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A review by joshgauthier
Bohane, sombre cité (ROMANS, NOUVELL) by Kevin Barry
4.0
This is not the easiest book to read. It's dark and dirty, profane and crass. The entire novel is a sort of experiment with language - written entirely in a dialect shaped specifically for this story. The speech of this book is not the speech that I am used to hearing or reading and takes some getting used to.
That being said, in the midst of capturing the rough and violent world of Bohane, Barry's writing is a (pleasure?) to read. It is interspersed with moments of descriptive beauty that shine through before the force and tone of the overall narrative return in strength.
Barry makes some wonderful decisions here and uses his craft to great effect. The narrator of the story is a surprise. The narrative style is unique and engaging. The perspectives through which events unfold are not always the perspectives I would have expected, but they work well. And the story twists and develops in some surprising and delightful ways.
The story starts well, but about half-way through really gains momentum in my opinion. And the ending sequence was fascinating to me as both a reader and as a writer. The book ends without a lot of detailed resolution, but it isn't lacking either. The ending is excellent in that it is unexpected, feels inevitable, and finishes with a resonance that outlasts the novel itself.
In short, this is not a novel for everyone. It's unique and it's experimental. Its style may unsettle. Its content may unsettle. But, for me, it was fascinating, engaging, memorable, and gave me so much of what I want to see in a story - first and foremost a complex world that I can loose myself in for a time.
That being said, in the midst of capturing the rough and violent world of Bohane, Barry's writing is a (pleasure?) to read. It is interspersed with moments of descriptive beauty that shine through before the force and tone of the overall narrative return in strength.
Barry makes some wonderful decisions here and uses his craft to great effect. The narrator of the story is a surprise. The narrative style is unique and engaging. The perspectives through which events unfold are not always the perspectives I would have expected, but they work well. And the story twists and develops in some surprising and delightful ways.
The story starts well, but about half-way through really gains momentum in my opinion. And the ending sequence was fascinating to me as both a reader and as a writer. The book ends without a lot of detailed resolution, but it isn't lacking either. The ending is excellent in that it is unexpected, feels inevitable, and finishes with a resonance that outlasts the novel itself.
In short, this is not a novel for everyone. It's unique and it's experimental. Its style may unsettle. Its content may unsettle. But, for me, it was fascinating, engaging, memorable, and gave me so much of what I want to see in a story - first and foremost a complex world that I can loose myself in for a time.