Reviews with content warning for Ableism - The Good People

The story is written with care and it’s obviously well researched, but god, it’s so bleak!

I really enjoyed the folklore elements and the added touch of naming each chapter for a “medicinal” plant.

Content Warnings

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Good People is set in remote rural Ireland in the 1820s. Following the death of her husband and daughter, Nóra is left to care for her four year old grandson Michéal, a child born healthy but now unable to talk or walk. Feeling ashamed, judged, and struggling to cope she first hires Mary, a fourteen year old servant to help her around the house and farm and then seeks the advice of Nance, a local woman, known for her herbal remedies and knowledge of the faeries for help in getting the real Michéal back, having become increasingly convinced that her grandson had been taken by the faeries and a changeling left in his place.

The atmosphere in this was fantastic - dark, claustrophobic and increasingly more threatening, bleak and ominous. I loved the portrayal of Mary’s community and the way they retained their traditional pagan beliefs despite growing opposition from the local Catholic priest, whose followings they also purported to follow. Their poverty and struggle for survival was also really well depicted. I could see similarities with Burial Rites, by the same author, with both featuring women alienated from society ending up on the wrong side of the law, although the two books had very different endings.

However, I struggled with this story for very personal reasons. I have a younger brother who was born with some severe disabilities, and who has developed other disabilities over his life. The attitude of most of the characters towards Michéal and their treatment of him made me deeply uncomfortable - especially because the story was based on true events - meaning this book was really difficult for me to read.

A fantastically told story - Hannah Kent creates such wonderful atmosphere - but one I personally couldn’t enjoy.

Content Warnings

buecher_und_huehner's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

4.0

Content Warnings

hannahnott's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

carlyalynnsia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Nance knew that the only reason they had allowed her this damp cabin between mountain and wood and river for twenty-odd years was because she stood in for that which was not and could not be understood. She was the gatekeeper at the edge of the world. The final human hymn before all fell to wind and shadow and the strange creaking of stars. She was a pagan chorus. An older song.”

TITLE—The Good People

AUTHOR—Hannah Kent

PUBLISHED—2016

GENRE—historical fiction

SETTING—early 19th c. Ireland

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—the toll of poverty & oppression; superstition, prejudice, & fear; Christianity vs paganism; grief; fairies; Irish proverbs; incredible historical fiction worldbuilding

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BONUS ELEMENT/S—One of the best books about the belief in “the Good People” in Ireland that I’ve ever read. Whew-wuh! 😅

PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“‘I am an ash tree in the face of a storm. Despite the woods, I alone court the lightning.’”

Uff. Da. As my greatgrandmother would say. 😅 This book was HEAV👏🏻Y👏🏻. Check the CWs before reading! Also heads up that this was a book of HUGE personal significance for me so this just cannot be an unbiased review.

But damn. If Kent didn’t do an INCREDIBLE job at demonstrating just how complicated and multifaceted the human experience is. My first draft of this review turned into a rant against Christianity and then my second draft turned into a rant against rich people so let me just say that Kent will go there and it will be infuriating but what she also does is make you feel just a tiny but hopeful that even in the darkest most hopeless of situations, maybe the potential for goodness that ultimately lies at the root of the human soul will be enough to save us. …Maybe. 😅

So this story is about a disabled child being thought to be a fairy and the attempt to swap the changeling back for the “natural”, “true” human child (i.e. the “healthy”, “normal” child). And it’s based on a true story. 😬 So it gets reallyyy dark and rough to read because of the horrible ableism but also like I think that the deeper message here is not about changing people’s minds about ableism, faith, superstition, science, social conformity, etc etc etc BUT by demonstrating that under systems that oppress and divide, humans are driven to extremes that they would not be driven to were a different life available to them—one where social justice and communal generosity were prioritized over wealth hoarding and class status.

In fact, the real villain was off the page for the entire book: the landlord for whom the villagers “rent” was always due, who they had to pay in order to avoid eviction, who got their money before they even got their food—the source of all the suffering and fear and hopelessness. There’s a scene where one of the characters accidentally catches herself on fire and her screams fill the valley and as people are trying to figure out where the screams are coming from and who’s making them someone says “it’s too early in the year for evictions…” The screams of a woman on *fire* make someone think that they are the screams of a woman being turned out of her home by the landowner. 😬 Really emphasized to me the fact that sweeping social reforms/revolution is the solution not faith, nor hard work.

This book definitely made me angry—but not at the book itself or the author—it made me angry at the suffering of those who have merely been born into circumstances far different than the lives lived by those in power. And how those same conditions are STILL PRESENT in many places around the world for the SAME REASONS. And how it is *always* the poor and the disabled who pay the price. 😞 Yeesh!

But yeah this book is amazing. Highly recommend. CWs first though, plz. 😅

“Father Healy shook his head. ‘…You know what they say, woman? The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.’ ‘And the road to Heaven is well signposted, Father…’ Nance smiled. ‘But badly lit at night.’”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW // grief, really really graphic ableism, graphic depiction of pregnancy & <SPOILER>stillbirth</SPOILER>, domestic violence, child abuse (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—

Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent
Devotion, by Hannah Kent—TBR
The Luminaries, by Eleanor Catton
Bone China, by Laura Purcell

Content Warnings

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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