abroadwell's review against another edition
3.0
Very, very good.
But this novel did not get as many high marks for me, perhaps because I've recently finished [b:The Spinning Heart|15995144|The Spinning Heart|Donal Ryan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349169242l/15995144._SY75_.jpg|21753684], which strikes me as superior in the integration of multiple perspectives and narrators.
But this novel did not get as many high marks for me, perhaps because I've recently finished [b:The Spinning Heart|15995144|The Spinning Heart|Donal Ryan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349169242l/15995144._SY75_.jpg|21753684], which strikes me as superior in the integration of multiple perspectives and narrators.
dlberglund's review against another edition
3.0
Most of this book reads as three separate stories of three separate men. Early in the book, I tried to predict how the first two narratives could be connected, and I was so off base and I stopped trying to find the links. The third narrator was surprising, and still I felt confused about where this novel was going. The writing is crisp; dialogue lyrical and so very Irish. They were good stories but it took until the very last chapters (with some new and brief narrators) to feel the tension really build (rather than meander) and understand that we were going to come to a satisfying conclusion. A depressing conclusion, but a satisfying one.
linmae_c's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
carmenere's review against another edition
4.0
From a Low and Quiet Sea is my second read from the Booker Long List. It is the telling of three men, Farouk in Syria and Lampy and John in Ireland. Each man is afforded his own chapter wherein lies the major events in their lives. Each story on its own is enjoyable in its own right. The characters are drawn concisely and clearly. Their circumstances and the people involved transported me to their plight. As I came to the final pages of the third gentleman, John, I wracked my brain thinking, "Ok, where's this going, what's the connection these stories share?" Perhaps other readers won't have to wait till the final chapter "Lake Islands" to discover the twists of fate but I need to be hit over my head with it. When it is revealed, it sent shivers down my spine!
An awesome well paced read.
An awesome well paced read.
bellsandwhistles's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mary412's review against another edition
4.0
Another book by Donal Ryan that I need a second reading to fully appreciate.
frogjeanine's review against another edition
4.0
really quite lovely. a series of vignettes tracing the lives of three different men as they navigate what it means to live in an increasingly hostile, changing world, following these people as they face conflicts, both internal and external. by chronicling three very distinct characters in wildly separate stages and experiences of life and still connecting them, donal ryan achieves great beauty and fluidity. i could hardly ask more from a book.
habiba_r's review against another edition
5.0
The strength of this book is in the way it's written and the way it gets into the core of people. Even when the characters are unlikable, you can understand the motives of them and the formation of them and you want to know more. The way the stories pull together is fantastic and well worth it and gives the story a cyclical feel.
ronanmcd's review against another edition
5.0
There are many layers here. It's about being a man in worlds of men, it's about living through challenges and how we face or escape them. But my own reading is this is a book about truth and what that means.
Farouk has his truth doubted in the judgement by others. Lampy cannot bring himself to face the truth. John created other truths as suited his purposes. Each of these is brought! to settle accounts with his truth.
That reading could well be my own obsessive showing through: media, politics and history and their manufacture. But the book can be read in so many ways.
Farouk has his truth doubted in the judgement by others. Lampy cannot bring himself to face the truth. John created other truths as suited his purposes. Each of these is brought! to settle accounts with his truth.
That reading could well be my own obsessive showing through: media, politics and history and their manufacture. But the book can be read in so many ways.