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The Speckled People: A Memoir of a Half-Irish Childhood
"We wear Aran Sweaters and Lederhosen. We are forbidden from speaking English. We are trapped in a language war. We are the Speckled People." In one of the most original memoirs to emerge in years, Hugo Hamilton tells the haunting story of his German-Irish childhood in 1950s Dublin. His Gaelic-speaking, Irish nationalist father rules the home with tyranny, while his German-speaking mother rescues her children with cakes and stories of her own struggle against Nazi Germany. Out on the streets of Dublin is another country, where they are taunted as Nazis and subjected to a mock Nuremberg trial. Through the eyes of a child, this rare and shockingly honest book gradually makes sense of family, language, and identity, unlocking at last the secrets that his parents kept in the wardrobe.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2000
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2070 people want to read
About the author
Hugo Hamilton
38 books92 followersHugo Hamilton is an Irish writer.
Hamilton's mother was a German who travelled to Ireland in 1949 for a pilgrimage, married an Irishman, and settled in the country. His father was a militant nationalist who insisted that his children should speak only German or Irish, but not English, a prohibition the young Hugo resisted inwardly. "The prohibition against English made me see that language as a challenge. Even as a child I spoke to the walls in English and secretly rehearsed dialogue I heard outside," he wrote later.
As a consequence of this, he grew up with three languages - English, Irish and German - and a sense of never really belonging to any: "There were no other children like me, no ethnic groups that I could attach myself to".
Hamilton became a journalist, and then a writer of short stories and novels. His first three novels were set in Central Europe. Then came Headbanger (1996), a darkly comic crime novel set in Dublin and featuring detective Pat Coyne. A sequel, Sad Bastard, followed in 1998.
Following a year spent in Berlin on a cultural scholarship, he completed his memoir of childhood, The Speckled People (2003), which went on to achieve widespread international acclaim. Telling the story through the eyes of his childhood self, it painfully evoked the struggle to make sense of a bizarre adult world. It "triumphantly avoids the Angela's Ashes style of sentimental nostalgia and victim claims," wrote Hermione Lee in the The Guardian . "The cumulative effect is to elevate an act of scrupulous remembering into a work of art," commented James Lasdun in the New York Times. The story is picked up in the 2006 volume, The Sailor in the Wardrobe.
In May 2007, German publisher Luchterhand published Die redselige Insel (The Talkative Island), in which Hamilton retraced the journey Heinrich Böll made in Ireland that was to be the basis of his bestselling book Irisches Tagebuch (Irish Journal) in 1957. Hamilton's most recent novel, Disguise was published on June 6, 2008.
Hugo Hamilton lives in Dublin, Ireland.
Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Ham...
Hamilton's mother was a German who travelled to Ireland in 1949 for a pilgrimage, married an Irishman, and settled in the country. His father was a militant nationalist who insisted that his children should speak only German or Irish, but not English, a prohibition the young Hugo resisted inwardly. "The prohibition against English made me see that language as a challenge. Even as a child I spoke to the walls in English and secretly rehearsed dialogue I heard outside," he wrote later.
As a consequence of this, he grew up with three languages - English, Irish and German - and a sense of never really belonging to any: "There were no other children like me, no ethnic groups that I could attach myself to".
Hamilton became a journalist, and then a writer of short stories and novels. His first three novels were set in Central Europe. Then came Headbanger (1996), a darkly comic crime novel set in Dublin and featuring detective Pat Coyne. A sequel, Sad Bastard, followed in 1998.
Following a year spent in Berlin on a cultural scholarship, he completed his memoir of childhood, The Speckled People (2003), which went on to achieve widespread international acclaim. Telling the story through the eyes of his childhood self, it painfully evoked the struggle to make sense of a bizarre adult world. It "triumphantly avoids the Angela's Ashes style of sentimental nostalgia and victim claims," wrote Hermione Lee in the The Guardian . "The cumulative effect is to elevate an act of scrupulous remembering into a work of art," commented James Lasdun in the New York Times. The story is picked up in the 2006 volume, The Sailor in the Wardrobe.
In May 2007, German publisher Luchterhand published Die redselige Insel (The Talkative Island), in which Hamilton retraced the journey Heinrich Böll made in Ireland that was to be the basis of his bestselling book Irisches Tagebuch (Irish Journal) in 1957. Hamilton's most recent novel, Disguise was published on June 6, 2008.
Hugo Hamilton lives in Dublin, Ireland.
Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Ham...
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August 7, 2011
I found The Speckled People after encountering a fascinating article by Hugo Hamilton on the "Loneliness of Being German". Similar to the article, the book immediately struck a chord with me. Those living within and without their own language will find a special connection to this book. Language as the identification of "home" and "country" and "language wars" are explored here in a rather exceptional way - through the voice and outlook of a growing child. Like a patchwork quilt the vignette chapters of the book come together for the reader to form an exquisitely drawn portrait. Hamilton's family is pictured against the backdrop of their Irish reality of poverty and want in the fifties and sixties. Complexities are accentuated by his dual identity as a child of an Irish nationalist father and a German mother who left Germany after the war.
The Speckled People is an intimately personal chronicle of his youth. His use of the language of a child has advantages and challenges. On the one hand, experiences can be conveyed in a direct and innocent way. Johannes (Hugo) has not yet learned to query all he observes: "When you're small you know nothing". He is a sensitive and perceptive child who intuits that there are more untold dramas in the family. "You can inherit a secret without even knowing what it is." On the other hand, it may be difficult to maintain the language as the boy's capacity to analyze and reflect becomes more pronounced with age. Hamilton succeeds admirably in keeping his style consistent even where he integrates numerous events from the wider world as they become relevant to the young boy. As you settle into his style, the narrative becomes deeply absorbing.
The experiences of life under Nazi rule as part of an anti-Nazi family, continue to haunt his mother. Her painful memories are conveyed to the son in small doses, like selected scenes from a black and white movie in which she had a part. Nonetheless, she is homesick for her native country and all things German. Books, souvenirs and toys arrive regularly resulting in outbursts of happy laughter. Johannes records his mother's mood swings expressed through either laughter or primarily mental withdrawal and silence.
His father feels more Irish than anybody around them. He insists on preserving Irish culture and on "freeing" the Irish people from British influences. His children become "his weapon" against the enemy. He forbids the family to speak English. The Irish language has to be protected even if it means losing business. This can mean that cheques are not accepted from people who cannot spell Ó hUrmoltaigh - Hamilton in Irish. The language is your home, "your country is your language", he insists - it identifies who you are. At the same time, the children tend to "live" in German as their mother has difficulties speaking Irish. With English the preferred language around them, the pressure on them to speak German and Irish at home sets them apart from other people in Dublin at the time. The children suffer from this enforced isolation. The neighbourhood bullies, responding to their otherness and German identity call them "Nazi", "Hitler" or "Eichmann". They attack them whenever the opportunity arises. While Johannes repeats to himself and to his mother "I am not a Nazi", he does not defend himself against the assaults. One of the rules of the house is to adopt a form of pacifist resistance, the "silent negative "and not to become part of the "fist people". As Johannes grows up, he understandably rebels increasingly against these strictures. In the end, he discovers his own way out of all the identify confusion, his anger and pain.
The Speckled People is a memoir like no other I am aware of. While Hamilton chronicles his childhood and growing up, themes and issues beyond the personal play a fundamental role. In particular his exploration of the complexities of "language" as "home" and "country" gives this book added richness and depth.
The Speckled People is an intimately personal chronicle of his youth. His use of the language of a child has advantages and challenges. On the one hand, experiences can be conveyed in a direct and innocent way. Johannes (Hugo) has not yet learned to query all he observes: "When you're small you know nothing". He is a sensitive and perceptive child who intuits that there are more untold dramas in the family. "You can inherit a secret without even knowing what it is." On the other hand, it may be difficult to maintain the language as the boy's capacity to analyze and reflect becomes more pronounced with age. Hamilton succeeds admirably in keeping his style consistent even where he integrates numerous events from the wider world as they become relevant to the young boy. As you settle into his style, the narrative becomes deeply absorbing.
The experiences of life under Nazi rule as part of an anti-Nazi family, continue to haunt his mother. Her painful memories are conveyed to the son in small doses, like selected scenes from a black and white movie in which she had a part. Nonetheless, she is homesick for her native country and all things German. Books, souvenirs and toys arrive regularly resulting in outbursts of happy laughter. Johannes records his mother's mood swings expressed through either laughter or primarily mental withdrawal and silence.
His father feels more Irish than anybody around them. He insists on preserving Irish culture and on "freeing" the Irish people from British influences. His children become "his weapon" against the enemy. He forbids the family to speak English. The Irish language has to be protected even if it means losing business. This can mean that cheques are not accepted from people who cannot spell Ó hUrmoltaigh - Hamilton in Irish. The language is your home, "your country is your language", he insists - it identifies who you are. At the same time, the children tend to "live" in German as their mother has difficulties speaking Irish. With English the preferred language around them, the pressure on them to speak German and Irish at home sets them apart from other people in Dublin at the time. The children suffer from this enforced isolation. The neighbourhood bullies, responding to their otherness and German identity call them "Nazi", "Hitler" or "Eichmann". They attack them whenever the opportunity arises. While Johannes repeats to himself and to his mother "I am not a Nazi", he does not defend himself against the assaults. One of the rules of the house is to adopt a form of pacifist resistance, the "silent negative "and not to become part of the "fist people". As Johannes grows up, he understandably rebels increasingly against these strictures. In the end, he discovers his own way out of all the identify confusion, his anger and pain.
The Speckled People is a memoir like no other I am aware of. While Hamilton chronicles his childhood and growing up, themes and issues beyond the personal play a fundamental role. In particular his exploration of the complexities of "language" as "home" and "country" gives this book added richness and depth.
June 25, 2008
My daughter recommended this book to me and it is a memoir of Hugo Hamilton's life growing up in Ireland. His father was fanatically "Irish" and his mother was "German". Hence the title. The father would only allow Irish (Gaelic) spoken in the home and was rabidly anti-British. The mother spoke German. This memoir of two boys growing up in Ireland makes for riveting reading. It gives one a very different view of Ireland than you would get reading Frank McCourt or Roddy Doyle. Highly recommended.
November 7, 2012
Awful, Awful and just beyond awful. Maybe I am just not a very intellectual person like the rest of the people reading this book . I normally finish a good book within 2 hours but with this one I spent 2 weeks because I found it physically impossible to pick it up and torture my own brain.
This book sounds more like the rambling of a 5 year old child. Have no idea what the publisher and editor were thinking.
Some problems:
1. The author has no consistency, no clear theme established in any chapter what so ever. One minute in the same chapter you are talking about the author's father and then the next paragraph starts taking about his school friends, then the next one is about his mother's cakes, then the next para. is about his love for painting. I found this extremely irritating.
2. It feels like there is a barrier in-between you and the characters in the story. You just can't connect to them. I've read so many stories with many, many characters but in this story even though there are a few character they're characterization is so thin that you don't remember them half a page later. I seriously had to keep flicking back through pages to remember who was who.
3. Like I said in the first 2 points this is a very hard book to connect to(for me). When the author just drops bombs about his parents history randomly on a page then starts talking about his neighbors next; u get very confused. It is very illogical in some parts. With some things you wonder why are they even there?
I would like to say to everyone beware !!! Do not get swayed by all the positive reviews that you read online. Check this book out for yourself before buying. Harper Collins and Amazon have previews. I extremely regret spending a lot of money on this absolute pile of tosh. DO not make the same mistake.
This book sounds more like the rambling of a 5 year old child. Have no idea what the publisher and editor were thinking.
Some problems:
1. The author has no consistency, no clear theme established in any chapter what so ever. One minute in the same chapter you are talking about the author's father and then the next paragraph starts taking about his school friends, then the next one is about his mother's cakes, then the next para. is about his love for painting. I found this extremely irritating.
2. It feels like there is a barrier in-between you and the characters in the story. You just can't connect to them. I've read so many stories with many, many characters but in this story even though there are a few character they're characterization is so thin that you don't remember them half a page later. I seriously had to keep flicking back through pages to remember who was who.
3. Like I said in the first 2 points this is a very hard book to connect to(for me). When the author just drops bombs about his parents history randomly on a page then starts talking about his neighbors next; u get very confused. It is very illogical in some parts. With some things you wonder why are they even there?
I would like to say to everyone beware !!! Do not get swayed by all the positive reviews that you read online. Check this book out for yourself before buying. Harper Collins and Amazon have previews. I extremely regret spending a lot of money on this absolute pile of tosh. DO not make the same mistake.
June 10, 2018
Либонь, я не надто вдало вибрала час для цієї книги; вона за настроєм дуже осіння, повільна, присмеркова.
Це автобіографічна оповідь народженого на початку 50-х Гюґо Гамільтона, справжнє — ірландське — ім'я якого підкаже нам про його походження: Йоганнес О'Гурмолтай. Німецьке ім'я й складне ірландське прізвище. Ні того, ні іншого ти не хотів би мати, коли б зростав в провінційній повоєнній Ірландії, де всі шукають цапа-відбувайла, на якого можна звалити провину за бідність і скруту.
Мама-німкеня нашого автора, приїхавши в паломництво до Ірландії, зустріла свого майбутнього чоловіка і там залишилася. Ця бідолашна жінка вже встигла зазнати чимало лиха до, під час і після війни, втративши батьків і ставши нікому не потрібною сиротою. Але вона зуміла не озлобитися в часи, сповнені гніву по вінця. В історіях з цієї книжки вона наче добрий янгол дому, завжди спокійна і любляча, і легко повірити в те, що сім'я похолола від жаху, коли одного разу вирішила, що мама пішла назавжди. Але довгими вечорами вона вистукує на друкарській машинці оповідь про найтемніші події в своєму житті, що про них поки не готова розповісти своїм малим дітям, але які не дають їй спокою.
"Вона іноді не розуміє ірландців, бо вони люблять дивні речі, на кшалт рожевих тістечок, м'якого морозива, солі й оцту. Вони витрачають всі свої гроші на Перше Причастя. Вони не люблять бути чемними, і так само не люблять черг, бо коли підходить автобус, то забувають усілякі правила й кидаються до дверей. Водії автобусів в Ірландії сліпі, а власники крамниць не хочуть продавати свого товару. М'ясник тримає в роті цигарку, рубаючи м'ясо, і ніхто не вміє казати ні. В Ірландії кивають, якщо хочуть сказати ні, і хитають головами, якщо погоджуються з вами."
Татко пана Гамільтона — взірцевий ірландський націоналіст. Доходить до того, що він відмовляється приймати пошту, яка адресована на його занглізоване ім'я — Гамільтон, заявляючи, що це інша особа. Палкі промови і полум'яні статті — все життя заради праведної справи. Доходить до того, що він з диктаторськими замашками забороняє дітям бавитися будь-якою іншою (читай: англійською) мовою, лише по-ірландськи. Боже збав, щоб зізнатися, що тобі подобається якась англійська пісня, чи твій найліпший друг не знає ні слова ґельською. Часом це має майже комічний ефект: складається враження, що його мета привести в світ якомога більше ірландомовних нащадків. Але поставте себе на місце його дітей. Тих дітей, яких і так усе життя цькують, обзиваючи нациками, лупцюючи і репетуючи "забирайтеся туди, звідки приїхали" (усі вони народилися в Ірландії). І от вони подвійні аутсайдери: як "німці" і як ірландомовні. Неважко здогадатися, що підрісши вони починають обманювати свого суворого ірландського батька, і у формі такого собі протесту все більше використовують ненависну англійську.
"Є деякі речі, які я успадкував від батька, не форму чола, усмішку чи кульгавість, а інші речі — смуток, голод і біль. Ти можеш успадкувати такі спогади, про які краще забути. Такі речі, які передаються до тебе ще дитиною, як безпорадний гнів. Усе це відчувається в голосі, в голосі твого батька, так ніби він народився з каменем у руці."
Це досить сумна оповідь про дитинство на фоні повоєнних злиднів. Батьки, які постійно хапаються то за одну, то за іншу ідею, аби заробити трохи грошей, і не хочуть зрозуміти, що ніхто нічого не купує, бо всі надто бідні. Це так нагадує сторінки з "Хлопчика Мотла" нашого Шолома-Алейхема, де йдеться про таку ж самісіньку ситуацію. Так іронічно, що батько пана автора зрештою помер внаслідок однієї зі своїх шалених ідей, і це була вкрай незвичайна смерть.
"В Манстері, звідки родом мій батько, багато поетів, які розмовляли й писали рідною мовою. Але то було дуже давно, коли всі люди ще говорили ірландською, а поети були дорогими гостями в кожному домі, де їх приймали, як королів. Якщо поет наближався до дверей великого будинку, де жила шляхта, його запрошували пообідати й переночувати. Якщо до нього поставилися добре, влаштували на його честь свято і виявили належну гостинність, він писав довгу поему, в якій усьому світові розповідалось, якими шляхетними і культурними були господарі. Але якщо хтось виявлявся нечемним, зачинив перед ним двері, про того писали погану поему, щоб присоромити його. Вони називалися бардами, і настав час, коли ті, хто опікувалися поетами, графи та інші шляхетні люди, програли війну британцям і були змушені облишити свої будинки й тікати до Франції. Поетам вже не було, куди йти, тож вони також позникали, й Ірландія на деякий час лишилась без поезії.
Після то��о ірландський народ більше не знав, куди йому йти, бо назви вулиць і селищ перейменували по-англійськи. Люди збилися з пуття, бо не впізнавали місцевості на своєму шляху. Лім Ї Донневан став Ліп. Ґленн д'Ойр став Ґлендор. А Кйон т Сяль ставв Кинсейл. Імена людей також змінились. ОʼМатуна став ОʼМейхоні, а ОʼГурмолтай став Гамільтоном. Батько каже, що всі ірландці були приголомшені, не знаючи, хто вони, хто з ними розмовляє. Вони не могли знайти дороги додому. А це найгірший біль у світі бути загубленим, присоромленим, бездомним."
Це автобіографічна оповідь народженого на початку 50-х Гюґо Гамільтона, справжнє — ірландське — ім'я якого підкаже нам про його походження: Йоганнес О'Гурмолтай. Німецьке ім'я й складне ірландське прізвище. Ні того, ні іншого ти не хотів би мати, коли б зростав в провінційній повоєнній Ірландії, де всі шукають цапа-відбувайла, на якого можна звалити провину за бідність і скруту.
Мама-німкеня нашого автора, приїхавши в паломництво до Ірландії, зустріла свого майбутнього чоловіка і там залишилася. Ця бідолашна жінка вже встигла зазнати чимало лиха до, під час і після війни, втративши батьків і ставши нікому не потрібною сиротою. Але вона зуміла не озлобитися в часи, сповнені гніву по вінця. В історіях з цієї книжки вона наче добрий янгол дому, завжди спокійна і любляча, і легко повірити в те, що сім'я похолола від жаху, коли одного разу вирішила, що мама пішла назавжди. Але довгими вечорами вона вистукує на друкарській машинці оповідь про найтемніші події в своєму житті, що про них поки не готова розповісти своїм малим дітям, але які не дають їй спокою.
"Вона іноді не розуміє ірландців, бо вони люблять дивні речі, на кшалт рожевих тістечок, м'якого морозива, солі й оцту. Вони витрачають всі свої гроші на Перше Причастя. Вони не люблять бути чемними, і так само не люблять черг, бо коли підходить автобус, то забувають усілякі правила й кидаються до дверей. Водії автобусів в Ірландії сліпі, а власники крамниць не хочуть продавати свого товару. М'ясник тримає в роті цигарку, рубаючи м'ясо, і ніхто не вміє казати ні. В Ірландії кивають, якщо хочуть сказати ні, і хитають головами, якщо погоджуються з вами."
Татко пана Гамільтона — взірцевий ірландський націоналіст. Доходить до того, що він відмовляється приймати пошту, яка адресована на його занглізоване ім'я — Гамільтон, заявляючи, що це інша особа. Палкі промови і полум'яні статті — все життя заради праведної справи. Доходить до того, що він з диктаторськими замашками забороняє дітям бавитися будь-якою іншою (читай: англійською) мовою, лише по-ірландськи. Боже збав, щоб зізнатися, що тобі подобається якась англійська пісня, чи твій найліпший друг не знає ні слова ґельською. Часом це має майже комічний ефект: складається враження, що його мета привести в світ якомога більше ірландомовних нащадків. Але поставте себе на місце його дітей. Тих дітей, яких і так усе життя цькують, обзиваючи нациками, лупцюючи і репетуючи "забирайтеся туди, звідки приїхали" (усі вони народилися в Ірландії). І от вони подвійні аутсайдери: як "німці" і як ірландомовні. Неважко здогадатися, що підрісши вони починають обманювати свого суворого ірландського батька, і у формі такого собі протесту все більше використовують ненависну англійську.
"Є деякі речі, які я успадкував від батька, не форму чола, усмішку чи кульгавість, а інші речі — смуток, голод і біль. Ти можеш успадкувати такі спогади, про які краще забути. Такі речі, які передаються до тебе ще дитиною, як безпорадний гнів. Усе це відчувається в голосі, в голосі твого батька, так ніби він народився з каменем у руці."
Це досить сумна оповідь про дитинство на фоні повоєнних злиднів. Батьки, які постійно хапаються то за одну, то за іншу ідею, аби заробити трохи грошей, і не хочуть зрозуміти, що ніхто нічого не купує, бо всі надто бідні. Це так нагадує сторінки з "Хлопчика Мотла" нашого Шолома-Алейхема, де йдеться про таку ж самісіньку ситуацію. Так іронічно, що батько пана автора зрештою помер внаслідок однієї зі своїх шалених ідей, і це була вкрай незвичайна смерть.
"В Манстері, звідки родом мій батько, багато поетів, які розмовляли й писали рідною мовою. Але то було дуже давно, коли всі люди ще говорили ірландською, а поети були дорогими гостями в кожному домі, де їх приймали, як королів. Якщо поет наближався до дверей великого будинку, де жила шляхта, його запрошували пообідати й переночувати. Якщо до нього поставилися добре, влаштували на його честь свято і виявили належну гостинність, він писав довгу поему, в якій усьому світові розповідалось, якими шляхетними і культурними були господарі. Але якщо хтось виявлявся нечемним, зачинив перед ним двері, про того писали погану поему, щоб присоромити його. Вони називалися бардами, і настав час, коли ті, хто опікувалися поетами, графи та інші шляхетні люди, програли війну британцям і були змушені облишити свої будинки й тікати до Франції. Поетам вже не було, куди йти, тож вони також позникали, й Ірландія на деякий час лишилась без поезії.
Після то��о ірландський народ більше не знав, куди йому йти, бо назви вулиць і селищ перейменували по-англійськи. Люди збилися з пуття, бо не впізнавали місцевості на своєму шляху. Лім Ї Донневан став Ліп. Ґленн д'Ойр став Ґлендор. А Кйон т Сяль ставв Кинсейл. Імена людей також змінились. ОʼМатуна став ОʼМейхоні, а ОʼГурмолтай став Гамільтоном. Батько каже, що всі ірландці були приголомшені, не знаючи, хто вони, хто з ними розмовляє. Вони не могли знайти дороги додому. А це найгірший біль у світі бути загубленим, присоромленим, бездомним."
March 10, 2013
The language is soft and gentle, and the descriptions are from a child's perspective. The combination makes the tyranny of the father even worse, the passivity of the mother more distressing, the fun and cakes slightly ironic.
The story of the father is interesting. He was nationalistic to the extreme and only allowed Irish - or German, since his wife was German and it was not English - to be spoken, but his children lived in a world where English was spoken by so many. I respected his belief that he could not let his language die - how many languages has English killed? Still, to refuse to acknowledge that English exists, that others speak it - its a militancy that doesn't make sense. I never got the sense that his children liked him, which is sad.
The mother's story is quite disturbing, unfolding as it does in child's words. Her children clearly love her, adore her, and forgive her for all her mistakes, her passivity, her failure to protect them from their father. She preaches the idea of the 'silent negative' - resist in your mind, silently, when you cannot resist and live. Survival, then, is the most important thing. Perhaps she has a point. Certainly, she survived, but was so damaged. Do you really survive if you are so damaged that you let yourself be trapped?
Its hard to tell whose story is being told, and perhaps that is part of the point. How much of our parent's memories become our own? Certainly their pasts affect our presents and even futures.
The story of the father is interesting. He was nationalistic to the extreme and only allowed Irish - or German, since his wife was German and it was not English - to be spoken, but his children lived in a world where English was spoken by so many. I respected his belief that he could not let his language die - how many languages has English killed? Still, to refuse to acknowledge that English exists, that others speak it - its a militancy that doesn't make sense. I never got the sense that his children liked him, which is sad.
The mother's story is quite disturbing, unfolding as it does in child's words. Her children clearly love her, adore her, and forgive her for all her mistakes, her passivity, her failure to protect them from their father. She preaches the idea of the 'silent negative' - resist in your mind, silently, when you cannot resist and live. Survival, then, is the most important thing. Perhaps she has a point. Certainly, she survived, but was so damaged. Do you really survive if you are so damaged that you let yourself be trapped?
Its hard to tell whose story is being told, and perhaps that is part of the point. How much of our parent's memories become our own? Certainly their pasts affect our presents and even futures.
January 12, 2009
The Speckled People - one of the Irish autobiographies I found in Ireland this summer. Hugo Hamilton is an acclaimed Irish novelist, and in this book he brings alive his German-Irish childhood in the 50s. It is not easy to belong to the speckled people, the people who are different, the people who are neither Irish nor German, but just speckled. Especially after the Second World War it's not easy to be speckled German.
The book is very touching and real (human). Hamilton manages the child's perspective very well. The story is truly told with the words of a little boy, still without being simple in any way. Beautiful in all ways.
The book is very touching and real (human). Hamilton manages the child's perspective very well. The story is truly told with the words of a little boy, still without being simple in any way. Beautiful in all ways.
October 28, 2012
I found at the end the story quite moving. The death of the father dispersing the grandiose fantasy of great future world that the parents created for their children. All parents create some kind of safety net for their children based upon their own childhood traumas. The German mother, having fled the harassment of the Nazi regime and coping with her own vulnerability as a professional woman who was sexually assaulted, certainly tries to provide the humor and love for everyone in the family while married to a man who only wanted one identity, that of an Irishman in an Irish world without the British. The father's fanatical nationalism blinds him to the isolation that he imposes on his children. The children grow up wearing different clothing, and speaking different languages while forbidden to speak English. They suffer, are persecuted and inherit prejudice as apparel for righteousness until it all disappears one day and they are left trying to find home in their own country.
I liked this book much more than I anticipated. However, despite my avid interest in the first half, I have to admit the second half was a bit tedious. I thought the material could have been reduced a bit, but then again I thought no it couldn't have been reduced because of the mother's story line interspersed throughout the novel. The childlike language used to tell the tale was wonderful: to the point, and emotional without being overly sentimental. Again, half way through I wondered if the language was going to evolve with the growth of the narrator. This didn't happen. Maybe it could have or maybe not. Still, the subject matter of what language you speak or don't speak forming your identity, the worship of other icons than the norm around you, and the secretly fitting in when not being allowed to secretly fit in are themes that basically are those of immigrants. Yet interestingly the immigrants here in this book were (aside from the mother)native born people. It is then that this memoir takes on the slight telling tones of an abusive home, a loving home intending to provide the best and yet unsuccessful.
I liked this book much more than I anticipated. However, despite my avid interest in the first half, I have to admit the second half was a bit tedious. I thought the material could have been reduced a bit, but then again I thought no it couldn't have been reduced because of the mother's story line interspersed throughout the novel. The childlike language used to tell the tale was wonderful: to the point, and emotional without being overly sentimental. Again, half way through I wondered if the language was going to evolve with the growth of the narrator. This didn't happen. Maybe it could have or maybe not. Still, the subject matter of what language you speak or don't speak forming your identity, the worship of other icons than the norm around you, and the secretly fitting in when not being allowed to secretly fit in are themes that basically are those of immigrants. Yet interestingly the immigrants here in this book were (aside from the mother)native born people. It is then that this memoir takes on the slight telling tones of an abusive home, a loving home intending to provide the best and yet unsuccessful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2020
When you’re small you can inherit a secret without even knowing what it is. You can be trapped in the same film as your mother, because certain things are passed on to you that you’re not even aware of...unspoken things...that you can’t understand until later when you grow up.
Hugo and his siblings grow up in an Irish-German household, where the English language is forbidden. They are a speckled people, not beloning to the country of their birth nor that of their German mother. Their peers call them "Nazis" and "Eichmann", but their father refuses to have them speak English or do anything to help them belong. He is an insecure and controlling man, disappointed by the route his country took after independence. This book was a painfully beautiful description of the confusion felt by children by the conflicting and contradictory world adults create. I found many passages within this book to be very moving.
...I’m not afraid any more of being German or Irish, or anywhere in between. Maybe your country is only a place you make up in your own mind.
Hugo and his siblings grow up in an Irish-German household, where the English language is forbidden. They are a speckled people, not beloning to the country of their birth nor that of their German mother. Their peers call them "Nazis" and "Eichmann", but their father refuses to have them speak English or do anything to help them belong. He is an insecure and controlling man, disappointed by the route his country took after independence. This book was a painfully beautiful description of the confusion felt by children by the conflicting and contradictory world adults create. I found many passages within this book to be very moving.
...I’m not afraid any more of being German or Irish, or anywhere in between. Maybe your country is only a place you make up in your own mind.
March 10, 2017
Loved this book, does not read like a memoir, more like a fictional novel. The challenges that a multi-cultural family faces is always poignant, but especially so shortly after a World War. Hugo Hamilton had me drawn in from the very first lines, and never did I waver in my desire to keep reading.
March 25, 2022
I’m very glad I read this book. The author tells of a growing up in a household with a German mother and an Irish father. The father was physically and emotionally abusive. The book is written in the voice of the young person the author was. The sentences are tight, direct, and written in a way that is distinct and unique. I liked it a lot.
October 30, 2022
Najbolja knjiga koju sam pročitao u 2022. Priča koju vodi dete (13-14+ god) o Irsko- Nemačkoj porodici nakon II Sv.R, i zato su "Pegavi Ljudi", markirani, žigosani, posebni ali ne i isti sa ostalima.
Pitka, slatka, teška, humor koji je vezan za ove dve zemlje, brutalna, istinita....
Topla preporuka.
Pitka, slatka, teška, humor koji je vezan za ove dve zemlje, brutalna, istinita....
Topla preporuka.
September 7, 2019
Hugo Hamilton speaks to the reader in the voice of his childhood self as he tries to understand his family's background, the world around him and to take pride in Ireland, his own country. Hugo's father is loyally Irish to the point that he wants his children to only speak Gaelic, the British be damned, and his father doesn't spare the stick to punish them if they do not follow his rules. Hugo's mother emigrated from Germany and lived through the hated Nazi rule. With a mixed ethnic background different than his Dublin peers, Hugo is the target of neighborhood bullies who torment him, hurl pejoratives such as Eichmann or Nazi at him, and sentence him to" death" or beatings in mock trials.
Hugo learns to compare the perspective of both his parents and their respective histories. For example, "Irish people were so afraid of being poor that they spent all their money, while German people were so afraid of being poor that they saved up every penny."(p. 213) He learns of the Easter Rising against the British versus the holocaust in Germany, and from both parents he internalizes the concept of bravery. His mother's tenet of "you can only really be brave if you know you will lose" (p. 268) is demonstrated by his Tante Marianne's bravery in standing up in a Salzburg opera house to proclaim it was a pity that Hitler was still alive after a failed assassination attempt and her helping Jews as the owner of a guest house. Hugo's upbringing and childhood perceptions, though sometimes misunderstood or comical, help him develop his own sense of bravery and right vs. wrong.
I enjoyed reading this raw and honest memoir.
Hugo learns to compare the perspective of both his parents and their respective histories. For example, "Irish people were so afraid of being poor that they spent all their money, while German people were so afraid of being poor that they saved up every penny."(p. 213) He learns of the Easter Rising against the British versus the holocaust in Germany, and from both parents he internalizes the concept of bravery. His mother's tenet of "you can only really be brave if you know you will lose" (p. 268) is demonstrated by his Tante Marianne's bravery in standing up in a Salzburg opera house to proclaim it was a pity that Hitler was still alive after a failed assassination attempt and her helping Jews as the owner of a guest house. Hugo's upbringing and childhood perceptions, though sometimes misunderstood or comical, help him develop his own sense of bravery and right vs. wrong.
I enjoyed reading this raw and honest memoir.
October 20, 2012
I rated this book 3.5 stars.
In this memoir Hugo Hamilton tells the story of his youth. Born in Dublin in the 1950’s with a German mother and an Irish, nationalistic, father his upbringing was anything but conventional. Because of his father’s strong and uncompromising views on being Irish and resurrecting the Irish identity it was forbidden to speak English in their house. While the rest of Dublin lived in an English speaking world, Hugo and his siblings grew up speaking German and Irish at home, with punishment awaiting anyone who dared to bring English into their home. They are “the speckled people”, partly from Ireland and partly from somewhere else.
“We are the brack children. Brack, homemade Irish bread with German raisins.”
Because of his father’s views on being and speaking Irish the family found themselves outsiders in the neighbourhood where they lived. Having a German mother at a time when World War II was still a very recent memory only made things worse for the Hamilton children. Teasing, bullying and being left on the fringes of the world they lived in were the result. And there is so much the children don’t understand, things that will only become clear when they are older (and mostly after the story in this book has ended); the past his father is ashamed of and trying to hide, and the pain his mother caries with her always as a result of things she witnessed, was exposed to and had to endure during Hitler’s reign in Germany. This is a family that doesn’t really fit in anywhere. Cultures clash, differences confuse and all young Hugo wants is to be the same as anybody else, to not to be called a Nazi and treated like an outcast.
In many was this was a fascinating book. It was interesting to read about Ireland in the fifties and sixties, and the composition of this family made this into a unique story. Up until fairly recently foreigners were a rarity in Ireland and I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like to be one in Dublin during those days, never mind being a German so shortly after the war. And while I’m all for raising children bi-lingual, the set up in this book, with the children not being allowed to speak the language everybody else around them was using, smacks of child-cruelty.
I had a difficult time with the way in which this story was told though. Although the story was obviously written with hindsight by an adult author, the language and images used are those of the child at the time the events take place. This means that a lot is not said or explained. An awful lot of what must have been happening is left unsaid because the child Hugo didn’t understand what was going on. This means that the reader has to read between the lines and draw their own conclusions. Was the father just misguided and overzealous in his determination to only allow Irish in his house or was he actually a cruel man? Was his mother a loving and supportive creature, or was she weak and ignoring problems when she should have been able to deal with them and maybe protect her children better? These questions weren’t answered for me while I was reading the book, and now that I���ve read the last page, I’m still not sure. I will say though that I admire the way the author seemed to have gone with complete honesty and didn’t try to make his younger self look perfect. In fact, at times he seems to actively dislike the person he was back then.
On the other hand, there were some observations that I did recognise and love, like:
“My mother says you can’t be sure in Ireland if people say things with admiration or not. Irish people are good at saying things in between admiration and accusation between envy and disdain.”
And while this book may have been published in 2003, with the story being set in the 1950’s, some things are as true now as they were back then. In fact, the following statement seems to have real relevance these days:
“Irish people were so afraid of being poor that they spent all their money, while German people were so afraid of being poor that they saved up every penny.”
Overall I would call this a powerful story which, unfortunately, was told in a way that just didn’t work very well for me.
In this memoir Hugo Hamilton tells the story of his youth. Born in Dublin in the 1950’s with a German mother and an Irish, nationalistic, father his upbringing was anything but conventional. Because of his father’s strong and uncompromising views on being Irish and resurrecting the Irish identity it was forbidden to speak English in their house. While the rest of Dublin lived in an English speaking world, Hugo and his siblings grew up speaking German and Irish at home, with punishment awaiting anyone who dared to bring English into their home. They are “the speckled people”, partly from Ireland and partly from somewhere else.
“We are the brack children. Brack, homemade Irish bread with German raisins.”
Because of his father’s views on being and speaking Irish the family found themselves outsiders in the neighbourhood where they lived. Having a German mother at a time when World War II was still a very recent memory only made things worse for the Hamilton children. Teasing, bullying and being left on the fringes of the world they lived in were the result. And there is so much the children don’t understand, things that will only become clear when they are older (and mostly after the story in this book has ended); the past his father is ashamed of and trying to hide, and the pain his mother caries with her always as a result of things she witnessed, was exposed to and had to endure during Hitler’s reign in Germany. This is a family that doesn’t really fit in anywhere. Cultures clash, differences confuse and all young Hugo wants is to be the same as anybody else, to not to be called a Nazi and treated like an outcast.
In many was this was a fascinating book. It was interesting to read about Ireland in the fifties and sixties, and the composition of this family made this into a unique story. Up until fairly recently foreigners were a rarity in Ireland and I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like to be one in Dublin during those days, never mind being a German so shortly after the war. And while I’m all for raising children bi-lingual, the set up in this book, with the children not being allowed to speak the language everybody else around them was using, smacks of child-cruelty.
I had a difficult time with the way in which this story was told though. Although the story was obviously written with hindsight by an adult author, the language and images used are those of the child at the time the events take place. This means that a lot is not said or explained. An awful lot of what must have been happening is left unsaid because the child Hugo didn’t understand what was going on. This means that the reader has to read between the lines and draw their own conclusions. Was the father just misguided and overzealous in his determination to only allow Irish in his house or was he actually a cruel man? Was his mother a loving and supportive creature, or was she weak and ignoring problems when she should have been able to deal with them and maybe protect her children better? These questions weren’t answered for me while I was reading the book, and now that I���ve read the last page, I’m still not sure. I will say though that I admire the way the author seemed to have gone with complete honesty and didn’t try to make his younger self look perfect. In fact, at times he seems to actively dislike the person he was back then.
On the other hand, there were some observations that I did recognise and love, like:
“My mother says you can’t be sure in Ireland if people say things with admiration or not. Irish people are good at saying things in between admiration and accusation between envy and disdain.”
And while this book may have been published in 2003, with the story being set in the 1950’s, some things are as true now as they were back then. In fact, the following statement seems to have real relevance these days:
“Irish people were so afraid of being poor that they spent all their money, while German people were so afraid of being poor that they saved up every penny.”
Overall I would call this a powerful story which, unfortunately, was told in a way that just didn’t work very well for me.
March 21, 2011
I don't really know what to think about this book. It has been hightly recommended to me by a couple of people who actually used to share my type of books so I was really expecting a great experience. But I have been quite disappointed. I don't know if it is the childish point of view (and language level) that lowed the experience but I didn't enjoy it as much as I was supposed to. Well, I truly believe that the time you read a book is a huge factor in your appreciation of it and with all the work I have to do, maybe the best circumstances were not reunited. I should give the book an other chance one day or another because I think that somewhere, in the corner of my mind, a part of the story caught my attention and in one way I'm convinced that the characters have a lot of thing to share with the reader.
So I will not write a long review because I think that it would not do this book a good justice.
So I will not write a long review because I think that it would not do this book a good justice.
September 2, 2016
This book comes with a recommendation by Roddy Doyle, I'm wondering whether he actually read it before putting his name to his review. Told in the voice of a nine year old boy it is incredibly irritating. The faux 'seen through the eyes of a child' take on very real and disturbing world events is relentless, the tone doesn't change. I found myself cringing, it reminded me of an Australian book which also got accolades Jasper Jones, both rely on the voice of a young boy and both just feel incredibly forced and fake. A pity because the subject matter, being a child brought up with two languages and the post war cultural differences between Germany and Ireland could have made for a richer and more substantial novel. I don't recommend this one.
March 6, 2014
When you are small you know nothing
Written with vocabulary and style representative of young memories and it just doesn't give me any reading pleasure. Too many good books beckoning. Next!
Written with vocabulary and style representative of young memories and it just doesn't give me any reading pleasure. Too many good books beckoning. Next!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2020
This book was nice and easy to read for someone who is starting to read more frequently in english. I read it for english class.
December 30, 2023
Hugo ist "breac", er ist gescheckt. Der Sohn eines Iren und einer deutschen Mutter wächst in Dublin auf. Er und seine Familie sprechen nur Gälisch oder Deutsch, beides Sprachen, die nicht von jedem verstanden werden. Das führt zu jeder Menge Komplikationen.
Hugos Kindheit kann nicht leicht gewesen sein. Das strenge Verbot des Vaters, dass die Kinder englisch sprechen, fand ich anfangs nur befremdlich. Später ist mir immer mehr aufgefallen, wie sehr die Kinder für einen Verstoß bestraft wurden, auch wenn der nicht einmal absichtlich oder sogar unvermeidbar war. Ich konnte ein Stück weit verstehen, warum Hugos Vater so gegen alles Englische war. Auf der anderen Seite hat er sicherlich auch gesehen, in welche Schwierigkeiten er seine Familie immer wieder brachte und wie er sie damit isoliert hat, was ihm offensichtlich egal war.
Ich muss gestehen, dass ich die Geschichte von Hugos Mutter am interessantesten fand. Anfangs wirkte sie wie eine graue Maus, sie ihrem Mann nicht entgegenstehen kann. Aber nach und nach habe ich ihre Vergangenheit kennengelernt und auch gemerkt, dass hinter ihrer scheinbaren Zurückhaltung viel mehr steckt, als ich angenommen habe.
Insgesamt fand ich Hugos Geschichte sehr bedrückend. Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass eine Kindheit unter diesen Umständen wirklich schön gewesen sein kann. Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass Hugo Hamilton nicht alles erzählt hat.
Hugos Kindheit kann nicht leicht gewesen sein. Das strenge Verbot des Vaters, dass die Kinder englisch sprechen, fand ich anfangs nur befremdlich. Später ist mir immer mehr aufgefallen, wie sehr die Kinder für einen Verstoß bestraft wurden, auch wenn der nicht einmal absichtlich oder sogar unvermeidbar war. Ich konnte ein Stück weit verstehen, warum Hugos Vater so gegen alles Englische war. Auf der anderen Seite hat er sicherlich auch gesehen, in welche Schwierigkeiten er seine Familie immer wieder brachte und wie er sie damit isoliert hat, was ihm offensichtlich egal war.
Ich muss gestehen, dass ich die Geschichte von Hugos Mutter am interessantesten fand. Anfangs wirkte sie wie eine graue Maus, sie ihrem Mann nicht entgegenstehen kann. Aber nach und nach habe ich ihre Vergangenheit kennengelernt und auch gemerkt, dass hinter ihrer scheinbaren Zurückhaltung viel mehr steckt, als ich angenommen habe.
Insgesamt fand ich Hugos Geschichte sehr bedrückend. Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass eine Kindheit unter diesen Umständen wirklich schön gewesen sein kann. Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass Hugo Hamilton nicht alles erzählt hat.
June 29, 2020
Quella narrata da Hamilton è una biografia che ha a che fare con una tematica che dovrebbe stare a cuore a tutti noi, quella della diversità culturale. Figlio di madre tedesca e di padre irlandese, la vita di Hamilton lo ha spinto ad affrontare pregiudizi nati da colpe non commesse, violenze psicologiche e fisiche, la consapevolezza di non sentirsi mai abbastanza perfetto e fiero rappresentante delle sue due metà culturali. Una vita all’insegna del desiderio di trovare una terra e una cultura da considerare finalmente proprie, nonostante le pressioni del padre per la salvaguardia dell’Irlanda dalle fauci omicide della dominante cultura inglese, nonostante le preoccupazioni di una madre schiava di un oscuro passato che ancora la tormenta e desiderosa di vedere i propri figli crescere forti, coraggiosi, senza paura nei confronti della verità e della volontà di opporsi agli oppressori, di qualunque natura essi siano. Una vita difficile, tormentata e commovente che si chiude nella raggiunta consapevolezza che ‘maybe your country is only a place you make up in your own mind. Something you dream about and sing about. Maybe it’s not a place on the map at all, but just a story full of people you meet and places you visit, full of books and films you’ve been to’.
Ho dato tre stelle perché I’m not really into autobiographies, ma questa ne vale davvero la pena.
Ho dato tre stelle perché I’m not really into autobiographies, ma questa ne vale davvero la pena.
April 4, 2021
DNF 😓
May 6, 2024
the type of memoir that makes you ask yourself if what you’re reading is truly real or not, absolutely heartbreaking
March 17, 2025
What an interesting family. I enjoyed the writing style too.
November 13, 2016
"The Speckled People" is about the half-Irish, half-German Hamilton family and takes place during World War II, when Nazism is peaking. They move from Germany to Ireland, and have to tolerate being called Krauts and Nazi's due to the German part of them. This book is about the struggle to hold on to culture versus the want to live with no fear, which gets a little bit complicated when Jack Hamilton starts the Anti-British Nationalist Cause, encouraging the people to be proud of where they're from. For example, he pushes people to continue to speak Gaelic rather than following the British and speaking English.
As it has been pointed out many times, in the United States we don't learn much about Ireland. All we know is leprechauns, shamrocks, and St. Patrick's Day. "The Speckled People" gives us a chance to learn about Ireland and even better it is from a child's viewpoint. I think writing novels through a child's eyes adds a sort of innocence, and you have to do a lot of connecting the dots. For example, "The Book Thief" was written through a child's eyes during the same time period, and it added so much raw innocence to it. You get to witness children learning the cruel side of the world as it changes their lives and opinions.
The best part about the book is being raised learning about World War II from the perspective of the United States, and being able to learn about it from the view of another country. Sometimes it is easy to forget that so many besides the Axis and Allied powers were affected by the war. It's refreshing to relearn it via Irish History because we still know plenty about the war itself, but we get to learn about how the already struggling country of Ireland was coping with it. During it all, there is also a religious struggle between the Protestants and Catholicism going on. The historical significance is just that, remembering that you're not the only country affected by war, poverty, famine, religion, etc. In order to stay humble as American's, we have to reach out for the knowledge of other countries, especially because they were all established before we were. In a way, this is part of American history. We wouldn't be the United States without all the immigrants from other countries searching for new opportunities. Everyone's history is our history. All in all I give this book a 4 star rating,
As it has been pointed out many times, in the United States we don't learn much about Ireland. All we know is leprechauns, shamrocks, and St. Patrick's Day. "The Speckled People" gives us a chance to learn about Ireland and even better it is from a child's viewpoint. I think writing novels through a child's eyes adds a sort of innocence, and you have to do a lot of connecting the dots. For example, "The Book Thief" was written through a child's eyes during the same time period, and it added so much raw innocence to it. You get to witness children learning the cruel side of the world as it changes their lives and opinions.
The best part about the book is being raised learning about World War II from the perspective of the United States, and being able to learn about it from the view of another country. Sometimes it is easy to forget that so many besides the Axis and Allied powers were affected by the war. It's refreshing to relearn it via Irish History because we still know plenty about the war itself, but we get to learn about how the already struggling country of Ireland was coping with it. During it all, there is also a religious struggle between the Protestants and Catholicism going on. The historical significance is just that, remembering that you're not the only country affected by war, poverty, famine, religion, etc. In order to stay humble as American's, we have to reach out for the knowledge of other countries, especially because they were all established before we were. In a way, this is part of American history. We wouldn't be the United States without all the immigrants from other countries searching for new opportunities. Everyone's history is our history. All in all I give this book a 4 star rating,
February 12, 2018
'Breac' is a word the Irish brought when they were switching over to the English language meaning speckled, dappled, flecked, spotted. A trout is brack and so is a speckled horse. A barm brack is a loaf of bread with raisins, borrowed from the Irish words "Bairin breac." Hugo Hamilton's father was an Irishman who married a German woman after WWII. He describes his family as 'Irish bread with German raisins'.
Having just read MACHINE MADE, a history of the Irish in New York, this book was a little unsettling because of it's comparatively informal style because it's written from the point of view of a young boy, and, though factual and well-written, it's entirely different. Once I made my adjustments, I was happily committed.
Hugo gives an insightful and heart-breaking account of his family's life and struggle as outsiders in their own country because his mom spoke with a German accent. Irish independence was his father's passion, so much so that he forbade English to be spoken in the home. He was a strict, even brutal, authoritarian. His wife had experienced Nazi Germany and was not someone willing to hate to stay there, to keep her job, and, on a pilgrimage, she decided to make a new life in Ireland. She supported her husband and protected her children, negotiating life in a country different from her birth, dealing with anti-German hostility, while teaching her children nuances in a world that often only sees things in black and white.
This book is often sad and upsetting, like life, but often very funny and uplifting.
Having just read MACHINE MADE, a history of the Irish in New York, this book was a little unsettling because of it's comparatively informal style because it's written from the point of view of a young boy, and, though factual and well-written, it's entirely different. Once I made my adjustments, I was happily committed.
Hugo gives an insightful and heart-breaking account of his family's life and struggle as outsiders in their own country because his mom spoke with a German accent. Irish independence was his father's passion, so much so that he forbade English to be spoken in the home. He was a strict, even brutal, authoritarian. His wife had experienced Nazi Germany and was not someone willing to hate to stay there, to keep her job, and, on a pilgrimage, she decided to make a new life in Ireland. She supported her husband and protected her children, negotiating life in a country different from her birth, dealing with anti-German hostility, while teaching her children nuances in a world that often only sees things in black and white.
This book is often sad and upsetting, like life, but often very funny and uplifting.
January 31, 2008
I really liked this memoir of a boy growing up in fifties Ireland with a german mother and Irish father.As in a lot of memoirs I read, the father was stubborn and misguided and the mother an understanding saint of a woman. The writer never faltered from telling his story from a childs point of view. The fathers belief in a future Ireland where only the Irish language was spoken, forbade his children to speak English or even listen to it spoken.The children were ostracised from their peers and made the target of bullies.The mothers experiences during the war and her escape to Ireland to get away from the oppressive regime after the war, is told very sensitively. All through the book we can see the young boy struggling for his own identity, not knowing is he German or Irish and rebelling against everyone because he’s so mixed up.
December 6, 2012
This excellent memoir never strayed from a child's observations of his life in Ireland in the 1950's. There have been many tyrannical fathers in memoirs (and fiction) but typically they are not obsessed with the Gaelic language. The father takes it to lengths not possible to imagine: not allowing his children to speak English, using their Irish names at all times, and trying to convince others that Irish is the true language and English should be abolished in all of Ireland. Then there is the German mother, homesick for Germany--the boys wore lederhosen with Aran sweaters. Hamilton was teased throughout his school years and called a Nazi because he spoke German. A gripping and enjoyable read.
April 1, 2018
I was listening to a BBC podcast and Bob Geldorf was waxing lyrical about this book. So I bought it. In between reading this I was going through some advanced copies of novels and dumping them - there is a lot of banal writing out there. The Speckled People was so refreshing to read after that. I looked forward every day to picking this book up. IMO it’s beautifully written and, as another reviewer has stated, the idea of language being your country (from the perspective of a child) is fascinating. How confusing for this family to be raised in German, schooled in Irish and surrounded by English. Loved this so much - I’ve ordered the next one. It’s been a while since an author captivated me like that. Thanks Bob!
August 5, 2021
I want to give it 4 stars because it was such a difficult read... but it was precisely the nature of the book so subtly telling far far more in between the lines whilst often seeming to repeat the same stories over and over every few chapters. It is done so well that the difficulty is an/the aspect of reading it.
It reads to me exactly as if it were recounted by one undergoing PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder ... but specifically complex PTSD, the difference between the two being that the latter involves early trauma and long term ongoing stress. The repetition of the stories, each time with additional insight but the unchanging level of impact...
It reads to me exactly as if it were recounted by one undergoing PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder ... but specifically complex PTSD, the difference between the two being that the latter involves early trauma and long term ongoing stress. The repetition of the stories, each time with additional insight but the unchanging level of impact...
July 29, 2012
Een registratie van gebeurtenissen en de wisseling tussen een Ierse en Duitse identiteitscrisis. Bouwt niet ergens naartoe op.
De achterflap zegt: " ontrafelt (...) bizarre familiegescheidenis van een Iers-Duitse familie". De ontrafeling gaat me na 196/303 pagina's niet snel genoeg.
Gestopt omdat ik een positieve progress mis. Niet mijn soort boek.
De achterflap zegt: " ontrafelt (...) bizarre familiegescheidenis van een Iers-Duitse familie". De ontrafeling gaat me na 196/303 pagina's niet snel genoeg.
Gestopt omdat ik een positieve progress mis. Niet mijn soort boek.
August 27, 2014
Touching story of what would today be termed a dysfunctional family, told by an unforgettable child narrator. How true that every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. (Tolstoy)
The pain is somewhat mitigated by the end, and without sentimentality or an improbable happy outcome ( those are left to fictional accounts).
The pain is somewhat mitigated by the end, and without sentimentality or an improbable happy outcome ( those are left to fictional accounts).
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