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Gill Books A Whisper from Oblivion.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published September 21, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 26, 2023
In his second book Declan has again brought me on a journey to the unspoken and forgotten past of our history. This book is raw and beautiful and real. It goes deep into the realities of famine and the effects of it on all involved and how decisions cost many more lives and unnecessary pain. If you want to know about real Irish history, read this book. It will break your heart but also give you hope for the goodness of people. Highly recommend. ✨
December 7, 2024
In the midst of horror, goodness can triumph
This is a book I will read again with both pain at the grim scenes of the reality of famine and the attitudes of the time, and also pleasure at the beauty of the prose and the intentions of finding the good in people. The 2 main characters, Cornelius Creed and Padraig O Buachalla are complex characters with different challenges to surmount, both facing life and death in different ways, yet trying to remain true to who they are. Written with great insight into human psychology, the characters transcend their times with a message for all. The final chapters may be a little convenient in tying up lose ends, but I was glad of it, that it matched the sense of hopeful greater benevolence in the world.
This is a book I will read again with both pain at the grim scenes of the reality of famine and the attitudes of the time, and also pleasure at the beauty of the prose and the intentions of finding the good in people. The 2 main characters, Cornelius Creed and Padraig O Buachalla are complex characters with different challenges to surmount, both facing life and death in different ways, yet trying to remain true to who they are. Written with great insight into human psychology, the characters transcend their times with a message for all. The final chapters may be a little convenient in tying up lose ends, but I was glad of it, that it matched the sense of hopeful greater benevolence in the world.
August 19, 2025
Second novel in a proposed trilogy set in the time of the Irish famine.
Like the first book, the author uses real documentation to construct a bleak narrative of what was a bleak period in Ireland's history. it's not much fun at times but the reader is left in no doubt about the reality of famine, the desperation and the lack of any escape.
Having said that, unlike the first book, there are elements of optimism trying to break through. Like the seed potatoes planted, small shoots of possible respite are beginning to show. Will those shoots provide food and hope or will they merely produce the same rotted crops of the past that have blighted everyone's life.
I eagerly await the final chapter.
Like the first book, the author uses real documentation to construct a bleak narrative of what was a bleak period in Ireland's history. it's not much fun at times but the reader is left in no doubt about the reality of famine, the desperation and the lack of any escape.
Having said that, unlike the first book, there are elements of optimism trying to break through. Like the seed potatoes planted, small shoots of possible respite are beginning to show. Will those shoots provide food and hope or will they merely produce the same rotted crops of the past that have blighted everyone's life.
I eagerly await the final chapter.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews