Group Read -> November 2018 -> Nomination thread (A book about World War One won by A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry)

[Val]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I'm more interested in A Long, Long Way than Wake, so have changed my vote."
I have just done the same.
It is now in the lead.

[Nigeyb]

Can this get any more thrilling?


A Long Long Way is indeed out in front, but only by one vote...

A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry 5 votes, 41.7%
Wake by Anna Hope 4 votes, 33.3%
Hundred Days: The Campaign That Ended World War I 1 vote, 8.3%
A Very Long Engagement 1 vote, 8.3%
Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918 1 vote, 8.3%
The Living Unknown Soldier: A Story of Grief and the Great War 0 votes, 0.0%


Vote here....

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

[Roman Clodia]

I'm happy either way as I've been wanting to read the Barry for ages.

[Nigeyb]

6 - 5 now...


A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry - 6 votes, 42.9%
Wake by Anna Hope - 5 votes, 35.7%

[Judy]

A Long Long Way looks great to me - I will definitely read it whether it wins or not!

[Susan]

I often read books that don't win. One of the best things about having so many good nominations.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Susan wrote: "I often read books that don't win. One of the best things about having so many good nominations."

I may also, but not necessarily in the same period as reading the winner. Sometimes I haven't heard of a title before. This is the way my wish list gets over burdened. I'm not sorry to have that problem, just voicing the observation.

[Susan]

No, I can't always fit them in, but I like to add to my, never ending, TBR list. I did read Bertie: A Life of Edward VII during the 1900's decade as, although I nominated it, it was clear that only I wanted to read it :)

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Susan wrote: "No, I can't always fit them in, but I like to add to my, never ending, TBR list. I did read Bertie: A Life of Edward VII during the 1900's decade as, although I nominated it, it was clear that only I wanted to read it :)"

You enjoyed it! Sometimes there is just the right time in your life for a book.

[Nigeyb]

7 - 6 now with A Long Long Way still just out in front......


A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry 7 votes, 43.8%
Wake by Anna Hope 6 votes, 37.5%
A Very Long Engagement 2 votes, 12.5%
Hundred Days: The Campaign That Ended World War I 1 vote, 6.3%
The Living Unknown Soldier: A Story of Grief and the Great War 0 votes, 0.0%
Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918 0 votes, 0.0%
16 total votes

[Susan]

Ooh, very close. Two excellent front runners. Looks like a Win-Win situation. I must admit that, as my father was Irish, I am always interested in any books set there and so I will be perfectly happy with A Long Long Way and, oddly, have never read anything by Sebastian Barry before.

[Susan]

I just looked on Audible and A Long, Long Way is listed as the second in the 'Dunne Family' series, with Annie Dunne as the first book. As I hate reading anything out of order, can anyone confirm this?

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Sebastian Barry is wonderful. Have read only his On Canaan's Side, but will happily read others.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Susan wrote: "I just looked on Audible and A Long, Long Way is listed as the second in the 'Dunne Family' series, with Annie Dunne as the first book. As I hate readin..."

I think the stories are about the family. Annie Dunne is set in the 1950s, and I think there is no actual sequence to be followed.

[Susan]

Ah, OK.

[Kirsten]

Susan wrote: "I just looked on Audible and A Long, Long Way is listed as the second in the 'Dunne Family' series, with Annie Dunne as the first book. As I hate readin..."

I havent' read the others in the series but LOVED A Long, Long Way. Just make sure you have plenty of Kleenex!

[Susan]

Oh dear. I do prefer a happy ending...

[Val]

"A Long, Long Way" seems to be the first chronologically from the descriptions. The others are set later, but include flashbacks.

[Nigeyb]

We have a winner....


A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry which, according to Hugh who nominated it, gives an unusual perspective on the war from the point of view of Irish soldiers, who were anything but feted heroes when they came home in the aftermath of the Easter Rising. It has some pretty graphic descriptions of the chaos of war too

A Long Long Way sounds very intriguing

The blurb....

Praised as a “master storyteller” (The Wall Street Journal) and hailed for his “flawless use of language” (Boston Herald), Irish author and playwright Sebastian Barry has created a powerful new novel about divided loyalties and the realities of war.In 1914, Willie Dunne, barely eighteen years old, leaves behind Dublin, his family, and the girl he plans to marry in order to enlist in the Allied forces and face the Germans on the Western Front. Once there, he encounters a horror of violence and gore he could not have imagined and sustains his spirit with only the words on the pages from home and the camaraderie of the mud-covered Irish boys who fight and die by his side.  Dimly aware of the political tensions that have grown in Ireland in his absence, Willie returns on leave to find a world split and ravaged by forces closer to home. Despite the comfort he finds with his family, he knows he must rejoin his regiment and fight until the end. With grace and power, Sebastian Barry vividly renders Willie’s personal struggle as well as the overwhelming consequences of war.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Looking forward to this one.