The Gathering in Constant Reader

Aug 25, 2012 Jane rated it it was amazing

I think this book is brilliant. I gave it four stars at first because it is so wrenching to read but, in fact, I think that is the point. It is about grief and what grief can do to a person: alienate you from your life, activate and rearrange memories, call your entire past into question. The fact that it is about an Irish Catholic family, a very large one, and that there are issues with alcoholism and sexual abuse. Not pleasant but feels completely truthful. Many people on Goodreads complained ...more

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Aug 20, 2017 Dree rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-read, england-uk-ireland, booker-long-short, 2017-reads, 1000-guardian-read

So strong, so melancholic.

39-year-old Veronica travels to Brighton, England, to arrange for her brother Liam's body to be shipped home. A suicide, they were very close as kids (he slightly older), but he became a drinker as an adult.

As 2 kids of 12 (and 7 miscarriages in there too), their family was tough. Too many kids, too much cruelty between kids, mom a bit of a ghost and dad doing what he could with too many kids. Veronica mulls over this--why so many? What about those months she and Liam ...more

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Aug 06, 2009 Yvette rated it did not like it

Shelves: ugh

I have a rule that once I start reading a book, I MUST finish it. This is the FIRST time that I've ever broken that rule. This book made me feel frustrated, bored, and anxious. I just couldn't torture myself any longer. Here's an excerpt to help you understand: "Nugent feels it stir in the deep root of his penis; the future, or the beginning of the future." Are you kidding me? This crap won The Man Booker Prize??? This award along with some of these five stars makes me question my intelligence a ...more

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Oct 17, 2008 Rosana rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2008, constant-reader-bookclub

I am surprised at how much I did like this book. Stream of consciousness narrations are not something I usually get into, but I found the writing beautiful. More yet, there is freshness on Enright’s prose. Not once I remember reading a cliché in this book, and some passages are truly memorable. For instance:

And what amazes me as I hit the motorway is not the fact that everyone loses someone, but that everyone loves someone. It seems like such a massive waste of energy - and we all do it, all the ...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Katie Kenig rated it liked it

Shelves: general-fiction

Irish families, particularly large ones, are often rife with illicit secrets. I should know, I hail from one. An Irish family that is, not an illicit secret.

While the premise of this book is a good one that captured my interest and the nature of loss and family connections is explored in an intriguing way, through the wake of a brother lost too soon, the writing itself I found to be dry and a bit off-putting. Which may be why it took me three months, off and on, to finish this book.

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Dec 26, 2009 William rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2009

One of the most beautifully written books I have read. Verges on Stream of consciousness. Moves back and forth in time effortlessly.
The book concerns the aftermath a a young man's suicide. His older sister, who years previously was party to a life changing event, is left with the job of reclaiming his body and bringing it back for the funeral.
Little by little the sad storyu of the family unfolds.
A exquisite book. ...more

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Oct 14, 2008 Jim rated it really liked it

Shelves: literary

I found myself wrapped up completely in the consciousness of a woman during the few days surrounding the funeral of a brother who committed suicide. Any author who can do that gets my admiration.

Trying to make something out of Veronica's life is something else. Most of the time Veronica seems to be surrounded by guilt, anger, resentment, and remorse. Sex seems to be more an act of violation rather than a celebration of love most of the time. Her family seems to consist of an unpleasant group of ...more

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May 10, 2012 Lisa Thomas rated it really liked it

Some truly amazing passages with beautiful, descriptive language, but parts of the story line bogged down.

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Nov 16, 2009 Miriam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2009, best-of-2009, rl-bookclub-2009

I can see the reviews are polarized. I'm only about 40 pages in, but suspect its my kind of book. I'm loving it. We're reading it for next month's book club and it will interesting to see how the group responds to it.

Finished it. I suspect not everyone in the book club will, but I thought it an very interesting book with the layering narrative. ...more

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Nov 12, 2008 Tess rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2007. Despite the bad reviews I quite enjoyed this book. Some parts were monotonous but I think it was beautifully written. Not my favourite from the short-list though.

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