I'm half way through this book and I am really enjoying it. I have heard that the second half is better than the first but I think it is excellent so far. The only problem is I know from reviews etc that there is a twist - I have imagined everything possible so I know it will be a let down when it is eventually revealed. Does anyone else think that reviewers ( on radio, newspapers etc) are far too blase about revealing plots? Ok, I don't know the twist but just to know there is one is enough to taint the reading of a book. I'll let you know if Sebastian barrys twist lives up to my imaginings!
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Posted 1 year ago #
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I never read the back of books as I think they give away the plot a lot of the time. I agree with you about jurnos/reviewers revealing too much. It's a hard call to talk about a book without telling any of hte juicy bits!
Posted 1 year ago # -
As you can see by my profile I am supposed to be reading 'Middlesex', but the other day I picked up a copy of the Secret Scripture to have a quick shmooze. I am hooked. Only half way through but easily the best book I have read for years. I'm not great at predicting twists but I Hate when they are hinted at or given away. Devouring this book. Love it!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I know the feeling - I even had to bring it into work to read at lunch which I rarely do! Do you think I'd like Middlesex then as well?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Middlsex is pretty gripping.It certainly challenges your sense of normality-not a bad thing. I am not even half way through but it is quite a pleasure!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ok, I finished Secret Scripture this morning over breakfast! It was an excellent read but I do agree that the ending let it down somewhat. It reminded me for some reason of The Butcher Boy- mainly because you don't always know how reliable the narrator is in telling the truth ( whatever that may be!)I borrowed my mothers copy of the book ( she's in her 70's) so I'm looking forward to discussing it with her as she will have memories of Ireland the way Rosanne describes it. No matter how bad things are these days, we should be grateful we didn't live back then!
Posted 1 year ago # -
The Secret Scripture fairly sent chills up my spine when I read it. As a trainee nurse back in the early eighties I spend 8 weeks working in a psychiatric hospital down the country. Many of the long stay patients could have told stories similar to Rosannes. Single women who either got pregnant and had to be hidden away to save family face or women who were simply in the way when the boy of the house brought home a wife. It was incredible to me that people who where entirely sane could be left behind the locked doors of a hospital for over 50 years. So, if you think the scenario unlikely, think again. It is so hard to imagine such darkness in Ireland in our recent history.
I agree that the ending was a little pat, but it was such a powerful book that I'll forgive it that. The ending doesn't jar as much on second reading.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Maura
I will definately read this book again, not least for soem of the amazing imagery. Doesn't Rosanne come across as not at all bitter considering how she was treated? Life was so harsh and unfair in those days, it's hard to believ it was just a couple of generations backPosted 1 year ago # -
Hey,
Ive just registered...How are you finding Trauma Claire? have read reviews of it and they sounded good.Im reading The sisterhood by Emily Barr at the mo..good read so far..will keep ye posted.Posted 1 year ago # -
Hi Skins
Trauma? Well, I finished it yesterday. It is my Book Club read for this month, I normally wouldn't choose something like it, and I have to say, I didn't enjoy it much. Mainly because I thought the main character was a bit of a ***** ( don't know what words are allowed on this new pristine site!). That said, it was an easy read - but I kind of thought, what's the point? I am probably biased, I really have taken a dislike to American novels lately - Netherland was another one I tried but couldn't finish, maybe it's the feeling of disconnect that they seem to portray? One thing going for Trauma is that it is set pre 9/11, but even then he manages to mention the Twin Towers half a dozen times!But don't let me put you off.....BTWthough, it's not a thriller as suggested on the cover!
I'm on to The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville now - much more my style I think!Posted 1 year ago # -
I have now finished the Secret Scripture and I was disappointed with the ending. Such wonderful prose was somehow hollowed by a unbelievable(as in ridiculous) ending. It left me frustrated because it was such a thought provoking and gripping read.
There were a lot of issues hinted at throughout the book that left me thinking. I am Crazy or were Tom and Roseana brother and sister?Posted 1 year ago # -
Twist is terribly predictable, so not really a twist at all! Thoroughly disappointed. For better versions of the same story type try The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox or The Looney Bin Trip
Posted 1 year ago # -
I agree with Niamhie and thought it was far too predictable. Guess it was my fault for reading the blurb on the back in the first place as I felt it hinted far too heavily on the "twist". The ending was unbelievable as a plot and I didn't like the story between Dr. Grene and his wife. Overall, I was very disappointed.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Hi,
I read this a few weeks ago and found it a lovely way to spend a lazy Sunday. I thought the language was was that of Roseanne not just a description of her thoughts, it was a wonderful insight not only of the times she had lived in but also an insight into her as she reflected on her life.
Posted 1 year ago # -
This was my 1st S Barry book to read. I bought it becasue it was a prize winner. I was disappointed too and there haven't been many books that I want to end before it did. Maybe it is not a book to read if you are a bit down about things anyway?
Posted 1 year ago # -
i have to say i was very disappointed in this book. I just couldn't engage with the characters at all and the "twist" seemed just too facile and obvious. i felt it would have been much more interesting to start with the twist and explore the reactions of the 2 main characters and tell the story that way instead of squashing it into the final chapter.
As I was reading it, it felt to me as if the author had written it with book of the year awards in mind - some of the language was wonderful and the imagery very vivid but it felt a bit forced to me.
Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old men is next on my list to read.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Agree with a lot of the above. Beautifully written and realised. But the "twist" at the end was very obvious and indeed the final forty pages or so felt like a rush to tie up loose ends. Brilliant up to that point though
Posted 1 year ago # -
The worst book I have read this year. Cannot understand the reviews for this book - parts of it were ok, but overall the greatest load of Irish "twee" I have ever read. That's what you get I guess for confusing Sebastian Faulks with Sebastian Barry!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I just finished the Secret Scripture this week. I thought the characters were excellent, and it was an interesting portrayal of Irish life as it was. And then I came to the end. I think Sebastian Barry really let himself down with that 'twist' in the last chapter. It was ridiculous!
That said, if you could pretend that the last chapter didn't happen, it was an excellent work of literature!
Has anyone read The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty?
Posted 11 months ago #
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