Fallen

My thanks goes to Penguin Ireland for the ARC inviation via NetGalley.

I'll start off with a confession - I'm not at all big on romances, but the historical element always helps make the book more appealing than it would otherwise be, and that historical element is handled to great satisfaction here.

It's impressive how thorough the author's research appears to have been, for the setting and atmosphere are immensely credible from the very start, so much so that I was honestly pulled in before I knew it.

After he died, I went on writing to him in my mind, asking questions that fell like stones into black water and sank out of sight. What is that silence like, Liam? Is it like knives, or a dark net?

I'd say the relationship between the show more brother and sister dominates the novel with its radiance, warmth and importance. The themes of loss, grief, chaos, choosing one's own path, the flippancy of time and history, are developed in a very real and human way that's pleasurable to follow, the characters are far from flat and lifeless.
There are didactic and emotional moments well worth exploring, so I definitely recommend it to fans of historical fiction, who are bound to enjoy it even more than I did. show less

Katie Crilly lost her twin brother to the first world war in 1915, living on Rutland Square (now Parnell Square) and trying to find a place for herself in the world. Her mother has forbidden further study but that's where she finds the most joy. She finds a research post with a woman who is doing research on the statues of Dublin; there she meets with an injured comrade of her brother's.

Then a year after she loses her brother to the war chaos breaks out in the 1916 rising. Living just beside Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) her family is thrown into chaos with the events.

Interesting read, the end left me wanting more. I also felt like I needed a map of Dublin and the significant places to orient me, several of the placenames were show more changed from now and it was a bit confusing occasionally. Having lived on Capel Street once I got my bearings it made the journeys around the city better.

In 2016 it's going to be the Two Cities One Book book for Dublin & Belfast . show less

My litmus test for a successful historical fiction is that it makes me want to further research the time period. As I was reading Fallen, I kept looking at World War I websites for photos, stories and descriptions of this time period. So according to my test, Fallen is a resounding success. Read my full review at: http://thebookbindersdaughter.com/2014/07/28/world-war-i-centenary-a-commemorati...

What a disappointment this book turned out to be. The plot was slow and the characters were bland. I could not connect to any of them and I became tired, very quickly, of Katie walking the streets of Dublin. It was a slog to reach the end.

Book Club May 2016