Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Having read and immensely enjoyed two of Rutherfurd's previous books - 'Sarum' and 'The Forest' - I was really looking forward to this book. It was slightly disappointing in comparison with the author's other work, but not too much so. Those who've read Rutherfurd before will know that he writes in a style very much like that of the late James Michener (though I find him much more readable than Michener). His books focus on one particular area and trace the lines of several fictional families down through time. This particular novel, the first of a two-book work, is centered around Dublin, Ireland.
There are five basic sub-stories which serve as 'windows' into history. The first begins in AD 430 and tells the love story of an Irish prince and the woman whom he wishes to marry. The king himself wants the girl for his bride, so the prince and his girl are forced to flee and live in hiding. Rutherfurd weaves many real historical events into the writing, which gives the story a great richness. Toward the end of this first section we witness the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, the coming of St. Patrick, and the effect of the new faith upon those who uphold the old druidic traditions.
The second story brings us forward more than five centuries to AD 981, and focuses on the events sparked by the coming of the Vikings to Ireland. The main characters here are direct descendants of those in the first story, and we see some things passed down through the generations. One Irish family carries an old, gold-rimmed drinking skull all the way down to the end of the book. As time passes, Rutherfurd brings in the famous Brian Boru, and we see the way the power balance works in Ireland - an important theme throughout the book.
The middle two stories are where I found most of my disappointment. The first unfolds under the rule of the English Strongbow beginning in 1167, and the second leaps to 1370 and focuses briefly on the ongoing English / Irish struggles. Both of these two sections span only one chapter each and seem extremely underdeveloped, especially the second one. Character development is minimal, a few families are nearly entirely ignored, and the plot is brief and not memorable. The writing seems rushed as well, as if Rutherfurd himself couldn't wait to be finished with it.
The final story, however, redeems the book, and I did enjoy it. Set in the 16th century, it recalls the influence in Ireland of the infamous English king, Henry VIII, his dissolution of the monasteries, and the ill-fated resistance movement of 'Silken Thomas,' the 10th Earl of Kildare. There are several interwoven and well-developed stories here, and the characters are also more fully rounded. The ending is not quite as satisfying as I would have liked, but of course one must remember that there is a second book coming, so perhaps that will give it the needed resolution. Nevertheless, the last few lines of the book are quite well done and are sure to leave the reader with a smile.
Overall, it's a very good book, though not Rutherfurd's best. I wish he'd put a little more emphasis on family ties, as he has done previously. We see the drinking skull passed down, but it isn't ever used (save for the very first story, and then its demise as the end of the book). It just sits there. In Rutherfurd's other books, a passed-down object is used and loved (or sometimes abused) by the family members that possess it through the generations.
Similarly, the green eyes of the Fergus descendants and the red hair of the Harold family are common themes, but there just isn't a real feeling of connectedness within the families from one period of history to the next. I found myself having to constantly flip to the geneology tables to remember who was descended from whom. In addition, not all the families trace back to the beginning of the book. The Tidy family shows up for the first time in the fourth part of the book, and only plays a major role in the final section. There is no real feeling of history behind them.
I did, however, very much enjoy the historical context of the book. Rutherfurd has done a tremendous amount of research and it shows. He has done some tweaking here and there for the story's sake - this is fiction after all - but the basic framework is all there. All the major events in Irish history are wonderfully laid out here, and I even learned many new things. Rutherfurd includes a note at the end that distinguishes the factual elements of the story from the fictional. Solid fans of Rutherfurd's books may be slightly disappointed, but this is still a very good book. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in Ireland, historical fiction, or both.
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