pickThere are a surprising number of books with this title. This one is quiet with a pace both leisurely and conveying urgency, echoing the collision of the way time is reckoned on the mainland with the way it runs on the island. Overall, I enjoyed this novel and was glad to have the audiobook to help me with the Welsh pronunciations. In the end, it left me wanting, which is apt but unsatisfying.
pickWonderful. Sparse sensitive writing. Historical fiction at its best makes the characters real and come alive. The protagonist learns about the trickery of strangers. I can see the straightforward ease of rural life, not for the work, but for the familiarity of the people
pickA quiet lyrical novel set on an island off the coast of Wales right before WWII. Beautiful writing. 3.5 🌟
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An atmospheric novel (similar to #campitsy24 pick Clear) about a community living on an island off the coast of Wales where a whale beaches itself one day.
Narrated by Manod, an 18 year old woman living with her father and sister, it describes island life and the slow disappearance of their culture as younger individuals leave for work on the mainland.
Set in the backdrop of pre-WW II this was a fairly quick and interesting read.
pickA solid debut, O'Connor writes beautifully and confronts issues with a delicate touch. Wonderfully crafted sentences and imagery give a tactile sense of place, and themes of duty to self vs family and community and the problematic nature of anthropological study and bias are deftly handled. The characters and emotional depth unfortunately don't reach the same standard, but it is still a worthy read and I'm excited to see what O'Connor writes next.
Quick trip out to Sturgis, South Dakota to visit my dad. Mitzi‘s Books in Rapid City is a nicely curated shop.
"The whale became stranded in the shallows of the island overnight, appearing from the water like a cat slinking under a door."
pickAs the drumbeats of an impending WWII are sounding, a way of life is gradually dying on a tiny Welsh island. A dead whale washes up there, a metaphor for island life, while English anthropologist types arrive to write about the people, only twisted in a way they find interesting. I liked but didn‘t love this.
