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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
abritain's review against another edition
3.75
Beautiful writing but I found the story - or, more accurately, stories - and how they (very tenuously) hung together to be quite difficult to ‘enjoy’. Particularly the first one - it was such a tough read that I was so pleased to establish that it was a (sort of) short story because I was just at the point of stopping readings
jdurkan91's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? Complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
From A Low And Quiet Sea / Donal Ryan
⭐️⭐️✨
~ What's in the past can't be changed and what's to come can't be known and you can't give your life to worry-ing. Sure you can't. All you have to do is be kind and you'll have lived a good life… ~
It was time to get back into Donal Ryan after so many years of missing out, and HBAP put him back on my radar. And this one, I don’t know if it was the best one to start out with. Nobody writes misery like the Irish, and this is no exception.
Three separate stories, but each bearing the hallmarks of Ryan’s writing, it’s gorgeous, and misery. Why is everybody so sad? Farouk’s story is heartbreaking. The other two are different lampposts though, Lampy’s being his aloneness and growing up and the break that can be love. And John? Well he’s just a cowboy. Living life without ever processing his brother’s death.
The final section - it brings it all together. The innings from the side characters make a break for the better. And the final reveal I kinda saw coming but didn’t make it any the less revealing. 30 pages can instantly tie in the previous that felt like three completely seperate stories.
This book teaches you that kindness is what is needed. You don’t know what people are going through, or the lengths that they go to seek what they need.
But when all is said and done, I didn’t enjoy this as other books by Ryan. I’ll go back through his back catalog more, but as beautiful as it is written, it didn’t reach its full potential for me.
Picked up from the TBR Pile: Louisburgh
Bought from: Mayo Hospice Household, Castlebar - 28/09/24
- Read: 03/03/25 - 11/03/25
- Release Date: 22/05/18
- ISBN: 9781781620304
readsbylen's review against another edition
5.0
Once I started this, I found it really hard to put down. The first protagonist we hear from, Farouk, his story is devastating and everyone should read this account. It would make us all a little kinder when we see displaced people around the world asking for help. I connected to many of the characters, having grown up in a similar small town, I recognised the family and community dynamics.
jodupuis's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.75
Beautifully written.
janebinks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is the first Donal Ryan that I’ve read but it makes me want to read more. It seems to be three separate stories, each of which is excellent and then in the last few pages we learn of the connections between them. Lovely understated stories with beautiful language.
dlberglund's review against another edition
3.0
Most of this book reads as three separate stories of three separate men. Early in the book, I tried to predict how the first two narratives could be connected, and I was so off base and I stopped trying to find the links. The third narrator was surprising, and still I felt confused about where this novel was going. The writing is crisp; dialogue lyrical and so very Irish. They were good stories but it took until the very last chapters (with some new and brief narrators) to feel the tension really build (rather than meander) and understand that we were going to come to a satisfying conclusion. A depressing conclusion, but a satisfying one.
jammy_dodger123's review against another edition
3.0
Really enjoyed the 3 stories but especially the first (maybe because I could relate to the character more easily). A little disappointed in how they were brought together at the end. Didn’t quite finish for me. But definitely recommend it
pcoulter's review against another edition
4.0
Started brilliantly with Farrouk's tale, then Lampy's. The third section, John, didn't quite have the same impact and the final section brings them together but felt like it left a lot unsaid. I had hoped for slightly more from the conclusion, but even seen as stand alone short stories the first two sections are worthwhile.
no1alicat's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5