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Tom Kettle is the sad main character. The story is an interesting reflection on how loss and sexual trauma changes him.

The last quarter redeemed it a bit but most of the time I just wasn't sure what was going on.

Are the sins of parents visited upon their children? In this “story of atrocities” (p. 226) we live through Tom Kettle‘s life memories. His wife, June was raped, starting at age 6, by a Catholic priest. As an adult she strikes out in a horrible act of justice. The ripples of her act and her pain extend to her entire family. Awful and grim, the novel is so beautifully written that, although there is no redemption it becomes a transcendent story.

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"There was emergency and difficulty everywhere, and he was no doubt terrorised by it, but with emergency and terror comes a test. He wondered could he pass it?" This strange, shapeshifting novel, that puts us directly in the mind of one aging police officer Tom Kettle, seems particularly apt for our present moment. A novel about memory & time, not just on an individual level but collective. A dark, bleak novel shot through with macabre humour—

I‘m going to miss Tom Kettle, what a lovely man. A man who had suffered more brutality, trauma and heartbreak in his life than any man should. Yet despite this he was able to appreciate the joy of his family and was able to love them fiercely. Kettles mind is muddled because of this trauma (PTSD) and possibly dementia so the story goes back and forth between memories, realities and dreams. I liked the fact that this wasn‘t a standard detective ⬇️

The story did not capture me too much, this is not due to the horrible incidents described and the tough topic. I feel that the topic got the prize nomination (a sit is so often the case) and not necessarily the quality of presentation.
Long-winded descriptions that are hard to follow in a stream of consciousness narration didn't work for me. Some events/parts seemed to only exist to make the story even bleaker, they felt unnecessary and random.

Finished Sebastian Barry's Old God's Time this weekend. Tom's remark that “sleep was the mother of health“ appears early in the novel, but I remembered and smiled at that statement after I'd finished. I found the book so beautiful and haunting I kept trading sleep for more reading time.

A MASTERFUL, quintessentially bleak, Irish novel. The narration of this story about the ripples of trauma through time is complex. The unreliability of Tom Kettle as narrator and the shifts between the present and his cluttered and hazy recollections of the past keep what is really happening in the distance for much of the novel. Barry has constructed a dark world, one where trauma is significant in scale and around every trauma.

The writing in this v sad story is beautiful as it articulates a love that 2 people, damaged by appalling child abuse, can find together. The story of ex Garda officer Tom Kettle is heartbreaking + left me in pieces as his life is disclosed amidst the reopening of a historic crime, which he investigated. A gentle man who finds hope in his neighbours, yet his past haunts him, including his family, violence of life in the police + army. A tough read

Maybe a little of a treat on audio. Tom Kettle, a retired detective and widower, has his memories prompted even as his current reality seems to fit loosely. We follow his thoughts more than any plot line, and then we have to wonder what it added up to. I really enjoyed this interior novel. #booker2023

#BookerLongList #SummerEndReadathon

I listened to this one and it took me a fair amount of time to settle into it but I‘m glad I did. Devastating slow burn of a story about a retired policeman and the trauma that infused his life but there was love and beauty as well. Please check out TW before attempting this book

Took a chance on this since it appeared on the #Booker23 longlist. Tom Kettle is a retired police officer on the Irish coast who‘s been visited by detectives investigating a case. Their visit prompts memories to come up from the past, though Tom‘s memory is failing, so his story emerges in a nonlinear fashion. This was heartbreaking, full of tragedy and loss but lovely writing.

(Photo: our monarchs are in J, some in chrysalis 🦋)

I feel that if I had two weeks in an Irish cottage by the sea with nothing to do but read this book, then I would have really loved it. Sadly, that‘s not the situation, and it was often hard to follow Kettle‘s thoughts. I did want to give him a big hug though. #Booker2023

New audiobook. #booker2023

I have somehow started too many books and have made slow progress, so this #20in4 readathon comes at the perfect time. Hoping to finish the bottom 3 and make progress on VF so that I can move on to others for vacation starting in one week!

Our panel‘s full reviews are up on the blog. I seem to the odd woman out. Who do you agree with? Read the reviews here: https://thereadersroom.org/2023/08/21/2023-booker-longlist-old-gods-time-by-seba...

“When Irish weather stepped up to the plate you couldn‘t wish to be anywhere else in the world.”

Except maybe Vermont.

This year‘s time in Ireland was all sunshine and it was glorious.

Not for me! Some lovely writing, especially about living by the sea. The theme (historical child abuse by the church) was a heavy one. I wasn't sure there was much here that I haven't read before, in other books I'd liked more.

Still rooting for Tan Twan Eng

@squirrelbrain @TheKidUpstairs, @BookwormM, @vlwelser, @JamieArc, @BarbaraBB, @sarahbarnes #Booker23

I chuckled when I read this. Not sure I aim to be useless but the other two I‘m 100% in support of.

If he were looking for citizenship, it might be of this miraculous bay.....if he had known how, he would have sucked the whole vista into himself, every grain of salt and sand and sea, swallowed it whole, like one of those old whales in the loved museum, like a monster in an ancient story. All this blue and different blue and greens and acres of blown white, and the mysterious golds and silvers of the after-rain.

Agree with many others here that this is a heavy, but beautifully written book. The content was heart wrenching, but the writing so exquisite. The story has a quiet beauty to it despite the very painful subject. A solid Booker list book. #Booker23

Trigger warning for child abuse. I hate books about children being hurt! This was a novel of survivors and the harm they live with. It is a testimont to the beauty of Barry's writing and his skill at plotting this novel that I finished. There is much to be admired here...if not enjoyed. 4 🌟

#booker23 4/13

This book grew on me and in the end I wholeheartedly rooted for Tom Kettle.
A retired policeman he lives all by himself in an Irish coastal village. He feels at peace, allowing aging and his loneliness and even giving on to it. Then the past catches up with him and with it the pain. A very sad read but beautifully written and to me, not bleak because of its beauty.

(Photo: Lefkada, Greece)

There are so many lines in here that are so particular to being an older person, being retired, adult children, living with memories and deep sadnesses. I related to them strongly. Once I collect myself I‘ll be posting some quotes that rang true. The writing. So good. The book is as intensely sad and memorable as A Little Life. I thought my last Booker Long list read was great…this one is too. I will not soon forget it.

#BookerPrizelonglist

This book grew on me after what felt like a very slow start. I‘ll post the full review on my blog when we do the Booker panel reviews but in brief I found it beautifully written and quite clever style. Warning: does have some content and descriptions of abuse

Halfway through reading this I had to put it down and take a drive/walk to clear my head and bear the weight of the story. The writing is amazing and I could post an endless number of quotes but it‘s gut wrenching. Priests and nuns and children in Ireland … need I say more?

Stream of consciousness style combined with an unreliable narrator means this one takes focus so you don't miss the needles of truth. But if you're ready for a book that will leave a heavy emotional weight on your heart, it's worth taking time with. It is hard and filled with grief, but it is beautifully wrought.

CW: physical and sexual abuse of children

#BookerPrizeLonglist #BookerPrize #Booker2023

(Brilliant cover design by David Litman)

I can‘t say I enjoyed this book - it‘s bleak, meandering and intentionally confusing. However the writing is really thoughtful and the prose paints a visually disturbing portrait of trauma and sorrow. Heavy topic of sexual abuse by clergy adds to this already dark story of a retired police officer who‘s living out an isolated existence. #BookerLongList23

"Nothing was what it was made out to be. The truth included."

#BookerLonglist

Well written. The author tells such a delicate and nuanced story. Really heartbreaking however, wouldn‘t read again

Here are my favourite reads for the year so far❤️
There seems to be a theme…two wonderful Irish writers Claire Keegan and Sebastian Barry with stories of Irish life, two tales of the American frontier by Willa Cather and Carol Shields, two fantasy novels with strong messages by Robbie Arnott and Salman Rushdie and a wonderful non-fiction with stories of Australian native animals in our suburban backyards!
#literature #fiction #nonfiction

A great, devastating read. A mystery with policemen, yes, but also the mystery of grief and surviving and bearing witness to the tragedies societies allow. I‘ll be thinking about this one for a while.

Definitely thumbs up for the lyrical nonlinear storytelling! I love that we muse along with Tom and sometimes I was confused because Tom is confused.

The audio narrator is fabulous, but if I run across this in print I‘ll pick it up. I‘m sure it will be a rewarding reread.

I‘m not sure I‘ve read anything else by Barry.

Gorgeous and absolutely devastating.

Melancholy, beautiful writing with a story that will break your heart.
Not always easy to follow, unreliable narrator and non linear story line. But worth the effort.

#bookmail
Bottom two are for my daughters b.day in a few weeks (she loves dragons 🐉)
Top two found their way into the basket and they match 😁❤️

Current read. The writing is beautiful.

Looking at prices after @CarolynM review.
Pretty sure she said it‘s set in Dublin 🤔 maybe they just mean ‘the west.‘

Retired police detective Tom Kettle is visited by officers investigating one of his unsolved cases, stirring up memories, both sweet & painful. It took me a while to get into the book, the narrative is very much in Tom‘s mind which wanders & occasionally hallucinates, making it difficult to get a grip on the story, but gradually it unfolds in all its horror & tragedy. It made me cry. It‘s a tough but worthwhile read. #52BookClub23 #SetinDublin

This is my IRL book club‘s choice for discussion in early May. Its probably me, not the book. Everyone loves Barry, right? But I‘m not a fan. In this book his policy seemed to be “why use one word when a hundred will do”. Part psychological drama, part crime, part exploration of loneliness, part exploration of the long-term effects of child abuse, for me it was a bit of a mess. Lots of 5-star reviews on Goodreads suggest I‘m in a minority, though

Wow another brilliant Irish author..
Tom Kettle a retired policeman is asked to assist in a case against a catholic priest, accused of multiple cases of child abuse. Tom and his wife are both survivors of abuse. There‘s so much grief and love in this book and it‘s beautifully written. One that will stay with me I‘m sure!!
#irishfiction #literature #enduringlove ❤️📕

A powerful read about abuse of children by priests and the consequential ripple effects that will haunt you in adulthood. Set in Ireland, the main protagonist Tom Kettle, a retired policemen, reflects on his love for his wife June, also a victim of abuse but they both hoped for a luckier fate with life with their children. Tom is asked to help on a case that brings back memories hidden away and we learn his harrowing story. Hopeful but sad read..

New Sebastian Barry novel coming in March!

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652719/old-gods-time-by-sebastian-barry...