A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd
Fifteen-year-old Shell takes care of her drunken father and her younger brother and sister after their mother dies. She and her life in a tiny Irish village are both rather simple -- until a new priest arrives in town, she and her one friend have a falling out, she gets involved with a boy, and ends up in the midst of a huge scandal unlike anything her quiet home has ever known. I think for different readers the very Irish language could either be a detriment by making it inaccessible, or attractive because it gives the book such a sense of place. Also interesting to note that it was based on a true story. Yet another MAYBE from me.... (I can't believe I haven't run across any YAYs yet, but it's really got to knock my socks off for me to give it a thumbs up!)
posted by Karrie @ 8:35 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
This is a weird one for me. It couldn't hold my attention for long stretches, but I was strangely drawn to it. For me, it's a MAYBE at best.
I read this one all in one afternoon, and despite my irritation with the polite and literary omission of "and then she slept with him" at the end of the first part of the novel, I kept going and found the ending quite good. I think its got literary merit, and its worth a look, so Yay for now.
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