Reviews

The Slowworm's Song by Andrew Miller

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alexrafinski's review against another edition

challenging informative sad slow-paced

4.25

This book is written in the form of a long letter from an ex-soldier and alcoholic to his daughter whose childhood he missed but with whom he is now starting a relationship. The main thrust of the story is whether he can open up about an incident in Northern Ireland that basically destroyed him as a person. It is nicely written and by the end I found myself quite involved with the life of the main character. I think I liked Miller’s other books better though.

bethg97's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-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

4.25

lisbeth1's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

jmatkinson1's review against another edition

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5.0

Stephen Rose grew up on the Somerset Levels as part of a Quaker community. At 16 he rebelled against this and joined the army. Now, 40 years later, he is a recovering alcoholic living from day to day in his former family home. When Stephen receives a letter from a Commission into the Troubles he knows that he needs to confront his past but doing so may end with him losing his daughter, the only positive in his life.
This book is amazing. It manages to run the full gamut of emotions and the reader is wanting Stephen to survive and move forward despite all that has happened. It is not a flamboyantly written tale, the prose is tight and yet the description is so vivid. I was floored by how much I loved this book!

sde's review against another edition

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4.0

A lovely and quiet book about a middle aged British man facing his past demons, with the help of a new connection with his adult daughter. The main character, Stephen, made a fatal mistake when he was a very young man serving with the British army in Northern Ireland. I grew up in Greater Boston during the time of The Troubles, and on reading this book I better understood how my views on the issue were very much from the point of view of the IRA. But, like every conflict, there is a lot of nuance, and the young British men who served in Northern Ireland mostly just did what they were told as part of their job.

The book reinforced the idea that weapons and conflict should not be taken lightly. Stephen's story reminded me of a training I had with a sheriff's department. The officer said that people really underestimate the personal aftermath of doing violence to someone, even when the violence is justified. There was decades of aftermath in this book. I wish we would stress this more in the days when Americans shoot each other over every little fear.

Although my life is a lot different than Stephen's, we are about the same age. I thought Miller did a fantastic job of portraying a person of that age - a little beaten down, but not at all stupid or lazy, thinking a lot about both the past and the future.

The book was very real. What I mean is that there were struggles and joys, but nothing was very dramatic, even when some scenes were turning points in people's lives. It is difficult to make a story move forward and still evoke that feel of real life, but Miller does a great job of it in this book.