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Jan 04, 2012

Angela rated it:

I didnt like any of the characters in this book. Eileen was annoying, Owen was a weasel, and James was a jerk. The writing wasnt that great either. I hated the way both of the men just kept running after Eileen when in real life she was such a jerk to everyone that she would've had no friends. She never said a kind word in the entire book. Also, there was too much nonsense about family pride and being a 'warrior O'Neill.' I will grant that I didnt know Ireland had gone through such turmoil and i More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 04, 2010

Gaby rated it:

Patricia Falvey's first novel, The Yellow House, has been described as firmly and unapologetically on the side of Republican/Nationalist perspective. I didn't feel that this point of view detracted from the novel. Eileen O'Neill is strong-willed, determined, and often excessively stubborn, but these same traits help keep her sane as she faces amazing personal tragedies. The events in Eileen's life are tied to the growing hostilities and political unrest in Ireland. Eileen faces the loss of both More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 01, 2010

Corinne rated it:

For Eileen, Ireland is more than just a country. It's a home, a history - an heirloom to be defended and cherished. From the time she was a babe her Da taught her a fierce pride in her Irish-Catholic roots - and living in Ulster at the turn-of-the-century made Eileen witness to the sort of strife that was as much a part of Irish Catholic life as soda bread and music on a Saturday night. When she is still young, her family and their beloved Yellow House begin to fall apart as political unre More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2009

Bridget rated it:

This is another family story, which takes place during the Revolutionary Period in Ireland. The story begins in 1905 and ends in 1924, and centers around Eileen O'Neill and her family.

The story opens with Eileen remembering a particular summer when she was 8 years old, and her father returns at the end of the day with yellow paint for their house. As the story progresses, and the family home is lost and the family is torn apart, Eileen holds the idea of the yellow house close to More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 25, 2010

Alayne rated it:

Occasionally an epic story comes along that makes the reader cry at the end of the novel. I am that reader, and The Yellow House is that novel. Spanning the early twentieth century, set in Northern Ireland during the time of the Irish revolution, we follow Eileen O’Neill, warrior, daughter, and sister as she slowly loses everything she loves but learns to rise again. Growing up at the base of her beloved mountain, Slieve Gullion, Eileen knows the terrors she dreams at night do not bode well for More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 11, 2011

Mandolin rated it:

The Yellow House is the story of a young Northern Irish woman who, inheriting a legacy of warriors, must come to terms with the burdens that legacy carries and find the strength within her that it brings. Spanning twenty years of her life, the book recounts Eileen O'Neill's struggles with the difficulties that come with war (both WWI and the Irish war of independence) and poverty, including the loss of her family to murder, mental illness and hatred. In the midst of this storm, she is torn bet More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 06, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

This was a satisfactory read. I have a long-held fascination with the Troubles in Ireland. This book predictably made me hungry to learn more about my paternal lineage. My great grandmother, Eleanor, was born in Ireland and ended up in Wales sometime before the 1920s. I don't know much more than that, but I suspect her Protestant roots may have had something to do with her decision to leave Ireland and relocate to the UK.

Although Eileen, the narrator and main character of The Y More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 06, 2010

Linda rated it:

I started this book because I loved the genre ... Irish novel. It is timed in the first World War, and the beginnings of the on-going civil war in Ireland between the Catholica and the Protestants. But, let me say, it was even less than OK (which is the 2* definition). This was no Maeve Binchey, I will tell you that ! I quit reading before I had finished the book.

And sadly, because it began well with a feisty red-headed heroine, but the roof just kept falling on her head; the langua More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2012

Dick rated it:

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Jan 18, 2012

Joy rated it:

This book had great potential and is a good, ambitious, first novel. I believe it was well researched and did a good job of simplifying the very confusing conflict in North Ireland. Long ago I read "Gone the Rainbow, Gone the Dove" about the more current history (60's? 70's?) and as I remember, it was very heart-wrenching and dramatic. This book is probably more personalized, limiting the main conflict to a woman torn between two men. The conflict is a part of the story, but not THE st More...

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Feb 26, 2011

Holly rated it:

There’s never a dull moment in Patricia Falvey’s debut novel, The Yellow House. Northern Ireland in the revolutionary period of the early 1900s almost becomes a character in this novel weaving intrigue, romance, politics and family love. The reader will feel a part of this tiny Irish village within a few pages. Ms. Falvey’s narrative and dialogue deftly fill in the history and back stories to her plot. The novel is so well constructed that the reader not only feels almost a part of the story, b More...

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Jun 29, 2011

Heidi rated it:

The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey is another Irish historical novel.This one takes place 1905-1925 in Ireland and recounts the advent of the Irish War for Independence and the beginnings of Sein Fein and the IRA. The main character is a young Catholic woman living outside Ulster. Her husband is a revolutionary and she works in a Quaker mill and she sees first hand the discrimination of Catholics by the Protestants at the mill.

Very gripping story with a lot of drama and story t More...

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Dec 27, 2010

Karla rated it:

This is why I love historical fiction, two stories bleeding together to make a real conection to the characters, place and during a tragic true time. This is a family torn by WWI and religous discrimination in Ireland and their story that felt sharp and went straight to my heart. I love strong characters that emerge with a chip on their shoulder like I found Eileen to be, a passionate, sharp tounged, born and breed Irish Catholic in a setting of uprising. She has lost everything she holds deare More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 01, 2011

Holly (2 Kids and Tired) rated it:

Irish stories have always fascinated me and this one certainly sounded promising. The premise is good and the political history is interesting, although it got a bit laborious in parts. Some will argue that politics is inherent to Ireland and while they are correct, I didn't pick this book up for the history lesson, I wanted a people story. Unfortunately, the characters simply weren't people I cared about. Eileen, in particular, wasn't at all likeable. James' family, and his mother in particular More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 11, 2010

Kristi rated it:

I was brought up surrounded by family who spoke of our Irish heritage. One of my most treasured possessions is a shamrock charm that my grandfather picked out for me when I was a teenager - I still make sure to wear it proudly every St. Patrick's Day and on days when I'm feeling especially sentimental. The Yellow House offered a spectacular view of Northern Ireland in the early 1900's, while the country was in the midst of The Troubles: when Catholics and Protestants were divided between a de More...

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Feb 18, 2010

Kathleen rated it:

As I am a fanatic about anything Irish, when I was approached to receive a copy The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey, I was delighted. I read the reviews and I couldn't wait to get my copy.

This is a novel about Ireland and takes place during the years 1900- 1924 during a time of strife and upheaval due to WWI and during the Home Rule in Ireland. The main character Eileen O'Neill is a very strong woman. After the birth of a baby brother her mother takes off and goes home to Eileens gr More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 12, 2011

Agatha rated it:

Although this book was perhaps overly dramatic/romantic in parts, and certainly did not have anything detached or overly intellectual about it, I just plain enjoyed reading this historical fiction about the time period in Ireland between World War I and the separation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Main character Eileen O’Neill watches as her family is torn apart by poverty, mental illness, disease, and the Troubles. She later must choose between fiery Republican leader More...

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Sep 18, 2011

Natasha rated it:

My father was born and raised in Northern Ireland. My grandmother still lives there. I remember visiting Belfast in the early 80's, when armed checkpoints etc were common. I enjoy history, especially history which has touched my family, so the partitioning of Ireland and the resulting "Troubles" are interesting to me. My great-grandfather signed the Ulster Covenant in 1912, which was in protest of the Home Rule Bill that had been introduced. The years following that event, and WWI More...

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Jan 14, 2011

Lee rated it:

The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey set in Ireland during the revolutionary years of the early 1900's is an epic tale championing the fiery spirit of the main character, the female heroine, Eileen O'Neill. The poignant tale brings to life the details of life in northeastern Ireland during this tumultuous time in Irish history and it does so in such a way to provide the reader with crystal clear snapshots of the time and place, feeding them to us in doses paced to perfection.

W More...

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Jan 31, 2012

Suzanne rated it:

3.5 stars. I found the historical portion of this book to be very interesting - I've read some of Andrew Greeley's novels and sort of knew about 'the Troubles,' but I got a clearer picture of the conflict here. I didn't realize how the initial bid for political freedom was so closely intertwined with WWI.

I also enjoy 'epic family sagas' and was quite taken with all the drama - triumphs and tragedies. I liked Eileen and Owen well enough, but grew tired of them as the novel went on More...

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May 05, 2010

Laura rated it:

The Yellow House was the perfect read for St. Patrick’s Day. It was a fantastic historical fiction novel set in Ireland. Eileen O’Neil has a wonderful childhood, in which she learns the history of her Catholic O’Neil family and is proud to own “the Yellow House.” Her young innocence is soon marred by family tragedy. Eileen faces religious intolerance growing up in Northern Ireland and makes it her goal to return to the Yellow House. She also has two great love affairs in her life. I loved t More...

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Sep 15, 2011

Readnponder rated it:

Falvey presents history in a most palatable way. In this case, it is the history behind the division between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The main character is Eileen. She is Catholic and works in a linen factory owned by Quakers. She dreams of one day buying back the yellow house her family lived in as a child, but lost during civil unrest and inability to pay the taxes.

Strife was brewing before WWI. It stopped briefly during the war and resumed in 1918. Eil More...

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Apr 15, 2011

Mary Anne rated it:

The Yellow House was set in Ireland during WWI and through the beginning of Ireland's quest for independence and the rivalry between the Protestants and Catholics. The central character, Eileen O'Neill overcomes several tragedies in her young life and attempts to build a life for herself while planning to bring her wayward family back together in the Yellow House where they spent their childhoold. She is drawn into the revolutinary activities by James Conlon and joins the fight with a passion. More...

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Jan 29, 2011

Savannah rated it:

I found The Yellow House to be an interesting read. I read it because it was the book of the month for my book club. Had it not been, I doubt I would have ever read it. The book contains a good bit of the history of Ireland and the effects of World war 1 on the country. Patricia Falvey weaves her characters into the fabric of World War 1 and Ireland's desire for independence from England. Her protagonist suffers a great deal in this book but the author uses this suffering wisely to tell a wonder More...

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Jan 06, 2012

Alma rated it:

The story of how Ireland came to be a divided country is told in this historical fiction story. Eileen O'Neill has a love for her ancestral home that will not die despite losing it, both her parents, most of her family and the passage of years. Her dreams of someday returning to the Yellow House are intermingled with her feelings for Owen, a British soldier bound to keep the peace for the King, and James, whose anger against anything Protestant is stronger than any love he may have for her in hi More...

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Jun 12, 2011

Gaile rated it:

This book was quite a surprise as it was better than I thought it would be. Eileen O'Neil loses her childhood home and her family very young. This leads her into a distrust of others and a rage that often she cannot hold in. This takes place in Ireland from 1909 to 1924. I was surprised that Ireland was in a civil war as long ago as that because there has been trouble there in my lifetime. Eileen is not described as all that attractive but two men fall for her, each on opposite sides. She is a v More...

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May 22, 2011

DeEtte rated it:

My review is somewhat swayed because I have a slight obsession with all things Ireland. This book takes place at the beginning of the Irish Revolution and forming of the IRA. I found all of the history to be so fascinating. Very well-researched and really good at painting both sides of the picture, which was nice. Very solid historical fiction. BUT I wasn't totally in love with the characters or plot of the book. I thought it started out strong and realistic, but the ending was a bit " More...

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Mar 31, 2010

Peggy rated it:

This story takes place in Northern Ireland during the years 1905 through 1924. Although I'd categorize it as historical fiction, it borders on romance. There is quite a bit of information on the fight for Irish independence, which I found interesting. However, the author's constant use of the verb 'snapped' everytime someone spoke in an angry tone of voice began to bother me after a while. She used the word at least fifty times in the book. I would rather she took the time to show how the c More...

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Jan 23, 2012

Diane rated it:

Eileen O'Neill's father is a dreamer and a Catholic at a time in Ireland when Catholics were discriminated against. Although in financial trouble, her father still finds joy in life which he shows in part by painting their little house a brilliant yellow. That, however, is one of the last joyful memories Eileen has for a lot of her young life. The author's writing is very rich in images, and she skillfully weaves early 20th century Irish history into the story. Very enjoyable read even thoug More...

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Jun 29, 2010

Kathy rated it:

Interesting debut. I think you have to be interested in Ireland and Irish history, particulary the times of the Troubles to like this book. While primarily focused on one character and her relationships with family, there is a quite a bit of Irish history and drama related to the uprisings in search of Irish Independence. I thought the characters were well developed but the book was somewhat predictable at the end. That is not saying I didn't like the ending, I could just see it coming. I w More...

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