The Gathering (edit title)

• Rated 3 stars

“Anne Enright writes beautifully but oh gosh, this was a bleak book. Not a book to recommend on Suicide Watch. ”

• Rated 3 stars

“Not a light read, neither when it comes to the language, nor when it comes to the topic. The book is about the Irish Hegarty family coming togehter for the wake and funeral of Liam Hegarty, the narrator's older brother, who had been an alcoholic and committed suicide by walking into the sea and drowning himself. The narrator is his sister Veronica Hegarty who, or so she claims, loved her brother Liam the most. She is very unhappy with her life and her marriage. By telling the reader about her family, she is trying to make sense of Liam's death - and reveals the dark secret that Liam has been sexually abused by a friend of the family - Lamb Nugent, the rejected love of her grandmother Ada. It happened when they were 8 and 9 years old and it might have driven Liam away from the family.

Despite the brilliant language I found it a rather depressing book and more than once I found my thoughts wandering off into darker realms, sometimes a very uncomfortable feeling. If you are looking for an uplifting book, this is not the right choice. If you are looking for a deep book, I'd say this is it.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Very well written - but definitely with the Irish sense of maudlin”

• Rated 1 stars

“Hated it. Pompous, pointless and it lacks any kind of character development”

• Rated 1 stars

“A totally useless, pointless read. How on earth did it win the Booker??!!!”

• Rated 0 stars

“very intelligent writing.”

• Rated 1 stars

“Boring. Stereotypical Irish melodrama that did nothing for me. I ended up flipping through a few pages so I can't say that I read it. It makes me wonder about the mental age of the judges!”

• Rated 0 stars

“one of the best....and thanks to my friend Gerry who gave it to me”

• Rated 2 stars

“Dark and difficult to read. I kept going because the book is a Man Booker Winner. In the end, I appreciated the book but never liked it. ”

• Rated 0 stars

“I enjoyed it, and as with all books, I always finish them...I can't say it was an absolute favourite. I became very impatient with them all.”