A really unfortunately mediocre book that has glimpses of brilliance. Ireland in the 1920s and 1980s, reflected in its characters as a commentary on the modernisation of the free state, is told through a series of characters that are well developed. However, the writing is at times woeful (in particular the odd similes) and the concepts are never fully developed. The most important parts of the story are wasted and in the end the book is too long, relatively unimaginative and fades into nothing. ( )

I was very impressed by this one - both the book and the writer were previously unfamiliar to me but they don't deserve to be forgotten.

This is a story rooted in the political and ideological history of modern Ireland, but also about how the culture shapes the expectations of people who live there and the complex relationship of the Irish with their American diaspora. It tells a story of a family over four generations from the civil war of the 1920s up to the late 1970s, and their relationships with two American visitors who get too close to the republican in-fighting. It presents all sides in Ireland's long-standing political debate between republican hard-liners and economic pragmatists, and must have been a brave choice for the Booker jury at a time when the IRA were still so active.

It does have its faults - for me it could have done with some editing - it is quite long and there are sections that failed to hold my interest, but the gradual revelation of secrets and the ending were subtly devastating. ( )

I was unable to finish this. I loved the same author's The Women In The Wall in 2009, and I feel that this is probably an equally good book. Set in contemporary Ireland, it seems to be about the influence of history and memory, the relations between Ireland and the US, and many more things. But I somehow lost the trail of what was happening fairly early on, and never really managed to get it back for more than a few pages at a time.