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This book following on from Dublin by the same author, beginning in 1597 and going right through until the twentieth century. Much like the last book, this one is centred in Dublin but also includes other parts of Ireland. It is in this sector of Irish history that we see the devastation wrought by Oliver Cromwell in the 1600s in his attempt to convert the Irish to Protestantism. Following on from this, the difficulties in attempting to build a representative parliament and the block-outs of those who followed Catholicism. Moreover, and perhaps more famously the potato famine of the 1800s started by a blight and later leading to mass starvation. Perhaps surprisingly this famine ended not when health was restored, but when England decided it had had enough and told everyone the famine had ended when it had not.
More so than the last book, I found many of the characters in this book entertaining and interesting. Fortunatus, for example of the Walsh family, who was brought up a Protestant unlike the rest of his family and who trains as a doctor rising up to become gentry. Georgiana was also surprising as a strong female character, who eventually is estranged from her son when he forsakes his family. There are several more strong characters which keep the book moving along well.
I think the sequel was definitely an improvement on the first book. It was fairly consistent throughout as none of the periods of history it covered were uncertain ones from a historical perspective. It also links into the context of wider Ireland as well as Dublin which helps move the story along.
Again I would recommend this, but make sure to read Dublin first. Chock full of historical facts and interesting asides, these are both decent books
This is the first in a series of books lent to me by a friend. The subject matter of all these books is a place, rather than a person. Many people come and go throughout centuries and although some of the characters are fairly well-developed, it is the place you get to know, rather than any character in particular.
It is obvious a large amount of research went into this book, which details the history of Dublin up until 1550. In this vein, it is largely inconsistent. Obviously, there are large amounts of research on certain periods of history, while others remain uncertain. Because of this, the beginning of this book in hunter-gatherer periods drifts a fair bit, as there is very little Rutherford can be sure actually happened. For this reason, he uses a lot of fairly descriptive language, which is scant in other parts of the book.
In all respects, this book and all those that follow it is chock-full of interesting historical information and Rutherford provides interesting commentary as to the sureness of this information in history books. Moreover, knowing the setting of these happenings well, as you get to throughout the book, assists the reader in understanding and placing events within context. As someone with an interest in Ireland generally, it made for an incredibly interesting read.
It's difficult to put a rating on this book. A lot of things about it could be improved. That said, it is an amazing book in that it contains such a large amount of information in a fairly interesting and acceptable manner. If you have any sort of interest in history or Ireland, it is an incredible book.
This was a recent purchase because
1) I love the Irish and
2) I had never read anything by Roddy Doyle before.
This book more or less encompasses what it is to be a boy in the setting. The beginning of the book is written in a style quite similar to stream-of-conciousness and it takes us through Paddy's early exploits and introduces us to his family, specifically in the earlier years, his brother Sinbad who tags along on his adventures and appears to cramp his style. While it seems at the beginning that Paddy is just an ordinary boy, the book expands on his realities and relationships and the family atmosphere he is surrounded by serves as a central part of the story.
Paddy becomes an interesting character for the reader early on in the book. His thoughts on mundane daily activities are exposed to the reader and are continually changing through his childhood. The relationship between his parents gets worse and worse and eventually Paddy takes his parents' problems into himself. He starts to see Sinbad as a fellow listener, but when Sinbad doesn't wish to be involved, his actions towards his brother become abusive perhaps reflecting what he is seeing in his parents.
The writing in the book is flawless, the Gaelic phrases throughout intensified my wish to learn it (but damn it's so hard to pronounce anything). The continued events throughout the book and the slow disintegration of Paddy's family acts as a constant backdrop and shapes the events and his behaviour throughout the book. Not much more can be said without going too deeply into the plot.
A Booker Prize winner, this book is well worth a read.
