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alexhaydon's review
It started off well but went slowly downhill. Its probably due to a mix of me not getting on with contemporary lit generally and also just the sheer amount this book tries to cover, ultimately without really saying much to conclude. The book feels as if it surrounds the legacy of a poet Phil McDaragh, and how his daughter Carmel and then her daughter Nell navigate their own lives with him and his work being a point of return. The perspective changes in this book were interesting but the tone of each character didn't feel very consistent. It became chaotic when I think it could have been more sensical in its trajectory. That being said, there was some nice poetry throughout and some of the scenes of nature were depicted nicely but overall not a story or cast I cared much for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Violence, Animal death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
introvertsbookclub's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Although this is a short novel, it contains three perspectives, three generations, and it takes so many turns that every time I thought I knew which direction it was moving towards, it would slip through my fingers again.
Through each of the main protagonists, Nell and her mother Carmel, the novel explored the unknowability of our parents and how that impacts our relationships with them and our sense of our selves. The characters were either searching for a way to understand missing parents or dismissive towards parents they believed were leading one-dimensional lives that paled in comparison to their own complex, profound and unique experiences. I wish there had been more of this humour to lighten the novel, the wry descriptions of self-absorbed love interests and naive generational misunderstandings didn’t go far enough to balance out the heavier ruminations on nature, fatalism, loneliness and longing.
There were moments that felt revelatory, but from the half-way point the novel felt as lost as its protagonists. It might have been about growing up being a life-long process or embracing the unknowability of the world or compromising for happiness. I felt underwhelmed by the end, but it was worth the read for its portrayal of generational dissonance, disappointing parents and the messiness of adulthood.
Through each of the main protagonists, Nell and her mother Carmel, the novel explored the unknowability of our parents and how that impacts our relationships with them and our sense of our selves. The characters were either searching for a way to understand missing parents or dismissive towards parents they believed were leading one-dimensional lives that paled in comparison to their own complex, profound and unique experiences. I wish there had been more of this humour to lighten the novel, the wry descriptions of self-absorbed love interests and naive generational misunderstandings didn’t go far enough to balance out the heavier ruminations on nature, fatalism, loneliness and longing.
There were moments that felt revelatory, but from the half-way point the novel felt as lost as its protagonists. It might have been about growing up being a life-long process or embracing the unknowability of the world or compromising for happiness. I felt underwhelmed by the end, but it was worth the read for its portrayal of generational dissonance, disappointing parents and the messiness of adulthood.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
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