the very end. Some of the stuff he did in his life was really despicable but of course, we were suppose to feel that way. Ryan never pretends his characters are perfect, in fact they are perfectly imperfect and it’s one of his greatest strengths as a writing and I love it.
Farouk’s story was obviously the saddest but I definitely felt like I, as a reader, was held at a distance from him. I liked the glimpses of him at the end of the story, and it definitely made me feel better and hopeful for him.
While this book was not my favourite of Ryan’s so far, I was intrigued until the end, and I loved the journey.
3.5 stars. Rounded up because the writing is good, but not a full 4 stars because the ending is too abrupt.
3.5 stars. This book was completely different to what I was expecting. It was like 4 short stories that slightly connected at the end, I did really enjoy it though. The writing was beautiful, and the first story in this book had me tearing up.
I loved the way Donal Ryan examined three very different characters in three very different circumstances and both the good and bad within them. It was also refreshing reading some very Irish characters, something that you don't often read in books by popular publishers.
If you enjoy a good character studies with some beautiful writing, then I'd recommend this book.
This novel was given to me for free from netgalley for my opinion.
I loved the way Donal Ryan examined three very different characters in three very different circumstances and both the good and bad within them. It was also refreshing reading some very Irish characters, something that you don't often read in books by popular publishers.
If you enjoy a good character studies with some beautiful writing, then I'd recommend this book.
This novel was given to me for free from netgalley for my opinion.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a lovely read. This book is proof that you don't need a complex style to make your writing brilliant. The simplicity of this book, infact, brings out its emotional intensity in a much better way.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In keeping with the theme of this year’s Man Booker longlist, From a Low and Quiet Sea is a novel about the environment and how it affects and individual. Donal Ryan’s way of tackling this is through three seemingly separate lives. The place in question is Ireland.
The first part focuses on Farouk, a Syrian refugee who emigrates to Ireland, his section details the situation in Syria, his experience on a boat and then his separation from wife and child in some sort of refugee camp.
The second, and best, part, in my opinion is about Lampey. A misfit who has just split with his girlfriend. Lampey lives with his mother and wise-cracking grandfather and works as a carer/bus driver for an old people’s home. Although, in the past Lampey has tried to change his life, he never does and doesn’t seem to mind doing the same thing on a daily basis.
The final story is about John, a dying man who recounts all the mistakes he’s made.
Ryan connects all three lives deftly and in a clever way.
However the book is not about technique. It is about displacement, trying to find your roots. Attempting to navigate one’s environment in order to fit in. All three of these main characters suffer from this problem, however each one has a different way of approaching it, not surprisingly, it doesn’t work out most of the time.
On the whole this novel was good. It’s a tightly knit, solid book that’s stuffed elegant prose. I did have a problem with it as I felt something was lacking. The John narrative was weak, the characters could have been well rounded and sometimes the book did feel a bit overlong in the John and Farouk section. Nonetheless, From a Low and Quiet Sea is a decent read.
The first part focuses on Farouk, a Syrian refugee who emigrates to Ireland, his section details the situation in Syria, his experience on a boat and then his separation from wife and child in some sort of refugee camp.
The second, and best, part, in my opinion is about Lampey. A misfit who has just split with his girlfriend. Lampey lives with his mother and wise-cracking grandfather and works as a carer/bus driver for an old people’s home. Although, in the past Lampey has tried to change his life, he never does and doesn’t seem to mind doing the same thing on a daily basis.
The final story is about John, a dying man who recounts all the mistakes he’s made.
Ryan connects all three lives deftly and in a clever way.
However the book is not about technique. It is about displacement, trying to find your roots. Attempting to navigate one’s environment in order to fit in. All three of these main characters suffer from this problem, however each one has a different way of approaching it, not surprisingly, it doesn’t work out most of the time.
On the whole this novel was good. It’s a tightly knit, solid book that’s stuffed elegant prose. I did have a problem with it as I felt something was lacking. The John narrative was weak, the characters could have been well rounded and sometimes the book did feel a bit overlong in the John and Farouk section. Nonetheless, From a Low and Quiet Sea is a decent read.