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114th out of 206 books
—
51 voters
The All of It
A sleeper hit when first published in 1986, Jeannette Haien's exquisite, beloved first novel is a deceptively simple story that has the power and resonance of myth. The story begins on a rainy morning as Father Declan de Loughry stands fishing in an Irish salmon stream, pondering the recent deathbed confession of one of his parishioners. Kevin Dennehy and his wife, Enda, h...more
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
December 16th 1987
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1986)
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As certainly as music filled the life of Jeannette Haien, music fills the life of this book. Would that I were better versed in music terms, but this small piece is a gem of lyrical luster, a verbal etude with rhythm and timbre, inflection and harmony and turns of phrase that makes ones breath catch: "...the hinges rusted to a point there was no swing left in it...."
or "what ruled was the mindful way the place had been left....You couldn't, I mean, but see how dearly it'd been tidied and of fee...more
or "what ruled was the mindful way the place had been left....You couldn't, I mean, but see how dearly it'd been tidied and of fee...more
Sometimes, I will just blindly pull a book from the shelves of the library, and this is how I came to read The All of It.
This novella is not something I would normally read, but once I started reading it, it hooked me.
An Irish priest visits one of his parishioners: Keven, a dying man, who tells Father Declan that he has a secret he must confess before he dies. The secret is a great lie, but before he can confess, Kevin dies.
And so it is left to Kevin's wife, Enda, to confess, but she will not co...more
This novella is not something I would normally read, but once I started reading it, it hooked me.
An Irish priest visits one of his parishioners: Keven, a dying man, who tells Father Declan that he has a secret he must confess before he dies. The secret is a great lie, but before he can confess, Kevin dies.
And so it is left to Kevin's wife, Enda, to confess, but she will not co...more
Somewhere I read that Anna Patchett (author of "State of Wonder") highly recommended this book, so I put it on my list and forgot about it. Many moons later I stumbled onto the book and read it in one sitting, absolutely spellbound. It is a short sweet little story, and as the book jacket says:deceptively simple. I am particularly fussy about books set in Ireland and cannot tolerate anything that smacks of Begosh & Begoorah, heavy brogues, Irish spring, leprechauns, shamrocks, or the like. T...more
This is one of those unassuming little gems that you run across once in a while. It is set in Ireland, more or less in the current time. Its structure is interesting. It's a story within a story within a story. The first level is a fishing trip that one of the protagonists, Father Declan de Loughry, has taken the day after one of his parishioners, Kevin Dennehy, has died. As he fishes he ruminates about the previous day when he and the dead man's wife, Enda, kept watch by the body. That's the se...more
This was a very little book that I picked up and started reading at a thrift store. About ten pages in I thought I should probably buy it. It's difficult to cram a whole story into 150 pages, especially when a portion of them are about fly fishing, but Haien pulls it off.
This is, essentially, the story of a priest, Father Declan, who, upon the death of one of his parishoners, Kevin Dennehy, discovers that he has been living a lie with his wife, Enda, for the past fifty years.
It's really a poigna...more
This is, essentially, the story of a priest, Father Declan, who, upon the death of one of his parishoners, Kevin Dennehy, discovers that he has been living a lie with his wife, Enda, for the past fifty years.
It's really a poigna...more
I thought that this book deserved 2.5 stars, but that wasn't an option. At times, I liked it. At other times, I just thought it was okay. Admittedly, I liked it better after I read it and then read Ann Patchett's foreword. Allow me to explain.
The All of It is about age-old concerns: what it means to be human, desire, forbidden yearning, morality, etc. However, it just doesn't hit me in the stomach like some books do. It just didn't make me feel very much. I admired the prose. The imagery was sp...more
The All of It is about age-old concerns: what it means to be human, desire, forbidden yearning, morality, etc. However, it just doesn't hit me in the stomach like some books do. It just didn't make me feel very much. I admired the prose. The imagery was sp...more
Jeannette Haien's first novel is getting a new wave of attention these days because novelist Ann Patchett is raving about it on her current book tour. I think many readers will be disappointed. It's really a novella or a long short story, and like those shorter genres favors characters over plot. The All of It is basically the study of two characters: Enda, the beautiful 60-something widow whose husband has gone to his grave carrying their big secret, leaving her to reveal it to their confessor,...more
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A sleeper hit when first published in 1986, Jeannette Haien's exquisite, beloved first novel is a deceptively simple story that has the power and resonance of myth. The story begins on a rainy morning as Father Declan de Loughry stands fishing in an Irish salmon stream, pondering the recent deathbed confession of one of his parishioners. Kevin Dennehy and his wife, Enda, have been sweetly living a lie for some 50 years, a lie the full extent of which Father Declan learns only when Enda finally c...more
This book is definitely not a mainstream novel, but falls clearly into the "literary" novel pile. The book called to me when I was doing other things, and I found myself wondering about Enda and the priest. I have to admit to sitting upright when I clicked the "next" page on my kindle only to find out that the book was at the end. We are so used to having things spelled out for us that it is sometimes hard to finish a book with so many things left to my own imagination.
If you are looking for a...more
If you are looking for a...more
I read this book in one sitting...not so much because it was a great story or the plot was captivating but just because it was so easy too read. I reluctantly gave it 3 stars only because I couldn't give it 2 1/2. I guess I was not a big fan because I feel the author talks about things for the sake of shock and which she knows nothing about. when she says something about Americans and the English wrecking a harbor town by making it a popular visiting place, I wonder if she knows she just did the...more
This novella one a price for first fiction when it was originally published. It is a rather simple story told in gleaming and very picturesque prose. Has a limited number of characters, a man, a woman and a priest and the story is most told by the woman to the priest. There is some moral interplay here, because as a priest there is a clear line between right and wrong and not much grey, yet here in this little Irish village things may not be what they seem. A;though I am not very fond of fishing...more
I ordered this book after one of my favorite authors, Ann Patchett, recommended it during a reading she gave here in Northern Michigan. Of course I did! I was smitten with her, in a little Ann Patchett world at the moment, and every title that came from her mouth that day I ordered. So I felt a bit bad when, while reading this book, I wasn't loving it. I think it set out to be minorly shocking, but for a person who spent many teenage nights under the covers with a flashlight and V.C. Andrews, I...more
"Written in 1986 but still incredibly relevant, Jeannette Haien's debut novel is a compelling examination of a case where hard and fast religious boundaries are blurred by circumstance and tragedy - where blame is elusive and sin is uncertain. Haien's novel may not feel overtly powerful, but its grace and candor cannot be overlooked as readers are reminded that grief, guilt, desire, and empathy are profoundly complex human emotions, and that morality can prove to be baffling and indecipherable j...more
Succeeding or failing comes down to managing expectations. If you have super high expectations about a book it can be really hard for it to meet them. No expectations and a book can take you by surprise and make your day. I love knowing nothing about a book. Then it can live and breath for you for the first time in your hands - and you can learn how you feel about it as you turn the pages.
I loved that my the end of the book - Enda and the priest were able to fulfill each other's needs, love and...more
I loved that my the end of the book - Enda and the priest were able to fulfill each other's needs, love and...more
Sep 27, 2011
Carol
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
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Highly recommended by Ann Patchett.. I heard she convinced the publisher to put this little book back into print. It's a short book you can read in two hours. A man makes a deathbed confession, but doesn't tell all. His wife is left to tell the rest of it, "the all of it." It's a captivating story, and I loved the writing.. so Irish! I could hear the accents and picture the countryside. Beautiful! I was hoping to love this book but didn't. However, it was a very good read, and I don't think anyo...more
I put this on my Goodreads "To Read" list when I read an interview with Ann Patchett (one of my favorite authors), who said this is a book that she had stumbled across in a second hand book store, bought it and read it and was amazed by how well the story was told. Incredibly engrossing and just 150 pages and such a lovely read. The book, at the time was out of print and Ms. Patchett, helped get it back in print and even wrote the forward for it when it was re-printed.
"Soaked by a miserable rain...more
"Soaked by a miserable rain...more
An overlooked Irish classic. This gracefully written book was recommended by Ivan Doig on the Barnes & Noble weekly guest books. Haien, a concert pianist, died in 2008; she had written only two novels. Based on this gem she should be better known. Back to the Irish part: there is a priest of course, who hears a confession that forms the basis of the book and changes his moral view. The elegant tone is maintained throughout this gem of a novel that can easily be read in one sitting.
This story takes place in Ireland. Father Declan has heard the confession of Kevin and Enda Dennehy and is torn. This short (144 p.) novella is told by Father Declan while fishing in a salmon stream. Enda Dennehy tells Father Declan of her and Kevin's "sin." The story goes back and forth between the fishing trip and Enda's retelling. This is not the kind of book I would normally read, but I was happy it was chosen by my book club. A very quick and enjoyable read.
However lyrical this book may be, there was just no story to speak of, no point, really. The plot was thin, at best, the characters under-developed, the "big secret" was predictable and revealed too early on. Because I was not even given a chance to care for the characters before the climax was reached, it left me hoping for more substance. I even assumed that perhaps there was one more big secret, but alas, nothing:(.
A very Irish tale, set in the days following a man's death as he has been unable to complete his final confession with the village priest. It was obviously a confession of import, now left to his wife to reveal. the story that follows is one of sorrow, sin, redemption, happiness, spite, and ultimately compassion. A gentle story, I enjoyed, which ultimately revealed the common, good threads of much of humanity.
This book did so little for me, that now not even 2 weeks removed from having read it, I can't remember a thing about it without reading the description. It was just a rambling waste of time as far as I could tell. I suppose that there would be some literary merit in the book of you were looking to write a paper on, but otherwise, it was pretty much a snoozer. Not something I'd recommend to anyone.
This was an odd little book that was recommended by a co-worker who said he was
very moved by the story. I found the ending a bit confusing,it seemed open to
interpretation about where the relationship between the two main characters was headed.
The fishing expedition as backdrop to the story reminded me of The River Why a little bit.
Certainly the life story of the main character was unusual.
very moved by the story. I found the ending a bit confusing,it seemed open to
interpretation about where the relationship between the two main characters was headed.
The fishing expedition as backdrop to the story reminded me of The River Why a little bit.
Certainly the life story of the main character was unusual.
This is a beautifully written short novella best read in one sitting. The book is mostly a conversation between two people in a small Irish village, a woman in mourning after the death of her husband who reminisces about her life, and a priest who listens. The priest also spends time salmon fishing, which adds more local color. The story has many twists and turns, and its simplicity and plot are compelling.
A wisp of an Irish gem...a story nestled in the seaside village of Roonatellin with the usual Catholic priest in attendance but with a "secret" so catastrophic that its mere revelation would certainly destroy the very fiber of human decency. Father Declan is called to a dying man's bedside to hear the confession of a wrong held in secret for the better part of 50 years..only Kevin dies before he can unburden his soul and Father is left to get "the all of it" from his wife, Enda.
It is in the exq...more
It is in the exq...more
The story idea is good enough, and the descriptive passages are well done. The technical aspects, however, leave a lot to be desired.
The main story should have been written in third person, not first. Misused reflexive pronouns mar the dialog. The storytelling resorts to naive, importuning appeals to emotion. The characters don't stand on their own. Overall, the book is an amateurish effort.
The main story should have been written in third person, not first. Misused reflexive pronouns mar the dialog. The storytelling resorts to naive, importuning appeals to emotion. The characters don't stand on their own. Overall, the book is an amateurish effort.
This is probably the highest lexile scored book that I have read in a long while. My husband and I read it together out loud. Different. It has some good examples of writing images and descriptions. It also has some long run-on sentences. Someone recommended the book to my husband. The person who liked it was a fisherman. It does have some pretty good fishing experiences.
This short easy read is great to read on a rainy day when you can read interrupted because you wont want to leave these characters for long. The only place I found myself 'skimming' was during a few lengthy fishing scenes. I'm not a fisher so that didn't appeal to me, but otherwise I found myself thinking about this story long after I'd read it. A good testament of a good book.
This is a quiet, slim novel about a woman named Enda telling a priest the story of her life after her husband dies -- and she is compelled to reveal a secret that they have kept for fifty years.
The book is as much about the reactions of young Father Declan as it is about Enda's story.
I quickly guessed the secret, but that did not make the story any less worth reading.
The book is as much about the reactions of young Father Declan as it is about Enda's story.
I quickly guessed the secret, but that did not make the story any less worth reading.
I'm not sure this novella will stick with me; the story, while well-told, is tied tightly to a time and place that no longer exist. I couldn't find the parallels to life as it is lived today; very little in the story felt universal. Still, it would be a nice, short read on a rainy day with a cup or two of hot tea. But make it strong tea or you might find yourself asleep.
Lovely and sweet. It took me a bit to realize that this was not the story of Kevin and Enda, but the tale of a parish priest who is searching for something more in his life. I liked both what was written and what was left unsaid. Morality, integrity and love have so many facets. Thanks to my sister in law for sharing this. Now I have to figure out who Ann Patchett is.
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