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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Beautiful, touching writing, and affecting characters. I especially liked Lampy. But I felt the bringing together of the strands at the end was a bit forced, especially with the wheelchair incident, making the novel as a whole feel slight. I would read more Donal Ryan though.
Three very different stories of three very different men come together only at the very end of this novel of unspoken (these are men after all) affection, loss, failure and hidden connection. The author teases out the ultimate theme through a description of the way trees aid, and even feed, each other, all below the surface of things, out of sight. Only 4 books into the Booker long list, this started out as a contender for my favorite but ultimately fell short. My quibbles are minor, however, and I still found this a lovely and thoughtful novel.
From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan is a little jewel of a book. The novel is in four parts. It begins with Farouk and his family having to leave their war torn country for safer shores. Lampy’s tribulations with his love life, his job and his family tree make up the second part. In the third section, John leaves scruples behind to achieve his goals. The final part of this novel concerns how all three men’s paths cross in Ireland and somewhat brings a kind of resolution for them. This short novel (140 pages) is exquisitely written and involves the reader in each man’s life. The characters are original and well-developed. Donal Ryan is a new author for me and I look forward to reading more of his novels. (Thank you, Jodi). Highly recommended.
Four novels in and Donal Ryan has yet to falter. I will certainly be reading this one again soon.
Rating: 7/10
This was the last of Ryan's books I had to read before his new book came out in August, and I'm sad to say, although I gave the short story collection a lower rating, this is the novel-length book by him that I'm least impressed with.
It's about three men whose stories connect at the end of the novel. While the characters themselves are interesting, and Ryan depicts them with a rich inner life that's impressive in its depth and detail, the way these men connect was very underwhelming for me. I was expecting something different to happen, though what did happen was quite surprising and unexpected, which Ryan does deserve credit for.
There are some harrowing moments here that Ryan explores with depth and care, particularly in Farouk and Lampy's stories. He's exploring masculinity in different circumstances, as well as touching on the horror of the Syrian war.
I would have read a whole book about Farouk, actually, and maybe one about Lampy too. And I think that's one of the things that doesn't work fully for me with this book: it doesn't tell us enough about these two characters.
Strange Flowers is still my favourite of Ryan's books, so far, because it is a satisfying story. We get to know the characters and see them through to a logical conclusion, even if you get the feeling that there's more to the story. I think this book is unsatisfying in its final act, at least for me. Other readers' mileage may vary, depending on what they like in books, and in Ryan's books in particular.
This was the last of Ryan's books I had to read before his new book came out in August, and I'm sad to say, although I gave the short story collection a lower rating, this is the novel-length book by him that I'm least impressed with.
It's about three men whose stories connect at the end of the novel. While the characters themselves are interesting, and Ryan depicts them with a rich inner life that's impressive in its depth and detail, the way these men connect was very underwhelming for me. I was expecting something different to happen, though what did happen was quite surprising and unexpected, which Ryan does deserve credit for.
There are some harrowing moments here that Ryan explores with depth and care, particularly in Farouk and Lampy's stories. He's exploring masculinity in different circumstances, as well as touching on the horror of the Syrian war.
I would have read a whole book about Farouk, actually, and maybe one about Lampy too. And I think that's one of the things that doesn't work fully for me with this book: it doesn't tell us enough about these two characters.
Strange Flowers is still my favourite of Ryan's books, so far, because it is a satisfying story. We get to know the characters and see them through to a logical conclusion, even if you get the feeling that there's more to the story. I think this book is unsatisfying in its final act, at least for me. Other readers' mileage may vary, depending on what they like in books, and in Ryan's books in particular.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5*
There are really many well-written paragraphs in this book. I also really appreciated the author’s knowledge of physics and how he subtly inserted a few notions regarding movement or elementary particles in his prose with real grace, making them seem as if they truly belonged there, in a work of fiction. He must be interested in physics (it takes one to know one) and reading what he made of those ideas while I was reading in parallel a non-fiction book written by a physicist stroke me as serendipitous in a way. Another book I picked at the right time, it must be so.
Anyway, Ryan's prose can get quite good, but then it’s also interspersed with some parts that seem a bit chaotic and also with some parts that seem unnecessary. The way he connects all three stories at the end did not really work for me. It’s as if he followed a recipe and I’m not sure this always works if you just do everything by the book as he seems to have done. It might with food, but with a novel, well, it just seems too formulaic (thank you Teresa for having helped me find the word I was looking for). Or it’s just that I might have seen way too many movies presenting interconnected stories (“Babel”, “Amores Perros” etc) to still be able to be touched by this technique.
With that being said, I’m quite sure that Donal Ryan is another Irish author whose works I will be exploring further in the future. His ways might (still) be imperfect, it’s true, but his prose is sprinkled with quite brilliant passages and he sure has managed to get my attention.
There are really many well-written paragraphs in this book. I also really appreciated the author’s knowledge of physics and how he subtly inserted a few notions regarding movement or elementary particles in his prose with real grace, making them seem as if they truly belonged there, in a work of fiction. He must be interested in physics (it takes one to know one) and reading what he made of those ideas while I was reading in parallel a non-fiction book written by a physicist stroke me as serendipitous in a way. Another book I picked at the right time, it must be so.
Anyway, Ryan's prose can get quite good, but then it’s also interspersed with some parts that seem a bit chaotic and also with some parts that seem unnecessary. The way he connects all three stories at the end did not really work for me. It’s as if he followed a recipe and I’m not sure this always works if you just do everything by the book as he seems to have done. It might with food, but with a novel, well, it just seems too formulaic (thank you Teresa for having helped me find the word I was looking for). Or it’s just that I might have seen way too many movies presenting interconnected stories (“Babel”, “Amores Perros” etc) to still be able to be touched by this technique.
With that being said, I’m quite sure that Donal Ryan is another Irish author whose works I will be exploring further in the future. His ways might (still) be imperfect, it’s true, but his prose is sprinkled with quite brilliant passages and he sure has managed to get my attention.
Not really sure how I feel about this. Each little vignette was interesting, but the story never really grabbed me.
Den skaver lite först. Jag vet inte riktigt varför. Historien (den första) påminner starkt om The Beekeeper from Aleppo, vars författare är en engelsk kvinna (om än med cypriotisk härkomst). Men plötsligt ifrågasätter jag en brittisk (nu irländsk) författares rätt att beskriva flyktingupplevelsen så intimt. Kanske just för att det blir så - så intimt - när Ryan skriver? Och för att jag redan vet att jag håller honom så högt? (Lefteri är också duktig, men hon var ny när jag läste Beekeeper).
Jaja. Det är rasande elegant, allting.
Eller, inte allting - och jag hinner till och med tvivla över nivån där ett tag, eftersom Donal går ut så starkt, med den första historien. Det dalar en aning när han beskriver sina landsmän (så varför ifrågasatte jag författarens friheter att beskriva Den andre?). Misslyckade ynglingar, kriminella karlar, bittra gubbar... Fast... så j-kla mänskligt, som vanligt (okej, det är bara den tredje Ryan jag läser, men jag anser mig veta vid det här laget). Och det blir ju bra. Riktigt bra.
Jaja. Det är rasande elegant, allting.
Eller, inte allting - och jag hinner till och med tvivla över nivån där ett tag, eftersom Donal går ut så starkt, med den första historien. Det dalar en aning när han beskriver sina landsmän (så varför ifrågasatte jag författarens friheter att beskriva Den andre?). Misslyckade ynglingar, kriminella karlar, bittra gubbar... Fast... så j-kla mänskligt, som vanligt (okej, det är bara den tredje Ryan jag läser, men jag anser mig veta vid det här laget). Och det blir ju bra. Riktigt bra.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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