The Gathering is a novel of fragments centered around the death - or more accurately the events following the death - of one member of a large contemporary Dublin family. The thoughts, observations and recollections of his closest sister move back and forth from their childhood through adulthood, the funeral and the events which followed and also, speculatively, back through three generations of their family.

It's told by a knowingly unreliable narrator - one who is aware that memory plays tricks, tells us so, and is still wondering about the truth of much of what she tells us. Perhaps for this reason, the novel can't be said to be rich in plot, but it is very rich in atmosphere and a sense of place. The differences between the households of Veronica and her generation and those of her parents and grandparents are made effortlessly clear.

Some might find this a bleak read - indeed it's clear this is true from some of the other reviews here. I found it anything but. There are some ruined and sad lives portrayed, but there isn't tragedy in the usual sense. And there's a great deal of humour, bittersweet though some of it is. There's also real understanding of people, emotions and motives and the degree to which these are exposed or hidden for good and bad reasons.

This is not a book to read in small portions, despite the fragmentary telling which shifts back and forth through time. You need to immerse yourself in it in a few large chunks to get the sense of the characters and places being painted by the words. You won't necessarily like all of them, but you'll recognise them and care about them. ( )

I did not like this book. It is the only book I have ever read where I didnt like any of the characters. I found it a strain to read and was glad when I finished it. ( )

I did not like this book and was tempted not to finish it. It was boring and tedious. Other reviewers have expressed my exact sentiments so I will not attempt to improve on them. ( )

Enright pushes the 'unreliable narrator' to the breaking point in this somewhat harrowing read. Feels almost hallucinatory, with a welter of images, memories, false memories, flat out fictions, and dark thoughts coming at you. Not to mention the most horrible interior descriptions of even fairly loving relationships, everything just coated in putrid slime. Brrr. ( )

Good writing, but not my cup of tea. ( )