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nicjohnston's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. There isn’t much more I can say than, having finished this book 2 weeks ago and having read several books in the interim, this one remains with me. Clever, poignant and beautifully written. It will be a long time until I read another book I enjoy as much as this one.
mamaejamae's review against another edition
5.0
Ugh what an amazing book. A great book for anyone who loved A Man Called Ove.
jess_is_reading_in_abundance's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
jlfairley's review against another edition
5.0
Well if this book doesn’t just absolutely wreck you then you mustn’t have a heart at all.
guk's review against another edition
4.0
Really good, bittersweet and full of the details of a life well lived. I liked the Irish setting/dialogue and grew to love Maurice as his story unfolded. I read it slowly, about a chapter a day, to manage the melancholy.
I understood the ending but hoped for a different outcome. Maurice likely underestimated the impact on his son and showed his characteristic selfishness, again. Reducing to 4 stars after several days of reflection.
Book club selection for May, purchased the paperback.
I understood the ending but hoped for a different outcome. Maurice likely underestimated the impact on his son and showed his characteristic selfishness, again. Reducing to 4 stars after several days of reflection.
Book club selection for May, purchased the paperback.
jenniferdinsmore's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure how to rate this... It was very well written, the voice captivating, and a great character study, but the subject matter was especially difficult for me right now. (And I'm not usually one to say that.) So, read it, sure, but BIG content warning for loss (a lot of loss for many reasons), and suicide ideation.
annemariep68's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook: I think this book will affect you differently if you are young instead of older. I thought of my parents in their 80s as I listened to this book and wondered how they would look back at their lives. What are the regrets, the triumphs? Who are the people who left the biggest impression and what are the stories they never told us? It was a lovely book and the narration brought it to life beautifully.
debstyner's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
rhubarbguru's review against another edition
DNF about 50% of the way through. What an absolute slog. Books are subjective to every individual so what someone might find great, someone else might find dreadful, but this was just straight up “let me make this sad” over and over and over again. The author just goes out of her way to constantly hammer home “see! This is SAD! Cry darn you! CRY!” - but it just comes off cheesy and cringey. Also, there was just way too much of an attempt to make this book “feel Irish”. The problem with that though is the author gave the main character and narrator a voice of an educated poet, not a farmer who dropped out of school at age 10 to go work the fields. It’s just too lyrical for this guy. I’ve spent plenty of time in Ireland to know that farmers do NOT talk like this guy in real life, only in movies that romanticize Irish life.
It was pretty clear how the book was headed too. I didn’t cry, but I found it sad until I realized that the author is just trying to hammer that point home.
0/5 stars for me. Boring, and insulting
It was pretty clear how the book was headed too. I didn’t cry, but I found it sad until I realized that the author is just trying to hammer that point home.
0/5 stars for me. Boring, and insulting