Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
I thought for a while there that I would really enjoy this book, but after a while I got quite bored. At first I really liked the distant, slightly dreamy, introspective nature of the author's writing, but it quickly got repetitive. This had the potential to be a great book, albeit somewhat cliched - it's about a young boy who loses his entire family during the Irish Famine and ends up in Canada, via an Irish workhouse, an almost stint as a male prostitute in Liverpool, a railroad navvy in Wales and a rough passage across the Atlantic in a coffin ship - but it ended up as a merely average.
This book is a gritty and realistic story of what happened to many poor Irish tenants during the Great Famine in mid-18th century Ireland. Young Fergus O'Brien is turned out from the only home he'd ever known when his tenant-family is brutally burned in their beds by the landlord. Fergus is exposed to hardship beyond his expectations, and violence that he finds shocking but necessary for his own survival. He is betrayed by people he trusts and learns to rely on his wits and his determination as he leaves Ireland for Liverpool, and eventually sails to "America". Which was, in fact, Canada.
I loved the tone of this book. It was not a "hard work beats all" immigrant story, like so many we are exposed to hear in Canada. There was no romanticism to this tale at all. It was stark and brittle and determined, with heartbreak and fear thrown in for good measure. Fergus learns who to trust, and more importantly, who not to trust. But what I loved about Fergus was that while he wasn't immune to acts of violence for survival purposes, he still kept his deep moral compass and used that compass to guide him.
I thought the ending was interesting, in that it closed a plot circle, but it also left open an opportunity for a sequel. I look forward to Behrens next novel "The O'Briens".
I loved the tone of this book. It was not a "hard work beats all" immigrant story, like so many we are exposed to hear in Canada. There was no romanticism to this tale at all. It was stark and brittle and determined, with heartbreak and fear thrown in for good measure. Fergus learns who to trust, and more importantly, who not to trust. But what I loved about Fergus was that while he wasn't immune to acts of violence for survival purposes, he still kept his deep moral compass and used that compass to guide him.
I thought the ending was interesting, in that it closed a plot circle, but it also left open an opportunity for a sequel. I look forward to Behrens next novel "The O'Briens".
Incredibly brutal and unflinching, and yet also an interesting story and one I find myself turning over in my head.
I will definitely look for Behrens' next book.
I will definitely look for Behrens' next book.
It still surprises me that this particular story of a boy who travels from his home in Ireland to America is actually based on the author's family history. It makes it even more intriguing that its the story of one so young that has to overcome so many trials in life and figure out the meaning of what it truly means to be alive.
"Law of Dreams" takes place during the Great Hunger of 1847, where a young boy named Fergus O'Brien is displaced from his home and goes on a journey through several places to find a new life for himself. Along the way, he meets a colorful cast of characters in a combination of love and loss so potent that one can't help but follow Fergus's sense of loss yet progressive determination. I found it quite the jarring account, especially with many of the situations he faces over the course of his journey, and the swings of emotion that couple it.
Behrens has a beautiful narrative style that transitions from thought to descriptions of Fergus's experiences. Granted, some of this language might read a bit choppy for some, but I didn't have any trouble following it. What I did have trouble with were some of the slower points of the book dragged its heels a little more than than I wanted, especially in the latter third of the book when Fergus travels to Canada. The characters that Fergus encounters are vividly brought to life and significance in the boy's journey, though some of them have possibilities that aren't always explored. Still, it's a minor quibble for a story on this grand of a scale.
I had a hard time deciding what I should rank it, because while it's a captivating story - I'll admit I struggled through some of the slower parts of the book, particularly when the pacing could have flowed a bit better than what it did (I didn't have a problem with either Phoebe or Luke's arcs, but Molly's somehow felt a little shaky to me). In the end, I thought Fergus's character was that which drove the book along, and I found the ending to be a satisfying one. I would hesitate to make a rec for it, because I don't think anyone would be captivated by the subject matter (which sometimes is quite graphic and unerringly blunt) or as enamored with the style of storytelling as I was.
Overall score: 3/5
"Law of Dreams" takes place during the Great Hunger of 1847, where a young boy named Fergus O'Brien is displaced from his home and goes on a journey through several places to find a new life for himself. Along the way, he meets a colorful cast of characters in a combination of love and loss so potent that one can't help but follow Fergus's sense of loss yet progressive determination. I found it quite the jarring account, especially with many of the situations he faces over the course of his journey, and the swings of emotion that couple it.
Behrens has a beautiful narrative style that transitions from thought to descriptions of Fergus's experiences. Granted, some of this language might read a bit choppy for some, but I didn't have any trouble following it. What I did have trouble with were some of the slower points of the book dragged its heels a little more than than I wanted, especially in the latter third of the book when Fergus travels to Canada. The characters that Fergus encounters are vividly brought to life and significance in the boy's journey, though some of them have possibilities that aren't always explored. Still, it's a minor quibble for a story on this grand of a scale.
I had a hard time deciding what I should rank it, because while it's a captivating story - I'll admit I struggled through some of the slower parts of the book, particularly when the pacing could have flowed a bit better than what it did (I didn't have a problem with either Phoebe or Luke's arcs, but Molly's somehow felt a little shaky to me). In the end, I thought Fergus's character was that which drove the book along, and I found the ending to be a satisfying one. I would hesitate to make a rec for it, because I don't think anyone would be captivated by the subject matter (which sometimes is quite graphic and unerringly blunt) or as enamored with the style of storytelling as I was.
Overall score: 3/5
This book did not get me at all, it was very boring and I didn't like it.
I loved this one. People always romanticize the past but this book shows how hard it was for ordinary people to live decently.
Se ia lumea super-dură a lui Dickens, se umflă cu steroizi și se adaugă foamete descrisă la fel de realist ca Holodomorul, furturi, crime, adultere, rebeliuni, sex, epurare etnică, cruzime față de animale, lipsă totală de umanitate sau milă... și iese o carte care te lasă cu un nod amar în gât.
Nota e undeva între 4 și 5, pentru că vreo 60% este incredibilă, dar ultimii 40% scade ritmul și devine mai puțin captivantă, deși oarecum mai sentimentală. Per total totuși, este deosebită și, deși nu o recomand celor mai slabi de inimă, o să mai caut cărți de Behrens.
Nota e undeva între 4 și 5, pentru că vreo 60% este incredibilă, dar ultimii 40% scade ritmul și devine mai puțin captivantă, deși oarecum mai sentimentală. Per total totuși, este deosebită și, deși nu o recomand celor mai slabi de inimă, o să mai caut cărți de Behrens.
Further evidence to my belief that the Irish tell the best stories. THis is an Odyssey-like tale of a young Irish man left orphaned and homeless by the famine. After living like an animal in the Irish bogs and then on the run from a crime of desperation, he lives a half-life in England until he is able to set sail for the promised land- North America.
The story is brutal, but the writing is so poetic and lyrical - you are swept on by its beauty even as you wince as horrors of poverty and the blind faith of immigrants. I look forward to reading more of Behrens' works. THank you for the recommendation, Maureen!
The story is brutal, but the writing is so poetic and lyrical - you are swept on by its beauty even as you wince as horrors of poverty and the blind faith of immigrants. I look forward to reading more of Behrens' works. THank you for the recommendation, Maureen!
I really wanted to like this book, but I just could not get myself to care about the characters. And in a book centured around the troubled life of a young man, thats kinda important. Fergus' use of language in dialog and internally seemed so contradictory, he is not very eloquent when talking to others and yet he has philosophical thoughts that use words that I feel did not belong with the character. Also the switching of third and second person was confusing and felt unnecesary. I did appreciate the hard hitting realism, the author really tried to show life during the famine.
I loved this book. It felt like there was not one superfluous word. It is a lyrical, unfolding story, told as the author imagines his grandfather's experience of leaving Ireland for Canada as a young man, after the Potato Famine.