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A review by language_loving_amateur
The Wild Irish Girl: A National Tale by Sydney Owenson Morgan
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
My copy of this epistolary novel is 252 pages, but it felt like a 500 page slog. A surprising percentage of the book is spent on telling readers how every Irish tradition or artifact actually has its roots in Greek antiquity in an effort to convince English readers of the time that Ireland had some worth. Watch out for how often the words "nature," "natural," "national," and "national character" are used. They are very much used in the sense of "all people from (pick an ethnicity) are born (natal shares an etymological root with nation) with shared (X) characteristics." So get ready for W.A.S.P. on not-white-enough-people racism. The Wild Irish Girl makes a point of saying that that "national character" of the Irish has some really good stuff in it, but it fully buys into the idea that a person's character is 99% predetermined by their pedigree.
The Wild Irish Girl is half pseudo-anthropology and half messed up romance. I could in no way root for these characters to get together, but in an almost Schadenfreude way it is kind of interesting to watch.
Horatio M., aka Mr. Mortimer, writes flowery descriptions of Ireland and of Glorvina to his best friend back in England. He is a voyeur, and treats 90% of the Irish people he meets as if they were particularly interesting middle schoolers. We never get any perspective from Glorvina, and she spends most of the book silently blushing and sighing. Do you think that isn't a clear, effective medium for conveying thoughts, feelings, and objectives? Never fear! Horatio, whose real identity is not revealed until the last 10 pages, is an expert at interpreting every silent but telling blush (they all mean that she is in love with him). As a metaphor for possible better English - Irish relations, she does love him, and they bring together the best of both countries.
I want to tell Glorvina, "I know it is not your fault you were written this way."
When I finally got to the end, my opinion was that Horatio, his father the Earl, and the power they had, were really fucked up. I originally started this for a class, and did not finish it. But as part of Book Riot's 2023 challenge, #6 is finish a book you DNFed
The Wild Irish Girl is half pseudo-anthropology and half messed up romance. I could in no way root for these characters to get together, but in an almost Schadenfreude way it is kind of interesting to watch.
Horatio M., aka Mr. Mortimer, writes flowery descriptions of Ireland and of Glorvina to his best friend back in England. He is a voyeur, and treats 90% of the Irish people he meets as if they were particularly interesting middle schoolers. We never get any perspective from Glorvina, and she spends most of the book silently blushing and sighing. Do you think that isn't a clear, effective medium for conveying thoughts, feelings, and objectives? Never fear! Horatio, whose real identity is not revealed until the last 10 pages, is an expert at interpreting every silent but telling blush (they all mean that she is in love with him). As a metaphor for possible better English - Irish relations, she does love him, and they bring together the best of both countries.
I want to tell Glorvina, "I know it is not your fault you were written this way."
When I finally got to the end, my opinion was that Horatio, his father the Earl, and the power they had, were really fucked up. I originally started this for a class, and did not finish it. But as part of Book Riot's 2023 challenge, #6 is finish a book you DNFed