For Cal, some of the choices are devastatingly simple... He can work in an abattoir that nauseates him or join the dole queue; he can brood on his ...
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reviews
Mar 23, 2009
Ariel
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Although I liked the writing style, I felt this book was a sad tale of a man who's life was going nowhere. His guilt was all that he lived for. MacLaverty is a good writer, that's not the issue. The issues is that the book was nothing more than a sad story.
Personal opinion, I guess.
Personal opinion, I guess.
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Feb 26, 2009
Melissa
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This is a powerful book about being caught between two worlds: the Catholic IRA of the 1980's and the Protestants of Northern Ireland. It is a mighty book, right through to the last page.
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Oct 16, 2008
Beth
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This book is certainly an emotional undertaking. I read it for a Northern Ireland class, and I just flew through it. It's one of the best insights I've ever had into the possible mindset of an IRA member who doesn't quite have the stomach for it, but gets lost and tangled in everything he's done and everything he wishes he could do.
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Nov 16, 2011
matt
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Fine, fine novel about the Troubles in the mid 60's. The blurbs call it a classic, the "Passage To India" of the era and though I don't unfortunately know the Forester book very well, it's easy to see why.
Cal McClusky is a teenager on the dole, the only son of an abbatoir man who is in the midst of some serious turmoil- physical (puberty), political (he's the only son of a widowed father who is stubbornly staying in a hostile Ulster neighborhood, a bitter Roman Catho More...
Apr 24, 2009
Alan
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I like McLaverty's writing a lot. This is the first one I read - I thought I'd put it on GR but apparently not. A tense, superior novel set in Northern Ireland during the troubles in the 70s. Try his stories - recently read 'Matters of Life and Death' which has two great stories. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74946...
bugger it I don't know how to put links in or italics come to that
bugger it I don't know how to put links in or italics come to that
Jul 30, 2011
Chelsea
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The style of a short story that MacLaverty uses captures the reader and makes this realistic story even more believable. I do recommend, though, that you reference the IRA and the RUC as part of ongoing Irish history. This would help your understanding of the novel and what Cal is going through. While I wish I could have seen more into Cal's head, this short novel is an excellent read.
Sep 16, 2011
Thalia
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This was my book at the oral finals in high school. Well, I didn't pick it, my English teacher did. Unfortunately I couldn't remember as much about the IRA as he expected me to, but all in all I did well. And it's a really good book, one I probably wouldn't have read if I it hadn't been required.
Aug 09, 2011
Rebecca
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I read Cal as part of a literature course. I hated reading at the time and knew very little of the Northern Ireland conflict (shame on me). I ended up passing that part of the course with 100% - for the first time ever ^-^
I couldn't believe the intracies in the writting and the amount of effort a writer would go to set a scene.
I couldn't believe the intracies in the writting and the amount of effort a writer would go to set a scene.
Dec 06, 2010
Liz
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It's not that I didn't like Cal. I just didn't love it. I feel like I've read the "I'm stuck in the IRA but don't want to be" story before and done better. I didn't much care for Cal or Marcella, and their motivations struck me as a little shallow.
Apr 29, 2011
Vic
rated it:
A very entertaining read about an ordinary young man in an extra ordinary situation.
The movie, based on the novel, and featuring Helen Mirren is also worth a watch - if you can find it these days.
The movie, based on the novel, and featuring Helen Mirren is also worth a watch - if you can find it these days.
Apr 28, 2010
Don
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An intensely psychological book, centering on the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I consider the book mostly a tragedy, with the characters unable to escape the weight of the history of conflict and the present world it has created for them. They live in a world that does not allow any gray area, meaning the choices are truly life and death. Its a quick read, but probably best for someone who has an interest in Irish literature and history. I have more thoughts here at some point.
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Apr 07, 2010
Nadia
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A great novel that deals with the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Cal falls in love with Marcella, the widow whom he participated in killing her Protestant husband. A tragic and passonate novel that you can't let down.
Jan 26, 2008
Gerry
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This is a really wonderful story about an Irish Catholic, Cal, living in Belfast in the 70's. Cal becomes involved in a murder and falls in love with the wife of the man murdered. MacLaverty has really spun a fine tale here.
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Sep 15, 2008
Allison
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This book was good and totally uncomfortable to read. Its a love story that takes place in Ireland, but it is not a typical book at all.
Jul 11, 2011
Joanna
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A young Catholic man in Northern Ireland falls in love with the Catholic widow of a British Protestant policeman whose murder he was involved in.
May 23, 2008
Padraic
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Romeo O'Juliet meets Maggie Mae. A thoroughly depressing book from a thoroughly depressing time. An awesome writer.
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Feb 10, 2012
Feb 04, 2012
