The Salesman

Billy Sweeney is writing a letter to his daughter, Maeve. But she may never read it since she is lying comatose in a Dublin hospital, the victim of a brutal assault by four thugs during a petrol station robbery. The letter is both a confession and the account of a revenge that goes horribly wrong. Or did it?

This isn't an easy read as it encompasses all the emotions of human life; love, hope, pain, guilt, despair and a realisation that none of us are perfect. However, I also found it so engrossing that I simply didn't want to put it down. It was so utterly believable.

As the story progressed, I had no idea as to how O'Connor intended conclude it, but the ending didn't disappoint. Even now I'm unsure as to whether this is a simple show more exploration of the Stockholm Syndrome or if Billy had really killed Quinn earlier on and it was his way of dealing with the guilt. Then perhaps it was simply me hoping that I would have pulled the trigger (you will know what I mean if you have read it) if something ever happened to my daughter.

This is my first O'Connor novel, but I don't intend it to be my last. show less

Written in the form of a journal addressed by middle-aged failure Billy Sweeney to his comatose daughter Maeve, The Salesman weaves together a number of narratives. There is a page-turning account of the legal process following the brutal attack which is the cause of Maeve’s misfortune; a tender love-story made tragic not by any external event but by the human failings of the lovers involved; and a recounting of the extraordinary events caused by Sweeney deciding to take the law into his own hands.

Through this, O’Connor deals with a number of themes - alcoholism, fatherhood, Ireland’s religious issues - but the one which emerges most strongly is to do with forgiveness and revenge. How do we react to those who cause us harm?

I came show more to this book having been blown away by The Star of the Sea. The Salesman doesn’t have the heady intensity of that book, nor it’s broad historical sweep. But it’s nevertheless a very touching and compelling read from a fine Irish novelist. show less

An exploration of the Stockholm Syndrome and one man's response to a terrible loss. In an act of revenge gone pear-shaped, the salesman finds himself an unwitting kidnapper, and soon the lines between captor and captive begin to blur. Like the other books I've read by Joseph O'Connor, it is achingly sad. It was a different experience to read a book by the author that had only one voice, as opposed to the multiple interwoven personal histories related in his Star of the Sea. I believe O'Connor is at his best when he uses many mouths to tell his story, but he's still a genius, and from me his salesman gets 4 stars.

There's a fine line between love and hate. There's also a fine line between friend and enemy in this book. Billy Sweeney is a satellite dish salesman. His daughter is at death’s door due to a brutal attack. And Billy is about to take his revenge.

O'Connor depicts some relationships sensitively in this story, which is a departure form his normal offerings. But then he had to go and spoil it by going all Tarantino.

Billy Sweeney is verkoper van schotelantennes. Zijn werk is zijn houvast, tot zijn jongste dochter Maeve na een gewelddadige overval in coma raakt. Dan stort zijn wereld in. Als een van de vier daders ontsnapt, maakt Sweeney zich op voor een bloedstollende wraakactie. In nachtelijk Dublin zoekt en vindt bij de vierde man, Quinn. Tijdens de lange hete zomer beraamt Sweeney nauwkeurig de perfecte moord.

Maar zijn plan loopt dramatisch mis. Het lot keert zich tegen hem.