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andrew61 's review for:
From a Low and Quiet Sea
by Donal Ryan
This is the story of three very different men which , told in three separate parts , appears to be about life experiences that have no connection save that it tells you about how men react to the tragedies , missteps ,obstacles that arise in an individuals life.
The first part is the heart-breaking story of Farouk a Doctor who flees an unnamed middle Eastern country when fighters take over and impose strict Islamic law and atrocities become the norm. Farouk , his wife and child escape after paying for boat passage to Europe. I cannot say any more about this section save that it humanises the plight of refugees and was a hard emotional read at the end.
Then we move to modern day Dublin and a young man Lampy who lives with his mother and grandfather . In his early 20's he drives a care home bus but as he delivers his charges one day we learn through his story about a childhood in which his anger is pronounced and he is an isolated young man because of his temper. As he contemplates the loss of his girlfriend who is moving beyond his stalled future his anger grows as does his despair and his grandfather , a perpetually joking man reflects on his own role in the Lampy's development.
Finally we meet John who at a formative age experiences a tragedy which seems to mould his future character as a devious , manipulative and apparently heartless man who refusing to allow anyone to get the better of him engineers an act of violence which has repercussions.
The book finishes with a final chapter and at the end of the book I felt drained by the events. The writing is subtle in that I grew to understand all three men and the way they are driven emotionally, I liked that things are teased out for the reader such as John's sister who in the aftermath of the tragedy physically abuses her younger siblings and verbally attacks John but John emotionally hurt himself responds in a way that perhaps marks his future ability to empathise with others.
This is a short book but I immersed myself in the lives of these men and it is that diversity of lives that makes the ending satisfying. Thus there are many books which start from an event and then show the reader how the characters have arrived there, by doing it the other way around we as readers can reflect upon the fact that life is like that , we all have friends acquaintances colleagues or even people we barely know but sometimes our lives interconnect which I felt was well done. But overall it was the writers ability to create believable characters with understandable emotions that I especially enjoyed.
The first part is the heart-breaking story of Farouk a Doctor who flees an unnamed middle Eastern country when fighters take over and impose strict Islamic law and atrocities become the norm. Farouk , his wife and child escape after paying for boat passage to Europe. I cannot say any more about this section save that it humanises the plight of refugees and was a hard emotional read at the end.
Then we move to modern day Dublin and a young man Lampy who lives with his mother and grandfather . In his early 20's he drives a care home bus but as he delivers his charges one day we learn through his story about a childhood in which his anger is pronounced and he is an isolated young man because of his temper. As he contemplates the loss of his girlfriend who is moving beyond his stalled future his anger grows as does his despair and his grandfather , a perpetually joking man reflects on his own role in the Lampy's development.
Finally we meet John who at a formative age experiences a tragedy which seems to mould his future character as a devious , manipulative and apparently heartless man who refusing to allow anyone to get the better of him engineers an act of violence which has repercussions.
The book finishes with a final chapter and at the end of the book I felt drained by the events. The writing is subtle in that I grew to understand all three men and the way they are driven emotionally, I liked that things are teased out for the reader such as John's sister who in the aftermath of the tragedy physically abuses her younger siblings and verbally attacks John but John emotionally hurt himself responds in a way that perhaps marks his future ability to empathise with others.
This is a short book but I immersed myself in the lives of these men and it is that diversity of lives that makes the ending satisfying. Thus there are many books which start from an event and then show the reader how the characters have arrived there, by doing it the other way around we as readers can reflect upon the fact that life is like that , we all have friends acquaintances colleagues or even people we barely know but sometimes our lives interconnect which I felt was well done. But overall it was the writers ability to create believable characters with understandable emotions that I especially enjoyed.