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A review by ilegnealle
1949: A Novel of the Irish Free State by Morgan Llywelyn
4.0
The third book in the Irish Century Novel Series by Morgan Llywelyn did not disappoint. It definitely holds up to the standards that it's predecessors had set for me.
There were many things I deeply loved:
- Ursula as the main character. Man, I just love strong, developed female characters. This is not to say that Ursula as a person is perfect - her political views tend to be extreme, she is quite hotheaded and at times unwilling to change her opinion. But she does develop and mature alot. I love that she is opinionated, fiercely independent and incredibly practical. That woman gets shit done! I found this to be incredibly inspirational, as she is exactly how I would like to think of myself in crisis mode - though that is probably not quite the reality.
- Almost all characters get a somewhat happy/peaceful ending. Now I know, I know. That is probably not realistic at all. I deeply believe that we all deserve happy endings, and I know that not all of us will get one. But these poor people have suffered enough, and I am confronted every single day with the horrors of this world, so I think these characters deserve good things happening to them. After all, I am reading this for entertainment purposes, not educational ones. And there were by far enough horrible, heartbreaking things in this book.
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There were also some aspects of this book that irritated me a bit (which is why this book gets 4 and not 5 stars):
- The book covers a very long time span, from 1925 until 1949. However, the book is only 400 pages long. I just did some basic math: that leaves us with about 16,6 pages per year. While some years are covered in greater detail than others, it is at times disappointing that some parts are just brushed over (because I want all of it! Every single year in great detail would have been really interesting to read and would have helped to understand Ursula's development even better).
- The title. Now I understand why it is titled '1949', because that is the year the Irish republic was finally officially founded (/the free state ended) and all books in the series are named after the years of important landmarks in the history of Ireland. However, guess how many pages actually take place in 1949. the final five. The first two books covered a much shorter time span (five years each), ehich meant that a significant amount of time was actually spend in that year. Now I know this point is not really relevant because the title doesn't change the contents of the book (which I greatly enjoyed), but I will say that I expected something a bit different.
- While some experineces Ursula makes are described in great detail and really fleshed out in a beautiful, realistic way that pulls the reader in, other events that I deemed equally if not more relevant and influential to her live were brushed over a bit. The main thing I'm talking about here is
Now I know that that looks like a lot of criticism, but the things I disliked are really only minor and do not take away from the great experience that was reading this book.
Trigger warnings: death of relatives, death of a pet, pregnancy, birth, miscarriage, mention of suicide, mention of Nazi propaganda, mention of Nazi crimes, execution, becoming blind, alcoholism, domestic violence, sexual assault, adultery, discrimination by the catholic church, discrimination based on religion
I'm sorry if I missed any trigger warnings, those were all I could think of off the top of my head.
There were many things I deeply loved:
- Ursula as the main character. Man, I just love strong, developed female characters. This is not to say that Ursula as a person is perfect - her political views tend to be extreme, she is quite hotheaded and at times unwilling to change her opinion. But she does develop and mature alot. I love that she is opinionated, fiercely independent and incredibly practical. That woman gets shit done! I found this to be incredibly inspirational, as she is exactly how I would like to think of myself in crisis mode - though that is probably not quite the reality.
- Almost all characters get a somewhat happy/peaceful ending. Now I know, I know. That is probably not realistic at all. I deeply believe that we all deserve happy endings, and I know that not all of us will get one. But these poor people have suffered enough, and I am confronted every single day with the horrors of this world, so I think these characters deserve good things happening to them. After all, I am reading this for entertainment purposes, not educational ones. And there were by far enough horrible, heartbreaking things in this book.
-
Spoiler
Ursula does not end up in a romantic relationship, neither by choice nor by force. I just love that she independent and self-reliant, and that she is allowed to keep her principles even when her situation changes dramatically. I love that becoming a mother does not bring unto her the realisation that she was wrong all along and surprisingly, all she really wants to be in life is a housewive (though there is nothing wrong with that in general! I just enjoy seeing female characters that are not defined by their relationships to men.There were also some aspects of this book that irritated me a bit (which is why this book gets 4 and not 5 stars):
- The book covers a very long time span, from 1925 until 1949. However, the book is only 400 pages long. I just did some basic math: that leaves us with about 16,6 pages per year. While some years are covered in greater detail than others, it is at times disappointing that some parts are just brushed over (because I want all of it! Every single year in great detail would have been really interesting to read and would have helped to understand Ursula's development even better).
- The title. Now I understand why it is titled '1949', because that is the year the Irish republic was finally officially founded (/the free state ended) and all books in the series are named after the years of important landmarks in the history of Ireland. However, guess how many pages actually take place in 1949. the final five. The first two books covered a much shorter time span (five years each), ehich meant that a significant amount of time was actually spend in that year. Now I know this point is not really relevant because the title doesn't change the contents of the book (which I greatly enjoyed), but I will say that I expected something a bit different.
- While some experineces Ursula makes are described in great detail and really fleshed out in a beautiful, realistic way that pulls the reader in, other events that I deemed equally if not more relevant and influential to her live were brushed over a bit. The main thing I'm talking about here is
Spoiler
Ursula's reaction to being a new mother who also has to rely on herself for the most part and starts working again almost immediately. While it becomes obvious that Ursula loves her son, her emotions toward him and her new role are not really described, ever. Which is sad! It woul be interesting to witness her feelings more clearly here, because I don't think that becoming a mother was something that Ursula would have ever wanted or planned for herself (largely because she does not want to ever get married and isn't interested in being in a relationship. She just isn't very traditionally feminine, which is obviously not the same as not wanting to become a mother. But I think her struggle to come to terms with her new role would have been an interesting plot point.Now I know that that looks like a lot of criticism, but the things I disliked are really only minor and do not take away from the great experience that was reading this book.
Trigger warnings: death of relatives, death of a pet, pregnancy, birth, miscarriage, mention of suicide, mention of Nazi propaganda, mention of Nazi crimes, execution, becoming blind, alcoholism, domestic violence, sexual assault, adultery, discrimination by the catholic church, discrimination based on religion
I'm sorry if I missed any trigger warnings, those were all I could think of off the top of my head.