Irish writer John McGahern's first new novel in 12 years, That They May Face the Rising Sun, is a work of delicately forged beauty, the near...
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reviews
Aug 07, 2010
I really wish I could enjoy this book, but it's driving me crazy. The slow pace, the stupid characters (by which I don't mean that the characters are badly done but that stupidity is part of their nature), the constant use of the passive voice, the sort of skaz (I don't know if I'm using this term correctly) in the narrative... it all combines to make an extremely annoying book.
I see exactly what McGahern's doing (or I think I see it) and kudos to him, because it's brilliant. It is a More...
I see exactly what McGahern's doing (or I think I see it) and kudos to him, because it's brilliant. It is a More...
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Dec 16, 2007
Elizabeth
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Loved it! Loved it! Thanks Ellen for the recommendation. This book seems to have a simple plot until you think about the emotionally charged encounters of the characters involved. A small community lives around a lake and their everyday comings and goings are chronicled by the author. The pace is slow. The members of the community are aware of the larger politics and larger world but they only serve as something to discuss. They really don't impinge on the closeknit relationships of these
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Nov 17, 2008
Siria
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I think it's best to think of That They May Face the Rising Sun less as a novel without a plot and more as a fictionalised anthropological study of rural Ireland. It's a lucid, serene rendering of the kind of place where I grew up: one governed by the rhythms of the landscape and circumscribed by social ritual and interdependence, by the striving towards modernity clashing with the old, old ways of things. McGahern's prose style is superb, sentences turning on the most precise and illuminating o
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Mar 03, 2009
Stephen
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A professor in our English Department recommended McGahern as "Ireland's finest contemporary writer." Then last night a visitor from Ireland to our university, flabbergasted that I was reading McGahern, said that this was completely unlike his other novels, which are "much darker and more strongly plotted." "By the Lake" is a character study and a tribute to the beauty of a lake in the Irish countryside. It has a dolorous tone but is not dark, at least compared t
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Sep 01, 2009
Pierce
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So this was, in effect, McGahern's swan song, and perhaps it was the wrong novel to start with. His earlier, darker, sometimes-banned stuff gave him his name, but this is not angry or black. There's a kind of complexly layered but mostly tender account of rural Ireland given. Mam said it's the work of a dying man coming to terms with his life and country (he had cancer) and that makes a lot of sense.
Very accessible and written in clear, simple, descriptive prose. It tells the story of More...
Very accessible and written in clear, simple, descriptive prose. It tells the story of More...
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Mar 02, 2010
Frank
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I really loved this book. Nothing happened—nothing much, that is. It's the story of a couple—Kate and Joe Ruttledge—who moved back to rural Ireland after successful careers in the advertising game, buy a small farm of land in the lake country of County Leitrim, and observe the simple events of the rolling year. From lambing to planting to gathering hay and selling the yearling calves, to the hightened expectations of the Christmas season. I could almost smell the turf fires and the pungent sweet
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Jul 28, 2011
A nice change of pace to read an Irish novel that spends as much time describing the landscape as dialogue among the characters! There isn't much of a storyline - just the country life of the characters who are all middle aged and middle class and drink whiskey for breakfast often. The dialgoue contained lots of proverbs - little life lessons which make the reader pause and ponder. This book isn't a page turner, but it is really relaxing to read because it isn't going anywhere fast - it's jus
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Aug 08, 2011
Mindi
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Book club book #3.
I kept asking, "And...?" until I reached the end. John McGahern may be the Irish version of John Steinbeck.
I kept asking, "And...?" until I reached the end. John McGahern may be the Irish version of John Steinbeck.
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Oct 05, 2011
Leigh
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How disappointing to see that this is out-of-print a mere six years after I read it. A lovely and quiet novel. Excellent, understated writing; well-drawn, interesting characters; beautiful descriptions and impeccably rendered dialogue. Was part of the attraction the bee-keeping, back-to-the-land young woman at the heart of the novel? Perhaps, but McGahern holds all the characters at arm's length. Exquisitely gentle, yet real, and at times a bit horrifying (John Quinn, scene of lamb slaughter
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Nov 06, 2007
Adrian
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This book is a deceptive book, it is quiet and understated but almost heartbreaking in its depiction of the beauty of ordinary life. The book concerns the lives and thoughts of a group of people who live around a lake in the rural West of Ireland.
The book moves slowly, building the lives of the characters through small details and moments of conversation. The aim of the novel, to me, is to talk about what constitutes happiness and a well lived life. Since the More...
The book moves slowly, building the lives of the characters through small details and moments of conversation. The aim of the novel, to me, is to talk about what constitutes happiness and a well lived life. Since the More...
Jan 01, 2010
Andrew
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McGahern can paint a scene as well as anyone. The descriptions in this book are beautiful and melodic. Which is more than enough to make up for lack of a coherent story. In fact, these flowing depictioins of rural Ireland suffice alone, and where a greater narrative is lacking is made up for in small trials of daily life.
Those of you who like thick plots and epic climaxes would do well to avoid this book altogether. Anyone who appreciates writers with attention to detail should pick More...
Those of you who like thick plots and epic climaxes would do well to avoid this book altogether. Anyone who appreciates writers with attention to detail should pick More...
Nov 28, 2009
Ruth
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This seems a strange book - I felt like I was reading the second part of a two (or even three) part book, or the middle book in a trilogy or something. It was well written, and the characters were interesting, but I really felt like I didnt know anything about them, and I needed to know more to more enjoy the book. I wanted to know their backgrounds, as lots was hinted at which had previously happened, but it was never fully explained.
It was an ok book, but I dont think I'd recommen More...
It was an ok book, but I dont think I'd recommen More...
Apr 25, 2010
Leendert
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nothing much 'happens' and of course everything does; on of the writing styles i most enjoy. this book should be read languorously and slowly, be savored - it is poetry as much as it is a novel; it's the careful hesitancy and respect of the characters in it; the ordinary-extraordinary things they do, the beauty of social language
mcgahern is one of those authors one would like to know personally
Jun 03, 2011
Vasha7
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Admittedly, it took me quite a few pages to begin to get interested in this novel, but once I did, I found it quietly absorbing. It helped that I kept a running list of every name mentioned in the story, and took other notes. It's probably the sort of novel that provides great rewards if you read it with close attention, but not otherwise. You can see my detailed analysis of it in my journal entry.
Nov 06, 2010
Vivian
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This seems more gentle than his other books, and the setting descriptions are typically beautiful. But under the surface, there is plenty that is not really so gentle by this Irish lake. For all the people that make the best of quiet, somewhat contented lives, there are subtle revelations, sometimes just innuendoes, from McGahern of some who have suffered grave disappointments, suffer great loneliness. And in true McGahern fashion, there is one character who has been grievously, shamefully hu
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Oct 10, 2011
Mary Lou
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This is a chronicle of a year in the life of a rural community in Ireland. Sound s ordinary enough but no- it is an extraorinary book.The lives of the characters are rolled out for us with such insight and compassion, against a beautiful backdrop. You feel you are there with them and indeed want to be there in this idyllic world. If ever a review did not do a book justice this is it.This is a must read.
Sep 05, 2011
Christine
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A charming tale of a little Irish community through the eyes of two couples who are old friends that live at the lake. The narrative is dreamy--the era isn't exactly clear, so the story feels timeless. From a few comments about the moon and the TV show blind date, I'm assuming it was set in the early 1970s.
Jan 04, 2009
Melissa
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I read a lot of Irish fiction, and I found this book very satisfying for the sense of place that the author creates, as well as some of the memorable scenes - preparing a body for viewing at a wake, for instance. It's a book that takes it's time and is in no hurry - paced much as the life which it tells of.
Oct 13, 2011
Lisa
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Not what I would normally read but needs must for Book Group! Some of my co-readers have given up, but I have persevered and there is much merit to the book. I know the author is highly regarded and award winning, but his subjects don't interest me that much. However, I warmed to the book from about 100 pages in and it's a picture of rural life in Ireland that I will remember, with some very interesting characters.
Mar 27, 2009
Ann-marie
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I read this book after John Deane insistence and so grateful I did.
This book is under a different title here in the States, something with "Lake" in the title. It's a quiet, compelling human novel set in Ireland. I loved it, much in the way I loved reading "Elegance of the Hedgehog".
This book is under a different title here in the States, something with "Lake" in the title. It's a quiet, compelling human novel set in Ireland. I loved it, much in the way I loved reading "Elegance of the Hedgehog".
Jan 08, 2009
Gregory
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McGahern's portrait of rural Irish life is utterly masterful in its natural detail, character, mood, and pace. To get the full effect you must slow down and relish the time you spend in the company folks in this book. Once in a blue moon I have found a novel as rewarding as By the Lake.
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Jul 15, 2011
Kingfan30
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A nice novel about a couple who live in rural Ireland. There is no plot as such it is all about the way they live and their friends and family. The one thing I did find odd was that the book was not split up into chapters, the first book I think I have read like this
Jul 30, 2011
Tracy
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A beautifully written novel, but nothing really happens at all! I did enjoy the Irish colloquialisms and the relationships between the characters around the lake feel very genuine. A book to read if you have got time on your hands.
Feb 07, 2011
depressing,but described well the Ireland of years ago,the reverence to clergy,the fear of parents and lack of confidence .however its worth a read,particularly if yo0ur a fan of McGahern
Sep 01, 2009
Karen
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A great surprise, and not the type of book I usually like - the prose is quiet and confident that readers will stick with the simple story. I can't stop thinking about the characters.
Oct 20, 2007
Garrett
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A slice of life in rural Ireland in what I think is the 1980s. There is not much plot to speak of. An inferior writer could not have pulled it off. McGahern writes in a simple, straightforward style and strikes a nice balance between humor and pathos. Some characters seem underdeveloped, but I think the information is there, buried in the mundane details of day-to-day life. Still, there were times when my mind started to wander and I debated not finishing it. This is not a critique of the book
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Apr 20, 2011
Gary
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One of the most beautifully written books i've ever had the pleasure of reading. I was sad when i finished, like an old friend going away that you'll never get to see again.
Dec 30, 2008
Old-Barbarossa
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I know a few folk very like those portrayed in the book.
I liked this, it was a pleasant relaxing read, but that was all I got from it.
I think an ex-pat would get loads, I'm sure it would cause a bottle of Powers to be broken out in New York or Sydney, a moist eye and a whistling of Fields Of Athenry...and a phone call home.
Some say nothing happens in the book, but many things do. They tend to be mundane and occasionally petty, but things do happen.
Hmmm, I liked it but tha
I liked this, it was a pleasant relaxing read, but that was all I got from it.
I think an ex-pat would get loads, I'm sure it would cause a bottle of Powers to be broken out in New York or Sydney, a moist eye and a whistling of Fields Of Athenry...and a phone call home.
Some say nothing happens in the book, but many things do. They tend to be mundane and occasionally petty, but things do happen.
Hmmm, I liked it but tha
Feb 24, 2011
RUSA
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This was one of the 2003 RUSA Notable Books winners. For the complete list, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/a...
Jul 27, 2011
Rose
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A beautiful, simple book. I nearly left it half way through because "nothing" was happening, but I'm glad I finished it, it's a lovely read.
