Welcome to Litsy!

I have had this copy for decades after my mom read this one not long after it was published. I have finally read it! The first quarter or so is a rough go, as there‘s a lot of info dumping. After that, I become so wholly absorbed that when the final page came (815), I wanted to know what happens next! Excellent read on the events leading up to Irish independence.

Niall Williams has a new book being published!!! Pre-order completed. What delight will he bring this time around?

We read The Spinning Heart years ago for Bookclub, and we are going to see Donal Ryan speak about this tagged new book of his on Wednesday next. I was afraid I wouldn‘t remember The Spinning H, as this is a companion, follow up book ( that can be read as a stand-alone too) But the characters came back to me ( mostly). This is a brilliant book. Great characters again. Love his writing.

Recent acquisitions (gifts from my friend Shawn):

📖 Seven Victorian Poets by David Wright
📖 O'Brien Pocket History of Ireland by Breandán Ó hEithir

#UniteAgainstBookBans and #LetUtahRead

Loved it

Set in Ireland in 1994, The Coast Road follows two women coping with their unhappy marriages at a time when divorce is still illegal. Collette left her husband, but returned, and now her husband won‘t allow her access to her children and she lives in poverty. Izzy is frustrated and miserable, struggling to find autonomy within the confines of a marriage she cannot escape. Both are considering the high cost of personal freedom. An excellent debut.

A cozy story of heartbreak and love. A novel that had some depressing moments in the early chapters but far more interesting and enjoyable in a new location on the coast. An old house left by an elderly aunt woman who chose independence over love. The niece moves into the old cottage and finds town filled with the love of Ireland, beaches and really good and kind people. 4/5

The ideas and the bones of a great novel are here, but the execution felt somehow soulless.

This is a story about women's lives in the brink of the divorce referendum in Ireland, and about the men who deeply fear the loss of control that women's freedom of choices signifies. It should rage and burn, but it fails to ignite. Most of the characters feel like blanks, and I just could not bring myself to care.

This book follows the lives of three women in a small coastal Ireland town, Ardglas. It follows their broken lives in the year or two before Ireland legalizes divorce. I didn't realize that divorce wasn't legal in Ireland until 1996! Not the typical book I'd pick up - but it was beautifully written and a fairly easy and quick read. The families in this town lead sad lives and I was quickly drawn in by the descriptive writing. I enjoyed this book.

Hello,' he said and walked straight to the end of the table where he hung his anorak on the back of the chair.

Under the stairs, she thought, under the stairs. They had the same conversation every evening about him hanging his anorak under the stairs .... he pulled some letters and his diary and keys from the pocket of his anorak and piled them on the table. Say nothing, she said to herself, say nothing.