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A review by laurahastoomanywips
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was an OK read. Not 100% sure what all the hype was about, though.
It did convey the atmosphere of Northern Ireland during the Troubles, that something hanging over you/ anything could happen feeling.
I felt like it wasn't sure what sort of book it wanted to be: was it a literary fiction style about life then, was it a love story (albeit a weird, controlling relationship given how Michael acted, constantly wanting to know what she was doing, not liking others spend time with Cushla) or was it about the poverty and difficulties of a "mixed" family and what they had to endure or was it about Tommy's unrequited love for Cushla?
My favourite character was Davy, he was such a "tryer", doing his best in the situation his family was in, trying to be positive even after his dad's punnishment beating. I was glad he was found by Cushla at the end, even if it was 40 odd years later.
I also really struggled with the lack of speech marks, it really affected the flow of my reading and caused me to get confused a lot at who was actually speaking.
It did convey the atmosphere of Northern Ireland during the Troubles, that something hanging over you/ anything could happen feeling.
I felt like it wasn't sure what sort of book it wanted to be: was it a literary fiction style about life then, was it a love story (albeit a weird, controlling relationship given how Michael acted, constantly wanting to know what she was doing, not liking others spend time with Cushla) or was it about the poverty and difficulties of a "mixed" family and what they had to endure or was it about Tommy's unrequited love for Cushla?
My favourite character was Davy, he was such a "tryer", doing his best in the situation his family was in, trying to be positive even after his dad's punnishment beating. I was glad he was found by Cushla at the end, even if it was 40 odd years later.
I also really struggled with the lack of speech marks, it really affected the flow of my reading and caused me to get confused a lot at who was actually speaking.