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janey's review
4.0
Meditative and, I think, allegorical. The devotion of the couple, which does not want by exposure, is powerful and very very understated.
thetbrstack's review
4.0
The writing is some of the best out of Ireland these days. The book is comforting and calming. It's a very Irish book.
anna6carnegie's review against another edition
4.0
Very warming, quiet & introspective - There’s no plot just life/ the lives of Bell and Sigh (and dogs Pip and Voss <3 ) and all the details imaginable of the house occupied for 7 years in this novel. Whilst you’re not let in to the interior worlds of Bell and Sigh, you end up somehow knowing them closely.
Masterful nature writing/imagery/descriptive and lyrical prose. It at times felt like long form poetry by its fractured form and emphasis on detailed description.
Boring/beautiful. Mundane/Complicated clutterful lives. Ideal/what do we really want in life, who gets to leave society, what is living, what do we really need in order to live?
Very soothing to read amidst chaos or low dips.
Masterful nature writing/imagery/descriptive and lyrical prose. It at times felt like long form poetry by its fractured form and emphasis on detailed description.
Boring/beautiful. Mundane/Complicated clutterful lives. Ideal/what do we really want in life, who gets to leave society, what is living, what do we really need in order to live?
Very soothing to read amidst chaos or low dips.
rainee_deverell's review
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
eabhajones's review
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
I really expected (and wanted) to hate this book. I had seen it around for a while and read the first page in the library and thought it was a little try hard but once I started I couldn't stop. I loved the descriptions and the pace of the story (and there is a story). It was a beautiful and unusual book which was more accessible than it could have been. The characters were detestable and frustrating but vivacious and admirable in all the same breath. Interesting themes about money and artistry and place. A beautifully presented book as well. I ended up buying a copy to have and mark. Would recommend.
townofherons's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
In the bathroom, when no one was watching, he licked droplets of piss from the tile-imitation lino.
This book seemed so promising at the start.
The intriguing form that plays with line length and meter was unique, it drew me in.
But it quickly devolved into a bizarre competition to see just how disgusting the imagery could get, such as the grotesque quote above.
The couple featured in this book are horrendously unhygienic, a trait that's written to be relatably quirky and part of the comedy.
Described in sordid detail are their rotting cavity-filled teeth, loose fingernails, blistering toes, mirrors covered in spit, a cracked stove teaming with oil and old food, mice leaving shit on the shelves unnoticed for weeks, copious vomit, and two dogs idly rubbing their greasy coats in fox poo.
I reject the description of this book that suggests this couple "pushes against traditional expectations" and "embed themselves in nature". They do the complete opposite.
They leave trash, wrappers, and plastic waste, all over the surrounding countryside and in their own garden and driveway. They vandalize a trail sign. They allow their dogs to brutally toy with and tear apart small animals and terrorize the neighbor farmer's livestock.
They truly are two of the most repulsive characters I've ever come across in fiction.
There was some artful prose and beautiful description of the landscape reminiscent of Yeats or Synge, but these snapshots of pastoral relief were consistently spoilt by the descriptions of the two unkempt and uncouth main characters.
It's short so I pushed my way to the end, but after reading about a broken faucet poetically described as "the penis" and a dog eating a cow pat to reveal "the cream filled centre" I wondered how such a promisingly pleasant premise could turn into a horrifying tale of stained depravity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement and Vomit
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Animal cruelty/Animal death:reba85's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
lunaseline's review
4.0
Ni vet mobbning? Det skulle min familj såklart aldrig utsätta mig för. De bara... antyder väldigt ofta, och väldigt starkt, att jag gillar att städa.
Det är inget juryn som utsåg Granta Class of 23 någonsin riskerar att vara med om, om vi säger så.
Children of Paradise var full av smuts, gammal mat och kroppsvätskor. Seven Steeples är full av smuts, gammal mat och växt-vätskor. Typ. Om den förstnämnda visade den skitigaste sidan av stadsliv, så grottar den sistnämnda ner sig i den skitigaste sidan av lantliv. I övrigt har de gemensamt att de, outtröttligt, maler på om vardagar för några få utvalda karaktärer. Inget intressant händer. Det är småäckligt, nästan hela tiden (för oss som... host... gillar att städa). Men medan Grudova BARA gjorde mig irriterad, trots att hon uppenbarligen är en duktig skribent, så gör Baume... något underligt. Jag läser inte texten - den är liksom inte gjord för det. Jag flyter med. Detaljerna - och de är många - blir suddiga, men flödet skarpt, på något sätt. Jag tänker varje gång jag klickar fram boken att "det här är riktigt tråkigt". Och ändå flyter jag vidare.
Så: där Children of Paradise trillade över på den lägre sidan av mellanmjölksbetyg trillar Seven Steeples över på den högre sidan.
Shit happens (uppenbarligen).
Det är inget juryn som utsåg Granta Class of 23 någonsin riskerar att vara med om, om vi säger så.
Children of Paradise var full av smuts, gammal mat och kroppsvätskor. Seven Steeples är full av smuts, gammal mat och växt-vätskor. Typ. Om den förstnämnda visade den skitigaste sidan av stadsliv, så grottar den sistnämnda ner sig i den skitigaste sidan av lantliv. I övrigt har de gemensamt att de, outtröttligt, maler på om vardagar för några få utvalda karaktärer. Inget intressant händer. Det är småäckligt, nästan hela tiden (för oss som... host... gillar att städa). Men medan Grudova BARA gjorde mig irriterad, trots att hon uppenbarligen är en duktig skribent, så gör Baume... något underligt. Jag läser inte texten - den är liksom inte gjord för det. Jag flyter med. Detaljerna - och de är många - blir suddiga, men flödet skarpt, på något sätt. Jag tänker varje gång jag klickar fram boken att "det här är riktigt tråkigt". Och ändå flyter jag vidare.
Så: där Children of Paradise trillade över på den lägre sidan av mellanmjölksbetyg trillar Seven Steeples över på den högre sidan.
Shit happens (uppenbarligen).
austins500's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0