“I saw this book as both very Irish and truly unique. It explores themes that are familiar to anyone interested in Irish literature: family, alcoholism, the connection to the landscape and the burden of religion. But it does so in a very carefully balanced fashion, the writing blending heart-breaking intimacy with the cool academic observations of a Hegarty outsider. Very depressing at times, especially the lingering suggestion that the abuse is not an one-off, but rather symptomatic of that place at that time. It exposes a kind of social pathology the aftermath of which is still widely felt in the country. Despite everything, a joy to read.”
“I did not enjoy this book at all. Why did it win the booker? Maybe I am missing something. It bothered me we as the reader basically could not trust Veronica's memory (because she herself did not). Who knew what to believe? So why bother spending the time when half of it is not true? The style just did not work for me.”
“This novel is a slow read and requires the reader to just stick with it. The story revolves around a brother's funeral and is told from the point of view of the sister, Veronica. The stream-of-consciousness style makes the text difficult to follow while at the same time gives the novel an air of autheticity - the reader follows the inner thoughts (and familial discussions) of a sister struggling with the death of a once favorite brother and all the disjointed memories that are a part of their history. It is at times challenging to keep up with the book while at other times it is voyeuristic.”
“If you'd like to get into the mind of a grieving Irish woman....enjoy. Otherwise, move on to something else. Ironically, the narrator is Veronica which is the title of another book that I found equally puzzling.”
“I pretty much hated this one! I thought the writing style awful. Nobody was likable. I wanted to tell Veronica to get some therapy! I kept thinking of "Charming Billy" by Alice McDermott. ”
“I found this book to be totally overrated and cliched. I can not understand why it won the Booker. There was no originality in it at all. A disappointment. ”
“This is a complicated book, one that requires more than one reading with which to fully understand all the issues. There's a lot going on here, about family, about the ties that bind, about the fact we can never escape the past.”
