Reviews

Holy hell, that was a brutal read. Heart-wrenching, but so beautiful. The stream of consciousness style adds a inescapable immediacy to Grace’s harrowing story. Equal parts gutting and gorgeous.

abhi_vijay94's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

poppysmic's review against another edition

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5.0

This is savage and gorgeous. It was brutal from the beginning; the characters leapt from the page. The twists of Grace’s fortunes kept me turning pages, but the lyrical beauty of the passages had me flicking back repeatedly. I am still stunned, and eager to read more from Paul Lynch.

les_anne's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

gayanderson99's review against another edition

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5.0

This was genuinely so depressing that I didn’t even finish it.

graceq22's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

irishlassofcork's review against another edition

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3.0

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley. Firstly, I feel Grace's voice is so strong in this, I could practically hear her speaking at times. I found the way this story was told made it incredibly approachable. We walk the roads with Grace, see the sights she sees, smell the smells, etc. Even the pace of the story at times seems to have a ramble to it, as if it walks with Grace. Beyond these things, I found a few things difficult. It is a very hard tale to read considering the backdrop of the story. I would have expected nothing less considering the Famine. Nearer to the end of the tale, we get some of Colly's voice taking over the story. I had a lot of trouble reading this and keeping up with the thought process (keeping up with a dead child's thoughts shouldn't be easy I suppose). I had trouble understanding the purpose of it. Also, I feel like there were a couple of unanswered questions I would have liked the answer to. Particularly I would love to definitively know what happened to Bart. I assume he died in the night and someone found him and buried him, but I'm not sure. Overall, an interesting read.

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