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A review by smitchy
The World of Tomorrow by Brendan Mathews
5.0
This took me freaking ages to read because at first I admit I struggled to get into it - The first 1/3 of the book just didn't grab me and several times I almost tossed it. I'm glad I didn't.
This chunky (550+ pages) literary fiction took me a while to get into but once I did I struggled to put it down.
In one week in June of 1939 the lives of the three brothers will be turned upside-down. Set against the backdrop of a vibrant New York, and humming with the beat of the jazz age, 'The World of Tomorrow' is glitz and glamour, dark and foreboding, humorous and serious all at once. And over everything is the shadow of WWII brewing in Europe.
Francis Dempsey is living the high life in New York city but ten days before he was a guest in a Dublin Prison. When he took the opportunity to escape with his brother Michael their stay at an IRA safe house was cut short with an explosion, leaving men dead and cash up for grabs - The Garda and the IRA are on his tail but Francis is determined to stay one step ahead. Using his newly acquired wealth to pose as Scottish nobility Francis is seeking help for his recently deafened and concussed brother. And charming the ladies along the way, naturally.
New York is a natural choice for Francis as their older brother Martin has been carving a life there as a session musician. Martin hasn't seen his brothers in years and when they suddenly turn up flush with cash and living large he doesn't ask too many questions.
Francis' change in circumstances may have flummoxed the police but the IRA are not so easily thrown. Tom Cronin just wants a quiet life on his farm with his wife and family after years of doing the IRA's dirty work. He is forced into one last job...
There is an incredible amount of detail here - you can almost see the city and hear the music - I wanted to look up each song and musician mentioned just to listen. This is a book to immerse yourself in, I think I struggled at the start because I only read five or ten pages at a time but I should have just dedicated the time and aimed for 150 in a sitting. I grew to sympathise with the characters - each trapped by the past and fighting to free themselves for a better future. I got the impression that this was also a bit of a homage to works of Irish writers - particularly James Joyce's Ulysses - with the (occasionally) excruciating level of detail. Race is a major theme throughout the book - Martin wants to set up his own band - he doesn't care about colour, all he cares about is having the best players for his music - but getting a "mixed" band a place to play is another matter entirely. Race is also an issue half a world away as Nazis increase their pressure on Jews in Europe.
Recommend for the more literally inclined readers - an enjoyable read but takes a little persistence.
This chunky (550+ pages) literary fiction took me a while to get into but once I did I struggled to put it down.
In one week in June of 1939 the lives of the three brothers will be turned upside-down. Set against the backdrop of a vibrant New York, and humming with the beat of the jazz age, 'The World of Tomorrow' is glitz and glamour, dark and foreboding, humorous and serious all at once. And over everything is the shadow of WWII brewing in Europe.
Francis Dempsey is living the high life in New York city but ten days before he was a guest in a Dublin Prison. When he took the opportunity to escape with his brother Michael their stay at an IRA safe house was cut short with an explosion, leaving men dead and cash up for grabs - The Garda and the IRA are on his tail but Francis is determined to stay one step ahead. Using his newly acquired wealth to pose as Scottish nobility Francis is seeking help for his recently deafened and concussed brother. And charming the ladies along the way, naturally.
New York is a natural choice for Francis as their older brother Martin has been carving a life there as a session musician. Martin hasn't seen his brothers in years and when they suddenly turn up flush with cash and living large he doesn't ask too many questions.
Francis' change in circumstances may have flummoxed the police but the IRA are not so easily thrown. Tom Cronin just wants a quiet life on his farm with his wife and family after years of doing the IRA's dirty work. He is forced into one last job...
There is an incredible amount of detail here - you can almost see the city and hear the music - I wanted to look up each song and musician mentioned just to listen. This is a book to immerse yourself in, I think I struggled at the start because I only read five or ten pages at a time but I should have just dedicated the time and aimed for 150 in a sitting. I grew to sympathise with the characters - each trapped by the past and fighting to free themselves for a better future. I got the impression that this was also a bit of a homage to works of Irish writers - particularly James Joyce's Ulysses - with the (occasionally) excruciating level of detail. Race is a major theme throughout the book - Martin wants to set up his own band - he doesn't care about colour, all he cares about is having the best players for his music - but getting a "mixed" band a place to play is another matter entirely. Race is also an issue half a world away as Nazis increase their pressure on Jews in Europe.
Recommend for the more literally inclined readers - an enjoyable read but takes a little persistence.