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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
This is a very understated and quiet book. Stitched with pain and regret, it’s a novel about three men at quite different parts of their life trying to make sense of it. The writing is so gorgeous. Ryan writes so sensitively and really gives a strong voice to each narrator. I really enjoyed the experience of reading it.
I think that Farouk’s part stood out of me as the best section. The narrative of his refugee experience was pertinent and heart wrenching. I read his whole part in one sitting because I was so enraptured, but also horrified.
The other two parts have a stronger sense of voice, but I found them less compelling. They struggled to keep my attention and interest. John’s character, while intentionally so, was quite repulsive and I wasn’t a huge fan.
This story does open deeper conversations about masculinity, identity, and family that were thoughtful and complex. The last portion “Lake Islands” was spine-tingling- both appalling and dazzling. While I enjoyed this short and subtle novel, I’ll never be as engaged with novels that focus solely on men. There were women in the novel, but apart from a few pages from Florence, they never get their own voice. While I appreciated what Ryan was doing from a justice and thematic perspective, I just found the lack of women’s voices made it less interesting to me.
I think that Farouk’s part stood out of me as the best section. The narrative of his refugee experience was pertinent and heart wrenching. I read his whole part in one sitting because I was so enraptured, but also horrified.
The other two parts have a stronger sense of voice, but I found them less compelling. They struggled to keep my attention and interest. John’s character, while intentionally so, was quite repulsive and I wasn’t a huge fan.
This story does open deeper conversations about masculinity, identity, and family that were thoughtful and complex. The last portion “Lake Islands” was spine-tingling- both appalling and dazzling. While I enjoyed this short and subtle novel, I’ll never be as engaged with novels that focus solely on men. There were women in the novel, but apart from a few pages from Florence, they never get their own voice. While I appreciated what Ryan was doing from a justice and thematic perspective, I just found the lack of women’s voices made it less interesting to me.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Very well written book... And incredibly depressing too. I kinda wish I hadn't
I felt sexually harassed by this book. The male gaze of it was intense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
This novel appeared on the Booker longlist and the Costa shortlist so I decided it was time to read this Irish writer.
There are four parts to this short novel. In the first part, Farouk, a Syrian doctor, is planning an escape for his family once his town is overrun by Muslim fundamentalists. In the second part, Lampy, a 23-year-old, lives near Limerick, Ireland, with his unmarried mother and his grandfather. He works in a care home driving seniors to appointments. In Part Three, John, an elderly, repentant criminal, makes his confession. He speaks of his often violent life which seemed focused on breaking all the Commandments. In the last section, the three characters are brought together and their lives shown to be linked.
The men are from different backgrounds and have different lifestyles, but all are tortured souls who have experienced loss. Farouk must leave his home country where he has a fulfilling life with his wife and daughter. His escape to the West results in even more loss. Lampy is heart-broken because his girlfriend has left him and he has no real sense of what he should do in life. The fact that he is illegitimate and has never known his father haunts him. John’s life was lived in the shadow of a brother’s death, and when he fell in love, the relationship did not last and he committed his greatest sin as a result.
The theme of the novel is outlined at the beginning when Farouk remembers lessons his father taught him about “the oneness of all people and all things.” In many ways, we are the same: everyone has hopes and dreams and everyone suffers loss and heartbreak. People need to take time “to listen, to observe, to do your best to hear beyond the spoken, to see the quality of the light in another’s eyes.” And because we are all connected, there’s “only one [rule] that’s real and must be kept. . . . Be kind.” This rule that Farouk teaches his daughter is repeated by Lampy’s mother: “All you have to do is be kind and you’ll have lived a good life.”
The characterization is amazing. The book is short and so each character has the spotlight for only a brief time, yet each of the three men emerges as unique and fully developed. Farouk’s father told his son that “there are men alive who will do evil without pause, who are without mercy, and there are men alive who would rather die than harm another, and all of the rest of us fall somewhere in between” and “if you observe a man closely and properly you’ll eventually come to know the shade of his soul.” The author shows the shades of his protagonists’ souls. Each has both good and bad qualities. Farouk is a good man but he has a sense of superiority and even wonders whether doing as the militants demand would be so bad. Lampy has anger management issues, but he is very caring. Even the unscrupulous John is capable of love, and he makes a sincere contrition.
I have not read any of Donal Ryan’s other books, but I will certainly be checking them out. Though there is profane language and earthy humour in the novel, at the end the reader may feel he/she has had a spiritual experience because the book presents such empathetic portraits of three men trying to find peace.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
There are four parts to this short novel. In the first part, Farouk, a Syrian doctor, is planning an escape for his family once his town is overrun by Muslim fundamentalists. In the second part, Lampy, a 23-year-old, lives near Limerick, Ireland, with his unmarried mother and his grandfather. He works in a care home driving seniors to appointments. In Part Three, John, an elderly, repentant criminal, makes his confession. He speaks of his often violent life which seemed focused on breaking all the Commandments. In the last section, the three characters are brought together and their lives shown to be linked.
The men are from different backgrounds and have different lifestyles, but all are tortured souls who have experienced loss. Farouk must leave his home country where he has a fulfilling life with his wife and daughter. His escape to the West results in even more loss. Lampy is heart-broken because his girlfriend has left him and he has no real sense of what he should do in life. The fact that he is illegitimate and has never known his father haunts him. John’s life was lived in the shadow of a brother’s death, and when he fell in love, the relationship did not last and he committed his greatest sin as a result.
The theme of the novel is outlined at the beginning when Farouk remembers lessons his father taught him about “the oneness of all people and all things.” In many ways, we are the same: everyone has hopes and dreams and everyone suffers loss and heartbreak. People need to take time “to listen, to observe, to do your best to hear beyond the spoken, to see the quality of the light in another’s eyes.” And because we are all connected, there’s “only one [rule] that’s real and must be kept. . . . Be kind.” This rule that Farouk teaches his daughter is repeated by Lampy’s mother: “All you have to do is be kind and you’ll have lived a good life.”
The characterization is amazing. The book is short and so each character has the spotlight for only a brief time, yet each of the three men emerges as unique and fully developed. Farouk’s father told his son that “there are men alive who will do evil without pause, who are without mercy, and there are men alive who would rather die than harm another, and all of the rest of us fall somewhere in between” and “if you observe a man closely and properly you’ll eventually come to know the shade of his soul.” The author shows the shades of his protagonists’ souls. Each has both good and bad qualities. Farouk is a good man but he has a sense of superiority and even wonders whether doing as the militants demand would be so bad. Lampy has anger management issues, but he is very caring. Even the unscrupulous John is capable of love, and he makes a sincere contrition.
I have not read any of Donal Ryan’s other books, but I will certainly be checking them out. Though there is profane language and earthy humour in the novel, at the end the reader may feel he/she has had a spiritual experience because the book presents such empathetic portraits of three men trying to find peace.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
Wunderschöner Schreibstil, aber trotzdem konnte ich nie so ganz in die Geschichte abtauchen.
Three interlinked stories that push the boundaries of what a novel can be, in a good way. One is a man escaping Syria with his wife and daughter, another is a young man who is mourning the girlfriend who left and stays afloat from the love of family, and lastly an older man penitent over his past.
What a beautiful writer Donal Ryan is! Tragic stories filled with heartfelt moments made this read incredibly enjoyable.