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amn028's review
3.0
An enjoyable read of what we are willing to do for friends who become our family. The story focuses more on the friendship and growing up than on the PTSD. The sections set in Bosnia are equally heartbreaking and uplifting as it shows the human struggles of trying to survive in a war zone.
mandraluhana's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
fiendfull's review against another edition
4.0
Restless Souls is a novel that combines a road trip narrative, PTSD treatment, tough upbringings in Dublin, loss, and the hope of unlikely cures as longtime friends Karl, Baz, and Tom try and work through their pasts and present. Tom’s desire to be a war correspondent led him to Sarajevo, but when he returned, he came back haunted and suffering from PTSD. His old friends Karl and Baz aren’t sure what to do, but they’re willing to try out an experimental clinic halfway round the world in California, and so the three of them depart Ireland to see if they can find a desperate solution to help Tom.
The novel feels similar to a certain kind of comedy-drama film where friends must confront their past in a road trip type setting. However, what makes Sheehan’s version of the story distinctive is his focus upon PTSD and suicide through Tom and through their childhood friend Gabriel, which makes the characters’ journey a necessity rather than an indulgence (as can often be the case in a road trip drama narrative). Elements of the genre are apparent—arguments, revelations, a lack of belief in the point of their journey—but the novel also does not only focus on the journey, but what happens whilst there and what happened when Tom was in Bosnia. The narrative moves at quite a fast pace but slows down for Karl’s remembrances, a style that may make it less engaging for some but which tends to suit the story.
Restless Souls mixes hard-hitting moments with light banter and reminiscence in a way that doesn’t undercut its serious themes, but gives a kind of black comedy often found in life.
The novel feels similar to a certain kind of comedy-drama film where friends must confront their past in a road trip type setting. However, what makes Sheehan’s version of the story distinctive is his focus upon PTSD and suicide through Tom and through their childhood friend Gabriel, which makes the characters’ journey a necessity rather than an indulgence (as can often be the case in a road trip drama narrative). Elements of the genre are apparent—arguments, revelations, a lack of belief in the point of their journey—but the novel also does not only focus on the journey, but what happens whilst there and what happened when Tom was in Bosnia. The narrative moves at quite a fast pace but slows down for Karl’s remembrances, a style that may make it less engaging for some but which tends to suit the story.
Restless Souls mixes hard-hitting moments with light banter and reminiscence in a way that doesn’t undercut its serious themes, but gives a kind of black comedy often found in life.
oakleighirish's review against another edition
3.0
Restless Souls is an enjoyable read as in navigates its way between the tragic and comic, the traumatic and the profane. I like that the book tackles deep themes of suicide and PTSD without resorting to mawkish, gloomy or naive outcomes. Restless Souls is a solid debut and I look forward to future writing by Dan Sheehan.
amothersmusings1's review against another edition
5.0
'Restless Souls is about young men grappling with the aftermath of tragedy. Darkly comic and deeply moving, it's an extraordinary portrait of male friendship, the power of memory and what it means to come home.....'
I loved this book and really enjoyed reading it. Poignant, moving, heart breaking yet comical, heart warming and fun at the same time. One moment it would be saddening to read the chapters covering Sarajevo, the next you'd be smirking at the camaraderie of Tom, Karl and Baz on their hilarious road trip to California - this story is not meant to overwhelm you with upsetting emotional feelings of a war torn country but to truly represent the power of friendship and how three young men stick together through thick and thin to help one of them overcome his mental health issues associated with PTSD.
I liked all of the characters, I particular had a soft spot for Barry (Baz) and I thought the relationship between the three of them was one of a kind and beautiful to read.
I love the simplistic cover too - the three circles representing comedy, road trip and tragedy and how they interact together.
This is an excellently researched debut novel by a very talented and intelligent writer - Dan Sheehan, that deserves a lot of publicity and recognition and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend "Restless Souls" - it's a fabulous read and I LOVED it!!
Thank you to the Goodreads Giveaways for my copy of the book.
5 stars
I loved this book and really enjoyed reading it. Poignant, moving, heart breaking yet comical, heart warming and fun at the same time. One moment it would be saddening to read the chapters covering Sarajevo, the next you'd be smirking at the camaraderie of Tom, Karl and Baz on their hilarious road trip to California - this story is not meant to overwhelm you with upsetting emotional feelings of a war torn country but to truly represent the power of friendship and how three young men stick together through thick and thin to help one of them overcome his mental health issues associated with PTSD.
I liked all of the characters, I particular had a soft spot for Barry (Baz) and I thought the relationship between the three of them was one of a kind and beautiful to read.
I love the simplistic cover too - the three circles representing comedy, road trip and tragedy and how they interact together.
This is an excellently researched debut novel by a very talented and intelligent writer - Dan Sheehan, that deserves a lot of publicity and recognition and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend "Restless Souls" - it's a fabulous read and I LOVED it!!
Thank you to the Goodreads Giveaways for my copy of the book.
5 stars
em_reads_books's review against another edition
3.0
This felt, for better and for worse, like a much bigger and more sprawling novel than its length can really contain. Some really fantastic pieces woven together and some (like how and why Tom went to Sarajevo in the first place, or what happened with the women in Karl and Baz's lives) that got left behind. It lost me a bit in the descriptions of what went down at the clinic, pulled me back in every time the guys started bantering and arguing again. So a bit uneven for me, but altogether a unique angle on the road trip comedy and the trauma story.
A few other reviews bring up the fact that there are barely any women in this story, and none who aren't defined by how our main characters basically idealize or are taken care of by them. It's true, but it at least feels like a deliberate choice the author made to specifically depict men relating to one another, struggling to do that emotional work they've never considered theirs to do until now. Definitely a book about men and masculinity rather than one that's supposed to be about the whole world and just ends up being disproportionately dudely.
A few other reviews bring up the fact that there are barely any women in this story, and none who aren't defined by how our main characters basically idealize or are taken care of by them. It's true, but it at least feels like a deliberate choice the author made to specifically depict men relating to one another, struggling to do that emotional work they've never considered theirs to do until now. Definitely a book about men and masculinity rather than one that's supposed to be about the whole world and just ends up being disproportionately dudely.
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