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Modern Gods
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
11 posts | 7 read | 13 to read
An award-winning author who writes with a wonderfully original and limber voice (The New York Times) a powerful, thought-provoking novel about two sisters who must reclaim themselves after their lives are dramatically upended Alison Donnelly has risked things for love, and suffered. Still stuck in the small Northern Ireland town of Ballyglass where she was born, working for her father s real estate agency, she hopes to pick up the pieces and get her life back together. Her older sister Liz, a prickly, fiercely independent college professor who lives in New York City, has just come home to find her boyfriend in bed with a man. Liz is about to return to Ballyglass for Alison s second wedding, before heading to an island off the coast of Papua New Guinea to make a TV show about the world s newest religion. Both sisters lives are about to be shaken apart. Alison wakes up the day after her wedding to find herself living in a nightmare, discovering on the front page of the paper that her new husband has a past neither of them can escape. In a rainforest on the other side of the planet, Liz finds herself becoming increasingly entangled in the eerie, charged world of Belef, the subject of her show, a charismatic middle-aged woman who is the leader of a cargo cult. Liz and Alison, as well as their parents Ken and Judith and their brother, Spencer, all find their lives wanting in some way. Laird s brave, original novel charts the intimacies and disappointments of a family trying to hold itself together, and the repercussions of trust, history, and faith in oneself."
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review
Esin
Esin
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
Pickpick

Establishes an unexpectedly charming parallel of worlds

1 like
blurb
Heideschrampf
Heideschrampf
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
post image

One more supplement from #edbookfest, as i am longingly starting to unpack my suitcases..

Vik I know the woman with the badge! We studied together!! Was she chairing? 6y
Heideschrampf @Vik yes! Beth cochrane, the slide says. Wtf!? She did really well, too. 6y
Vik Yes!! That's her! Amazing 6y
33 likes3 comments
review
RachaelusGilkinius
RachaelusGilkinius
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
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Pickpick

A fantastic novel, making a statement about the seemingly inevitable presence of violence in religious communities where one religion aims to dominate. Here, the repercussions of sectarian violence from the 90s still felt in today‘s Northern Ireland is viewed alongside the “world‘s newest religion” on an island off the coast of Papua New Guinea where missionaries have attempted to convert inhabitants for 40 years. Continued in comments...

RachaelusGilkinius But Laird writes with poetry & humor, too, and though he makes you aware immediately of the difficult journey the book will take, it feels like one worth taking for a better understanding of how to question, and look at the 360 degrees of impact the awful things we do to each other has. 7y
18 likes1 comment
review
shawnmooney
shawnmooney
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
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Bailedbailed

Abandoned just shy of the 70% mark, with a couple hundred pages left to go. It wasn't awful, but not good enough. At best, this was going to end up being a three-star read for me and life is too short to waste my time on anything that mediocre.

Simona I'm always curious about the reasons why you are bailing ... I would very much appreciate it if you would add a sentence or two what you didn't like 😘 7y
shawnmooney @Simona At the sentence level,his prose is unlovely. He is much better than his overrated spouse at creating characters I care about, though. But he was tackling weighty social issues here (terrorism, colonialism) in a similarly unsatisfying way to how Zadie Smith does, and it just wasn't working out for me. 7y
Simona Thank you for your answer! I will sleep peaceful now, when I know the reasons 😘 7y
36 likes3 comments
quote
shawnmooney
shawnmooney
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
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#QuoteOfTheDay

33 likes
quote
shawnmooney
shawnmooney
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
post image

#QuoteOfTheDay

31 likes2 stack adds
quote
shawnmooney
shawnmooney
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
post image

#QuoteOfTheDay

TrishB Lovely 💜 7y
MayJasper True ❤ 7y
44 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
shawnmooney
shawnmooney
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
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I am doing this as an audio/text combo and the first chapter has sucked me right in. But I find it fascinating that this brand new novel has two audio versions available: the one on Audible is narrated by Deirdre O'Connell in a gorgeous, thick Irish accent, and the one offered by Penguin Random House Audio is narrated by Sarah-Jane Drummey in a barely perceptible Irish accent. Naturally, I went for the former version but I am curious about...

shawnmooney ...why and how decisions like this get made, to offer two versions on audio right off the bat. Any insights? 7y
LeahBergen Oh, that IS strange. 🤔 7y
saresmoore I wonder if there were too many complaints about the thickness of the accent of the former. That does seem odd. 7y
shawnmooney @saresmoore The publication date was 27 June 2017 so no time for feedback - the decision had to be made in advance - hence my curiosity! 😍 7y
48 likes2 stack adds4 comments
blurb
WanderingBookaneer
WanderingBookaneer
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
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I just walked in and am in love with Books & Books in Miami, FL. #GetIndie

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love all the green!! 7y
TheBookStacker So much green 💚 7y
elkeOriginal Oh, Books & Books is well known cross country - a destination for our types for sure! 7y
britt_brooke My favorite color! 💚💚💚 7y
97 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
ReadingEnvy
ReadingEnvy
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
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Pickpick

One sister goes off in pursuit of a story: the newest religion, a woman-led cargo cult in Papua New Guinea, while the other sister navigates relationships in post-troubles Ireland. I love anthropology novels and this has some elements of those, but is also about relationships. #LitsyPartyofOne @Ambrosnazzy

andrew61 Sounds really good - thanks -duly added ☺ 8y
63 likes3 stack adds1 comment
blurb
ReadingEnvy
ReadingEnvy
Modern Gods | Nick Laird
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My husband went to get dinner in the rain and my dogs will sit and wait until he comes back so it seemed like a good time to dig through my backlog of eARCs already on my Kindle. This one looks to end up in Papua New Guinea but 20% in the characters and their back stories are still being introduced (not a complaint just an observation that this may be more about the people than the events.) #dogsoflitsy #LitsyPartyofOne

Sha0102 Cutiesssss ❤🐶😊 8y
LeahBergen Are they anxiously waiting for their "pack member" or do they just know he's returning with food? ? 8y
ReadingEnvy @LeahBergen pack leader!! 8y
See All 7 Comments
mjdowens That "who me?" look is hilarious 8y
shawnmooney I am so curious about this one - look forward to hearing your thoughts! 8y
batsy That face! 🐶 8y
readordierachel Cute! 8y
85 likes7 comments