meganjjang's review against another edition
Just not the type of book for me at this moment in time!
claire60's review against another edition
4.0
One of my favourite authors, Jan Carson manages to capture the bleak violence of East Belfast with magical creatures. In this book she centres it round two men, one an ex-paramilitary who has concerns that his son is a psychopath, as punishment for his past crimes. The other is a neglected man who grew up to be a GP and has a brief dalliance with a Siren who then gives birth and disappears leaving him to wonder in amazement at his daughter but also in fear that she too will grow up with the ability to kill using her voice. In addition its a hot summer and someone is setting 'tall fires' in support of protestant history of lighting bonfires. An absorbing way to explore themes of parental love and how the aftermath of The Troubles still lingers. Jan writes with care and accuracy about the experience of these two men and the women children around them, you can almost taste and smell these particular terraced streets.
bookwormandtheatremouse's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
dirtyfair's review against another edition
4.0
I always knew there was something odd about the children of east Belfast.
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating and unusual book, I think you can love or hate it. I love it.
It's a sort of dialogue, a stream of consciousness that brings you to Belfast and tells an interesting story.
The book is engaging, once you get used to the style of storytelling you cannot put it down.
I loved the style of writing, how the characters were written and I think that the author is a good storyteller.
I will surely read other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are mine.
It's a sort of dialogue, a stream of consciousness that brings you to Belfast and tells an interesting story.
The book is engaging, once you get used to the style of storytelling you cannot put it down.
I loved the style of writing, how the characters were written and I think that the author is a good storyteller.
I will surely read other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are mine.
bgg616's review against another edition
5.0
February 2022 - I reread this novel for my contemporary Irish book club and I am glad that I did. This reading I savored her writing. Carson writes beautiful descriptions - not just of city scenes such as sights in East Belfast, where she lives - but descriptions of fire damage, discarded cigarettes, and other detritus of daily life.
As I reread this book, I was chilled by the descriptions of how residents of East Belfast, and indeed the rest of the city, from the Protestant communities, feel about the efforts of authorities to limit and control the size of bonfires built for Eleventh night, July 11. July 12th is the culmination of the Marching Season, and "celebrates" (at least from the Unionist perspective) the victory of William III of Orange (King Billy) over King James II (the deposed Catholic King of Scotland and England) at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. It is seen as a victory of Protestants over Catholics, and to many the fact that this happened over 300 years ago doesn't matter. As expressions of Unionist "pride" - parades, bonfires, etc.- are eroded by official efforts to control or ban them, the Unionists wonder if losing these symbols will cause them to disappear. For decades, particularly after the partition of Ireland and Northern Ireland in 1921, the Protestant majority had more - better housing, more of the jobs, and most of the political power. Carson describes the feelings generated when Unionist symbols - the bonfires being a major one - are "taken away", and it was chilling. The parallels with Americans who fly Confederate flags, and hold on to their monuments are compelling. Supporters of the Confederacy in the US, and those who Northern Ireland who cheer King Billy as a symbol of Protestant supremacy fear that any lessening of their dominance, means they get a smaller piece of the pie. However, it is not a zero sum game.
If you have seen the film Belfast , you have some sense of what East Belfast, the setting for this novel, is like. The film is set in North Belfast, but Belfast is a small city. Both are not far from one another and the shipbuilding giant Harland and Wolfe. H&W was famous for building huge luxury ocean liners including the Titanic. Many men in these two neighborhoods worked for the shipyard that did not hire Catholics. In the Catholic community prior to the Northern Ireland civil rights movement, men were unemployed, and the women worked, often in linen mills. Most of these linen mills which once employed 40% of the population in Northern Ireland, have shut down. Since the 1998 Peace Agreement, things have been looking up in Belfast. Change is slow, but it is happening. It takes a little longer in a society where old resentments, grudges, and hates still linger.
This is Jan Carson's second novel. She has a high profile in Northern Ireland as a young writer who has written novels, flash fiction, and short stories. She often is featured as a discussant with other writers (I'll see her in mid-July in Armagh, Northern Ireland in conversation with the writer Kevin Barry). Her first novel [b:Malcolm Orange Disappears|21932882|Malcolm Orange Disappears|Jan Carson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401487455l/21932882._SX50_.jpg|41232384] was set in the United States, where Carson spent time. This novel is firmly set in East Belfast (home of Van Morrison, and C.S. Lewis), a working class Protestant stronghold.
July is the "Marching Season" for Protestant Unionists, who are members of and adherents to the Orange Order. They are fervently dedicated to the Orange cause, and commemorate the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Here William of Orange defeated the Catholic James II who was attempting to reclaim the English throne. On July 12th every year, Orangemen (and women) march throughout Northern Ireland. On the night before, the 11th, huge bonfires burn everywhere. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-44799809/eleventh-night-bonfires-culture-and-controversy
The bonfire custom is a theme in the novel as residents work to construct bigger and bigger flammable towers of combustible items including furniture. But this year the towers are growing way beyond the height limits, and soon fires are happening everywhere, placing people, homes, and businesses in danger. It becomes apparent that the other fires are being set by one person who begins to brag about his exploits on the internet. Chapter 8 - Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth - is an absolutely stunning description of these days in July - the lambeg drums (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7UzN8UvI5g) , the Orange sashes, fifes, and the Union Jacks flying everywhere.
The second theme, which is very much Jan Carson's usual style, is the theme of the "Unfortunate Children". These are children who are "different". They may have wings, superpowers, or even be potentially dangerous to others. The parents of these children are often desperate. It seems that in East Belfast, there is an abundance of this kind of children, and the parents have a doctor who advises them, and brings them together in a support system. Children of this sort are found all over the city, but it is only in East Belfast where the parents gather together (middle class parents have the resources to get support privately). Two of the fathers in the novel have challenging children, and their dilemmas drive the story.
This was a hard-to-put-down novel for me. Carson's style is brilliant - her interpretation of magical realism. Perhaps there is a name for it that I haven't come across. The novel is grounded in the reality of East Belfast life, while at the same time, threaded through with the bizarre, magical and at times terrifying.
As I reread this book, I was chilled by the descriptions of how residents of East Belfast, and indeed the rest of the city, from the Protestant communities, feel about the efforts of authorities to limit and control the size of bonfires built for Eleventh night, July 11. July 12th is the culmination of the Marching Season, and "celebrates" (at least from the Unionist perspective) the victory of William III of Orange (King Billy) over King James II (the deposed Catholic King of Scotland and England) at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. It is seen as a victory of Protestants over Catholics, and to many the fact that this happened over 300 years ago doesn't matter. As expressions of Unionist "pride" - parades, bonfires, etc.- are eroded by official efforts to control or ban them, the Unionists wonder if losing these symbols will cause them to disappear. For decades, particularly after the partition of Ireland and Northern Ireland in 1921, the Protestant majority had more - better housing, more of the jobs, and most of the political power. Carson describes the feelings generated when Unionist symbols - the bonfires being a major one - are "taken away", and it was chilling. The parallels with Americans who fly Confederate flags, and hold on to their monuments are compelling. Supporters of the Confederacy in the US, and those who Northern Ireland who cheer King Billy as a symbol of Protestant supremacy fear that any lessening of their dominance, means they get a smaller piece of the pie. However, it is not a zero sum game.
If you have seen the film Belfast , you have some sense of what East Belfast, the setting for this novel, is like. The film is set in North Belfast, but Belfast is a small city. Both are not far from one another and the shipbuilding giant Harland and Wolfe. H&W was famous for building huge luxury ocean liners including the Titanic. Many men in these two neighborhoods worked for the shipyard that did not hire Catholics. In the Catholic community prior to the Northern Ireland civil rights movement, men were unemployed, and the women worked, often in linen mills. Most of these linen mills which once employed 40% of the population in Northern Ireland, have shut down. Since the 1998 Peace Agreement, things have been looking up in Belfast. Change is slow, but it is happening. It takes a little longer in a society where old resentments, grudges, and hates still linger.
This is Jan Carson's second novel. She has a high profile in Northern Ireland as a young writer who has written novels, flash fiction, and short stories. She often is featured as a discussant with other writers (I'll see her in mid-July in Armagh, Northern Ireland in conversation with the writer Kevin Barry). Her first novel [b:Malcolm Orange Disappears|21932882|Malcolm Orange Disappears|Jan Carson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401487455l/21932882._SX50_.jpg|41232384] was set in the United States, where Carson spent time. This novel is firmly set in East Belfast (home of Van Morrison, and C.S. Lewis), a working class Protestant stronghold.
July is the "Marching Season" for Protestant Unionists, who are members of and adherents to the Orange Order. They are fervently dedicated to the Orange cause, and commemorate the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Here William of Orange defeated the Catholic James II who was attempting to reclaim the English throne. On July 12th every year, Orangemen (and women) march throughout Northern Ireland. On the night before, the 11th, huge bonfires burn everywhere. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-44799809/eleventh-night-bonfires-culture-and-controversy
The bonfire custom is a theme in the novel as residents work to construct bigger and bigger flammable towers of combustible items including furniture. But this year the towers are growing way beyond the height limits, and soon fires are happening everywhere, placing people, homes, and businesses in danger. It becomes apparent that the other fires are being set by one person who begins to brag about his exploits on the internet. Chapter 8 - Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth - is an absolutely stunning description of these days in July - the lambeg drums (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7UzN8UvI5g) , the Orange sashes, fifes, and the Union Jacks flying everywhere.
The second theme, which is very much Jan Carson's usual style, is the theme of the "Unfortunate Children". These are children who are "different". They may have wings, superpowers, or even be potentially dangerous to others. The parents of these children are often desperate. It seems that in East Belfast, there is an abundance of this kind of children, and the parents have a doctor who advises them, and brings them together in a support system. Children of this sort are found all over the city, but it is only in East Belfast where the parents gather together (middle class parents have the resources to get support privately). Two of the fathers in the novel have challenging children, and their dilemmas drive the story.
This was a hard-to-put-down novel for me. Carson's style is brilliant - her interpretation of magical realism. Perhaps there is a name for it that I haven't come across. The novel is grounded in the reality of East Belfast life, while at the same time, threaded through with the bizarre, magical and at times terrifying.
readsnjava's review against another edition
5.0
Weird, in a good way. Excellent writing. Highly creative. Interesting look at fatherhood as well as life in contemporary Belfast. And that ending. Ohhhh.
fblizz's review against another edition
5.0
A book so strange and yet intriguing that leaves me not knowing how I feel about it in the end. Do I want more? I think so. Or maybe the nebulous ending is enough for me. I did not have a clue when I started reading this book what it was about exactly and I think that was a nice surprise. It was good I read it after reading "Say Nothing" since that gave me enough of an education about the troubles to understand much of the Sammy/Mark/Belfast storyline.
rtansey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5