Land
By Maggie O’ Farrell ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10 "” They were here for a while, the six of them, and before them, others lived here, and before them, someone else, and now they are all gone, and whoever cut that turf is here now. After all these..."
By Maggie O’ Farrell
★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
384 pages
What’s it about?
This novel is set in 1865, before and after the Great Hunger that takes place in Ireland. It begins with Tomas and his son Liam working for the Redcoats to help map the island of Ireland. Tomas unexpectedly has an encounter that will upset his whole life’s trajectory, which in turn affects the rest of his family.
What did it make me think about?
The land you come from, roots, separation, and family.
Should I read it?
Like so many, I was a big fan of Hamnet and looked forward to this novel. This book was a really slow starter for me. It is written in beautiful poetic prose but the plot is sparse and for me the first 200 pages were very easy to put down. I did enjoy it when I was reading it, but I was not compelled to keep reading. The last 100 pages the plot picks up, and the end of the book goes more quickly. If you are an old English major- you will enjoy this one. If you like a plot driven book- I would skip it. It is worth reading- but it is not going to be for everyone.
A passage I marked
” They were here for a while, the six of them, and before them, others lived here, and before them, someone else, and now they are all gone, and whoever cut that turf is here now. After all these people will come someone else, and on and on it will go until the end of the world.”
