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City of Bohane

Kevin Barry

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Jul 04, 2013 Madeleine rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, books-for-hipsters

Hmm.

I disliked this book, but I disliked it with interest and engagement, which ought to count for a second star. This arguably deserves a few *more* stars even, but Goodreads' rating system asks me whether or not *I* liked a book, so that's what I use.

I appreciated the world Barry builds, even as I was conscious of how much I disliked reading about that near-future-dystopian, inexplicably-technology-limited, fashion-obsessed world. The feeling from that world has stayed with me after finishing ...more

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Dec 11, 2020 Tony rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, novels, setting-ireland

Set in 2056, in an Ireland where the petroleum-based economy is long gone (and with it the electricity for cell phones and computers, not to mention cars), this book's main attraction is style and flashy language. Which is not to say there's no story -- there's Gangs of New Yorkish machinations about who will run the vice of the titular city along with a love story rooted in the nostalgia for lost days of youth. All of which is standard fare -- what's not standard is how it's rendered.

Barry has ...more

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Oct 21, 2013 Brian rated it really liked it

Barry's gift for wordsmithing is well on display here. This is a tale of a dystopian Ireland 50 years on yet very much rooted in the changes of the Celtic Tiger era. The ending was a tad compressed and some of the characters not fleshed out to the extent they deserved-that may have been the point- but all in all a fine effort. ...more

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