smalefowles's review against another edition
5.0
The Great American Novel has been written.
By an Irish dude.
Fair enough.
By an Irish dude.
Fair enough.
3catsinatrenchcoat's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
tsenko2's review against another edition
2.0
Let me preface by saying that I do not enjoy reading dialect. Yes, this is a first person narrative, but the dialect was awkward, choppy, and difficult for me to follow. It was like nails on chalkboard trying to struggle through the prose of this book to follow the story.
I must also disclose that while I am not unaware or indifferent to the brutality of man, I don’t enjoy immersing myself in it. The bleak violence was possibly insightful, but I don’t need to dwell on the ugliness that humans are capable of. If I hadn’t been reading this for a bookclub, I wouldn’t have finished it despite my interest in historical fiction, particularly regarding the American West and the 19th century.
If I had cared about the characters, I might have cared about the book. For example all we know of John Cole is that he is “handsome”. And McNulty accepts himself as transgender with only slight references to fear of the threats that those who are different would have lived with. The book presents their lifestyle as readily accepted by almost all around them. So many other groups faced prejudice in this book, but somehow the bigotry against LGBTQ was almost nonexistent. That puzzled me.
I have not read any other Sebastian Barry books. Based on this one, I am unlikely to.
I must also disclose that while I am not unaware or indifferent to the brutality of man, I don’t enjoy immersing myself in it. The bleak violence was possibly insightful, but I don’t need to dwell on the ugliness that humans are capable of. If I hadn’t been reading this for a bookclub, I wouldn’t have finished it despite my interest in historical fiction, particularly regarding the American West and the 19th century.
If I had cared about the characters, I might have cared about the book. For example all we know of John Cole is that he is “handsome”. And McNulty accepts himself as transgender with only slight references to fear of the threats that those who are different would have lived with. The book presents their lifestyle as readily accepted by almost all around them. So many other groups faced prejudice in this book, but somehow the bigotry against LGBTQ was almost nonexistent. That puzzled me.
I have not read any other Sebastian Barry books. Based on this one, I am unlikely to.
suehepworth's review against another edition
4.75
About two men in the US Civil War and is written by one of them. The style was hard, continuous writing for conversations. Deals with war against Native Americans and blacks. Happy ending. Also deals with homosexuality, narrator is trans and would prefer to be a woman. it received the Cost Book Award in 2016 and is a Guardian bestseller.
mundinova's review against another edition
4.0
"A man’s memory might have only a hundred clear days in it and he has lived thousands."
If you wanted [b:Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West|394535|Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West|Cormac McCarthy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453995760l/394535._SY75_.jpg|1065465] to have a happy ending then this is the book for you! There are many similarities: the same time period and areas of exploration in the West, lots of killing and gross descriptions of mutilated bodies. But the largest difference is the love story.
"The moonlight not able to flatter him because he was already beautiful."
I know, strange mix. But it works!
Story: 4 stars
Character Development: 4 stars
Writing/Prose: 5 stars
If you wanted [b:Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West|394535|Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West|Cormac McCarthy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453995760l/394535._SY75_.jpg|1065465] to have a happy ending then this is the book for you! There are many similarities: the same time period and areas of exploration in the West, lots of killing and gross descriptions of mutilated bodies. But the largest difference is the love story.
"The moonlight not able to flatter him because he was already beautiful."
I know, strange mix. But it works!
Story: 4 stars
Character Development: 4 stars
Writing/Prose: 5 stars
chirson's review against another edition
4.0
I tend to be a literary utilitarian: I care more about the overall effect the text makes on me than the literary means it uses, substance over style. Obviously incompetent writing is a no-go, but I'd sooner read an interesting novel that is less than ingenious than a navel-gazing achievement of style. But every once in a while even I must give its due to style. This novel uses style to make itself substantial and it doesn't even need that, because the story and character are strong enough to stand on their own. But the language is what makes this so astonishing. At times intensely lyrical (and so beautiful it could bring tears to my eyes) and at times drily witty and funny, McNulty's narration may have been too beautiful for 1st person narrator but somehow I don't think that makes it any less powerful. Maybe it's not always the language McNulty would use when telling his story, but it certainly the way it is best conveyed.
I hesitate to speak about the plot, but the novel is beautiful in portraying queerness that doesn't know its name (that perhaps doesn't have it yet), in showing how violence is systemic, in showcasing its social and psychological effects and in painting images of astonishing brutality. The older I get, the more difficult it is for me to read about historical acts of cruelty, and this novel is unsparing in its portrayal of suffering of its narrator (the Famine in Ireland, the passage to America) white violence visited on Native and Black characters as well as in showing the continuum on which it exists. The narrator and John Cole are both victims of violence as well as implicated in war crimes they strive to atone for. Genocide happens on both sides of the Atlantic.
The characters are compelling even though we are not allowed into their heads aside from McNulty's. I loved the matter-of-fact way in which the relationship between the characters was portrayed, on page but always in a way that felt respectfully demure, denying any possibility of voyeuristic pleasure.
I cried when I finished the book but I also cried when I thought about the meaning of its title. It's a novel that made me think about the meaning of time, love, death, survival and family, and it will stay with me for a long time. A remarkable achievement.
I hesitate to speak about the plot, but the novel is beautiful in portraying queerness that doesn't know its name (that perhaps doesn't have it yet), in showing how violence is systemic, in showcasing its social and psychological effects and in painting images of astonishing brutality. The older I get, the more difficult it is for me to read about historical acts of cruelty, and this novel is unsparing in its portrayal of suffering of its narrator (the Famine in Ireland, the passage to America) white violence visited on Native and Black characters as well as in showing the continuum on which it exists. The narrator and John Cole are both victims of violence as well as implicated in war crimes they strive to atone for. Genocide happens on both sides of the Atlantic.
The characters are compelling even though we are not allowed into their heads aside from McNulty's. I loved the matter-of-fact way in which the relationship between the characters was portrayed, on page but always in a way that felt respectfully demure, denying any possibility of voyeuristic pleasure.
I cried when I finished the book but I also cried when I thought about the meaning of its title. It's a novel that made me think about the meaning of time, love, death, survival and family, and it will stay with me for a long time. A remarkable achievement.
Spoiler
At the end, I think there is no way to tell if Thomas is transgender, non-binary or a gay man: given the opportunity to be whoever he/she wants to be, what would the choice be? Perhaps the lack of language to describe the experience is a gift here, so identity can flactuate and change. Thomas is a fighting man and a mother, inhabited by his soul and the ghost of his dead sister. Either way, even though they are all fictional, I'm so glad they live to tell this tale.hiltzmoore's review against another edition
3.0
This was really lyrical and poetic. It took me a while to get used to the voice of the narrator, but when I did I found it soothing in an odd way. It read much more slowly than I thought it would and then picked up very quickly at the end. A really nice, thought provoking book.
burrowsi1's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
fendeviper's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5