(28) This was an unsolicited lend from a friend that caught my eye - there is something about long perilous ocean voyages that make for great reading. This is set during the mid 1800's during the worst of the potato famine in Ireland. A novel within a novel frame - the author, Grantley, is an American writer on board the ship who is incensed by the outrages of the famine and also harbors secrets of his own. The ship contains desperately poor Irish in steerage attempting to save their lives by immigrating to America. In first class, Lord David Meredith and his family are also immigrating - an English protestant noble born and raised in Ireland and much maligned in the current political climate, he is marked for death. An Pius Mulvey, a mysterious man who walks the deck all night long dragging an injured leg behind him - he is often referred to by Grantley as 'The Monster.'

So the plot is intriguing and thickens as the novel progresses. It has almost a gothic feel to it as recollections about each character are mysterious, melancholy, and filled with dreadful secrets. The writing is quite good and feels authentically of the times. In addition to questions about the veracity of the narration, there is a lot to think about. I very much enjoyed at least 3/4 of this novel but thought it ended a bit weak aesthetically. I do not want to spoil but I think O'Connor over explained. Let your writing speak for itself - it was quite good! Lord Kingscourt was ready to welcome what was coming for him and he got it - but maybe was surprised at the identity of his executioner...

I will read this author again (In part because there are more books by him in the stack given to me by my friend) He is a great story-teller and builds an authentic sense of place and time. If you like Victorian sensationalist yarns like Dickens and Wilkie Collins, then you should read this, old thing. ( )

It certainly passes the time if you need to listen to tales of never ending misery, though I don’t think I could stomach it in print form. I dozed off somewhere toward the middle so am somewhat confused. Did Mary nearly marry her half brother, and was she the same Mary whose husband and child were killed by the murderer? If so, seeing as her husband was the brother of the priest, how come she had earlier married this priest and was the brother/priest Nicholas one and the same as the Nicholas who died in a mad episode of self harm outside their family cottage?

A rollicking yarn or a melodrama? Both I guess, though I think it could be much improved by leaving off the last three chapters. ( )

A very clever historical novel set in 1847 aboard a ship of Irish immigrants bound for America. The book moves between the characters on the ship and what happened to bring them there. At the center of the story is a mystery and a murder, actually more than one.

I would have given it more stars, but although all the characters were interesting, I felt emotionally distant from them.

You'll like this book if you like:
*19th century historical fiction
*mystery with a touch of horror
*tales from the sea
*immigrant's stories ( )

Picked for my reading group and I really didn't think I'd like it. But I did. The writing is very dense and certainly at first I was needing a dictionary at times to look up words. But I was never bored or wanting to stop reading. It's done in a dense Dickens imitation style. I usually dislike "literary" fiction but occasionally it can work. But no wonder the Irish hate the British! Ironically the person who selected the book disliked it on his reread. Most of the rest of the group also disliked it or couldn't finish it. One even suggested it was a "piss take" based on the author foreword - which I didn't read until the end (he does have a point actually). ( )

What a fantastic read this was, and whatever you do read right to the end. There's a bombshell on the second-to-last page that I certainly didn't see coming. Beautifully written, superb characterisation with hints of Dickens (indeed Dickens himself makes a brief appearance). I now, also, know a lot more about the Irish potato famine. ( )