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ashirak's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alaspooryorick's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lambsears's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is a mid-19th century noir thriller - and it seriously focuses on the 'noir' part of that description. It's as dark as they come.
Hugely well researched, and vividly descriptive, The Abstainer begins with the executions of the Manchester Martyrs in the 1860's, with the city itself a significant character. The novel looks at the underground Fenian struggles there at the time, before branching out across the Atlantic towards the end of the novel.
Very blokey, with women scoring only bit parts, this book examines class, and the grinding poverty suffered by much of the population of the time, and the casual damage done - both by the class structures themselves, and those trapped within them.
Grim, quite grim.
Hugely well researched, and vividly descriptive, The Abstainer begins with the executions of the Manchester Martyrs in the 1860's, with the city itself a significant character. The novel looks at the underground Fenian struggles there at the time, before branching out across the Atlantic towards the end of the novel.
Very blokey, with women scoring only bit parts, this book examines class, and the grinding poverty suffered by much of the population of the time, and the casual damage done - both by the class structures themselves, and those trapped within them.
Grim, quite grim.
frogggirl2's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is best when it closely follows O'Connor's point of view. As the book spins farther and farther afield, the plot meanders in an unrewarding way, leading to a very random and unsatisfying ending. Still, the language is frequently quite beautiful.
"Everything different, he thinks, but everything the same. Time becomes memory, and memory becomes the ditch in which we drown" (p. 245).
"Everything different, he thinks, but everything the same. Time becomes memory, and memory becomes the ditch in which we drown" (p. 245).
asuskai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
liamkeith's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rageofachilles's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good companion book to The North Water. Can’t say I enjoyed the ending much, but it hit some of the same buttons as his previous book.
davethescot's review against another edition
4.0
Another rollicking tale from Mcguire, not quite up there with the north water but a well written, well paced historical thriller.
rkmelcher's review against another edition
3.0
The last third is a bit slow-going, and the ending is rather harsh and unsatisfying. Not to say it needed a happy ending, but it needed something more. A bit of a shame, given the first two-thirds are pretty page-turning, and the book as a whole is unsurprisingly terrifically well-written. A bit of a letdown after The North Water, but still an overall good read.