March 2021 - Set in Ireland

[Peggy]

If the two chosen books are not to your liking, you can read another book that fits this month's theme of 'set in Ireland'.

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have read the book before or during March 2021.
2. discussed it in this thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read. Please elaborate on your thoughts on at least 5 of the following topics:
- Setting
- Characters
- Writing style
- Genre
- How the book made you feel
- Which parts stood out
- Did you/will you read more by the author
- Anything else related to the book you find worth mentioning

This can be done in one post after finishing the book, but preferably in a few posts while reading. Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread (include a brief summary of what you thought of the book).

General Rules:
1. Please mark your spoilers with the spoiler tags along with mentioning what stage of the book you are at so other's don't get a nasty shock. Chapter numbers/titles are generally best as they are the same across all formats and editions. See our spoiler policy
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge, Topplers, and Monthly Challenges.

Happy reading!

[Kristie, Moderator]

I am reading Holding with the group, but I have a hold on The Guest List, which is also set in Ireland. I don't know if I'll get around to it this month, but I'll try since it fits the theme.

[Janice, Moderator]

I might have gone for The Pull of the Stars if there wasn't a 6 month hold in the library. It must be popular. Instead, I will read The Good People and will start it today.

[Cherie]

Janice wrote: "I might have gone for The Pull of the Stars if there wasn't a 6 month hold in the library. It must be popular. Instead, I will read The Good People and will start it..."

Too bad about The Pull of the Stars, Janice. I think I caught it from my library, just before it took off. There is a huge waiting list for the ebook (over 12 weeks) now but the audiobook is available, which is just the opposite of what it normally is. I think they bought more copies.

I think you will not be disappointed with The Good People.

[Cherie]

I am contemplating In the Woods. It is on my museum challeng list, but connected to a museum I had not even thought I would finish until today, when I figured out that last months group read book fit on the About task. I am reading all over the place and I was going to try to be so disciplined.

[Christina ❤️M❤️]

I went and picked up The Searcher fron the library today.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Cherie wrote: "I am contemplating In the Woods..."

This was actually the first book I thought of and I almost nominated it. I'll be interested to see what you think of it if you end up choosing it.

[Janice, Moderator]

I've finished to the end of Chapter 3 of The Good People. The story is set in 1825 so rife with talk of fairies and superstitions. It makes me glad I didn't live in those times. (view spoiler)[ I wonder what happened to little Micheal. My first thought was that he was beaten or shaken and suffered brain damage. Now I'm thinking it's more like polio. Someone asked in the Q&A section what illness he had and the response was that the author intended that it not be revealed. Now I wonder why his mother died. I wonder if we'll ever know.

Peg seems to be very compassionate, but she's a bit judgmental too. (hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

Christina - if I had not already read it, your book might have been at the top of my list. I really liked it!

[Cherie]

Kristie - I am glad I will finally get to it. It has been on my TBR for a long time. I remember buying it for the cover, I think.

[Peggy]

I enjoyed The Good People, but not as much as Burial Rites. It's been a while since I read it, but the one thing that pops into my mind is that it was quite bleak.

Not sure if I'll read something for this theme. I always have a hard time finding books set in Ireland for some reason, so I have to really go and have a good look and don't think I'll come up with many options.

[Sandra, Moderator]

I agree with Peggy. I liked GOOD PEOPLE and gave it 3 stars. The problem is BURIAL RITES set the bar way to high

[Kristie, Moderator]

Peggy wrote: "Not sure if I'll read something for this theme. I always have a hard time finding books set in Ireland for some reason, so I have to really go and have a good look and don't think I'll come up with many options."

I hope you're able to find something, Peggy. Are you trying to stick to books you own? I have a few on my TBR that I considered nominating, but I don't know if you'd have access to them. A couple have been mentioned above already, but I also have:

What the Wind Knows
Watermelon
Minding Frankie or most anything by Maeve Binchy
The Ruin or later in series

I think I had a couple more, but I can't remember now. I found this list, Best Fiction Set in Ireland too, but of course there are a couple that aren't actually set in Ireland. Not sure if any of that helps.

[Peggy]

Oooh that list IS helpful! I want to stick to owned books, and there's actually one on the list that I own, AND it's on my list of books I've owned for ages (since 2013) and want to make a dent in this year.

It's The Secret Scripture. I now wish I had realized this earlier and I would have nominated it.

[Sandra, Moderator]

That one is in my TBR too, Peggy, but I also completely missed it was set in Ireland.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Glad you found one, Peggy!

[Cherie]

I have several Maeve Binchy books on hand, but I am not always drawn to them, for some reason.

Yes, I agree that Burial Rights was better than Good People, but it was still a good story. ;o)

[Janice, Moderator]

The Good People

Grrr (view spoiler)[ I really hate religious oppression. I was so angry when the priest was chastising Nance.

I like how Hannah Kent presents historical treatment of women in her books. It's not blatant in your face, but you feel it percolating under the surface. In this book, it's cloaked by the superstition of the fairies and "good people". Nance lives outside the community and is said to have the sight. She dispenses advice and healing with strange unknown herbs. And so, according to the priest, she's not an aging woman who relies on her skills to survive, she's of the devil bringing evil to the world. (hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

Janice - Darn, I wish we could read spoilers on the Apple mobile app! I will have to wait until tomorrow when I can log in on-line on my work break. My Android tablet is charging in the living room and I am snug in bed and too lazy to get up and go get it. Did I tell you that the spoilers are always open in the Android mobile app? You get to see everything, even if you don’t want to!

[Janice, Moderator]

Cherie wrote: "Janice - Darn, I wish we could read spoilers on the Apple mobile app! I will have to wait until tomorrow when I can log in on-line on my work break. My Android tablet is charging in the living room..."

I'd be interested in your comments on my spoiler.

I only use the app if I can't use a browser. Since I have Apple products, I don't have to worry about the android products.

[Cherie]

Janice - re your spoiler (view spoiler)[ I think I was angry at the priest all the way through the story! I agree about how Kent treats her historical women characters. It is like she gets under the skin and puts them on display, just as they would really be during the time the story takes place. It gives me shivers sometimes, at how awful women were treated. I enjoyed the information about the little people and fairies. People were so superstitious that even good people were looked on as being wrong. It allowed people to forget how someone had helped them out and made them afraid to stand out and be different. It was so unjustified and so wrong. I know it is hard not to compare her books, but each of her stories seem to be "just right" for the setting, imo (hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

I can use the browser on my iPod touch, but it not as easy as getting on-line on my laptop. It is really too small and I would have to log in and out of the browser. Amy yells at me all of the time for buying the Nook tablet (which is a Samsung device), but it was available and I had the money and needed to replace my original Nook reader. What did I know about Android apps? It has given me an opportunity to see the differences between platforms though.

[Janice, Moderator]

I have about 3-1/2 hours left in the audiobook. I like learning about the beliefs and remedies of folk medicine. While some of it was steeped in superstition, I think the use of herbs was appropriate. For example, (view spoiler)[Nance applied nettle to Martin's "frozen" hand. I googled nettle and found, "Studies suggest that it may reduce inflammation, hay fever symptoms, blood pressure and blood sugar levels — among other benefits." While it worked on Martin, Nola trying to whip her grandson with it was disturbing. She definitely has a dark side.

I'm getting more anxious about how the townsfolk are working themselves into a frenzy. Rumours and innuendo can be dangerous things. (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

Cherie wrote: "Janice - re your spoiler [spoilers removed]"

Good comments, Cherie. It's not just the priest (view spoiler)[that has me on tenterhooks. The women are vicious. Add a self-righteous attitude to the works and you've got trouble. Bridgett had a still born baby and they're assigning things she did to cause it. (hide spoiler)]

[Ayacchi]

I was going to skip this month's read until I found The Lost Child which I picked up for the rating. It's the #3 book in the series and I've never read any of the author's work but it's not hard to follow the story so far.

The book contents remind me of 99 Red Balloons where the story set in 2 different times but connected somehow. I hope the similarity won't ruin my enjoyment. The story starts with Marian, who won the court over her husband for barring order and she convinced her mom to give her the house while mom lives in an apartment. One day, someone is found dead in her house, and she's missing. The police is confused for the husband can't enter the house while Marian being missing only makes the police she's the culprit. The story gets complicated when (view spoiler)[she's found in front of a hospital with wounds and has to get a surgery. When the detectives come to ask her question, the nurse said that she won't be able to talk to anyone for a long time. Guess what? The cause is kinda disturbing and mindblowing! I think it has something to do with the past. (hide spoiler)] So excited!

[Kristie, Moderator]

Ayacchi wrote: "I was going to skip this month's read until I found The Lost Child which I picked up for the rating. It's the #3 book in the series and I've never read any of the author's work but ..."

I own the first book in that series. I totally missed that one was set in Ireland. Good find.

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished my book, The Good People. It's not quite a 5-star, but it's close.

Part way through (view spoiler)[ I felt myself shifting away from championing the main character, Nora. I felt myself shifting away from Nance as well.

With Nora, it was that she almost seemed to hate her grandson. She became so entrenched in the idea of him being a changeling that she called him "It". She dehumanized him. You could see the shift from when she stopped seeing him as her grandson to a fairy changeling.

Nance believed so strongly in the Good People, the fairies, that she did more harm than good in her healing.

Mary, was a really interesting character. I felt sorry for her being coerced to participate in the attempts to force the fairy out of the child. She had the most empathy for him and seemed to genuinely care for him. But, she was the one who told Nora that the child was a changling, "Everyone knows it but you." Was she the one who unwittingly set the whole thing in motion? Did everyone forget that it was she who told Nora that the child was a changeling and not Nance, as Mary witnessed to in court?

And then there was the men, specifically Lance. I could be mistaken with the name... the one who beat his wife. I think he was behind the bundle of straw and blood - claiming Nance had hexed him.

I was surprised that both Nora and Nance were acquitted. While the law found them not guilty, the villages had their own punishment. (hide spoiler)]

[Shirley]

I read A River in the Trees. This is a story of two women, a hundred years apart - both connected to a farm in rural Ireland. The story moves smoothly between the timelines as each woman's story is told, but although it is written well, I think that the format of dual timelines is becoming over-used in historical novels. In terms of originality there is not much that is new, with events becoming predictable as the story progresses. I felt that too much emphasis was given to Emma's story (2019), which became repetitive, when Hannah's story in the time of the Irish War of Independence (1919) was much more interesting.
Because the character of Ellen didn't really develop, I began to feel bored with her, whereas Hannah drew my interest, her story being the core of the novel.
When I finished the book, it didn't really seem complete. It just seemed to fizzle out.

[Ayacchi]

Kristie wrote: "I own the first book in that series. I totally missed that one was set in Ireland. Good find...."

Needed a gophering through the list to finally found one. I barely read book set in Ireland so it helps achieving my goal. I'm thinking about continuing the series, it has 9 books so far which is so much for me but I'm curious about her previous books.

[Jess]

I'm actually reading only Irish books this month for the Irish Readathon on Booktube so I will have lots to choose from. Currently, I have two on the go.

The Cold Cold Ground is the first book in a detective series set in Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland in the 1980s. I am enjoying it. It has all the standard tropes of gritty crime fiction but with the backdrop of the troubles making everything more complicated.

At Swim, Two Boys is historical fiction set in Dublin in the years leading up to the Easter Rising. I am finding the writing style really difficult to get into as it is very lyrical and includes a lot of Irish dialect. However, the more that I read I am getting used to the writing style and can follow the unfolding story.

[Ayacchi]

I'm half through The Lost Child and still can't link anything.
I like the characters building, where almost everyone seems to be having problem, and secrets! So many hidden things the detectives can't figure them out (yet) and it's driving everyone mad. No wonder (view spoiler)[the team leader is on the edge and needs help. (hide spoiler)]

The book is so rich with incidents and events, something that would make someone ask for a break. The author doesn't even give us time to take a breathe or to rest. Can't even enjoy the tea. But I like it better than a slow plot. Many things happened here and I hope I'll get the answers in the end!

[Ayacchi]

Finished my book last night and am so satisfied! I think all the questions have been answered. A perfect 5 stars from me. I like Boyd character very much and will definitely read the previous books to get to know him more.

[Jess]

I finished The Cold Cold Ground this morning. I feel like the ending let it down a bit but I liked the aspect of a murder mystery set amongst daily sectarian violence. I will likely continue with the series. It was a 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 for Goodreads.

I am still reading At Swim, Two Boys and getting to grips with the complicated writing style. There have been some beautiful moments but also some very unsettling ones. The more I get into it the more I am appreciating it.

I am also going to start another Irish book. This one is a non-fiction about race in Ireland and globally Don't Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri

[Christina ❤️M❤️]

I have just got started with The Searcher. I am finished up to chapter four. (view spoiler)[ I almost feel like I am more curious about Trey than Cal is. (hide spoiler)] I am really liking the feel of the book so far. I am not sure exactly why, but it is reminding me of Secondhand Lions which is an all time favorite movie.

[Janice, Moderator]

Christina wrote: "I have just got started with The Searcher. I am finished up to chapter four. [spoilers removed] I am really liking the feel of the book so far. I am not sure exactly why, but it is ..."

I read The Searcher a few months ago and I'm already hazy on the details. I think (view spoiler)[Cal was reluctant to get involved, giving that he had retired to Ireland to get away from all that. It does seem strange that nobody is all that concerned about Trey's disappearance. (hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

I read The Searcher a couple of months ago too. I really liked it.

I have not had a chance to start In the Woods yet, but I hope to get to it before the end of the month.

[Christina ❤️M❤️]

Just finished Chapter 7 of The Searcher.(view spoiler)[ I understand about the missing person now. Trey wants Cal to find his 19 yo brother, Brendan. It appears that he just up and left. Lord knows that there doesn't seem to be anything keeping him there. Quite the dysfunctional family. (hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

Christina wrote: "Just finished Chapter 7 of The Searcher.[spoilers removed]"

There really was a lot going on in the story, Christina. I started out listening to the audiobook but felt that I was missing the names and some of the storyline, so I switched to reading the ebook. I actually read it twice before I felt that I had gotten all that there was. (view spoiler)[the family conditions were really appalling to me too. Throughout the whole story, I could never understand why no one, except Trey was worried about Brendon. (hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

I started listening to In the Woods - my daughter bought the audiobook version. Unfortunately, I fell asleep before I got to far along. It is not quite what I expected. I will have to go back and pick up where I was in the text. I am glad I have a hardcopy.

I am listening to Saint Christopher and the Gravedigger for my museum challenge. I cannot figure out if it is set in England somewhere of if it is in Ireland. There is nothing in the story to indicate the location, so far.

[Christina ❤️M❤️]

Just finished Chapter 11 of The Searcher, (view spoiler)[ That probably gave me the creepiest feeling I have felt in quite a while. This is the chapter where Marty invites Cal to the bar and gets him drunk on moonshine. It was so scary and it felt like they put him in a vulnerable position to deliver a serious warning... that warning was don't mess with things and always ask Marty. I don't know why and I am not sure Cal received the message, but I sure did. (hide spoiler)]

[Christina ❤️M❤️]

I finished chapter 15 in The Searcher, I am seriously wrapped up in this book. I have no idea what is happening in this town or who the shady characters are... They all seem shady. (view spoiler)[ I just found out that Trey is a girl. It took me completely by surprise, maybe even more than it surprised Cal. Now, it seems like Marty has shifted his warning toward her. Marty is completely unreadable. Nice guy?or complete dirt bag? (hide spoiler)]

[Christina ❤️M❤️]

Cherie wrote: "Christina wrote: "Just finished Chapter 7 of The Searcher.[spoilers removed]"

There really was a lot going on in the story, Christina. I started out listening to the audiobook but ..."

I think that I am understanding that a little now.

[Cherie]

I can’t remember the last time I have stayed up all night reading a book that I just cannot put down! I just finished chapter 13. I know something is going on in the story besides the murder mystery in the present and the events that happened in 1984 but I seem to be too dense to understand what the MC is dropping hints about. No sense going to bed now. I have a work meeting at 9am and my alarm will go off in a about two hours. I’m going to start chapter 14 now.

[Christina ❤️M❤️]

Cherie wrote: "I can’t remember the last time I have stayed up all night reading a book that I just cannot put down! I just finished chapter 13. I know something is going on in the story besides the murder myster..."

I am definitely going to put a request for that book in at the library.

I just finished The Searcher and I loved it.

[Peggy]

I started my book 2 days ago, it's The Secret Scripture. I read only one chapter so far which felt a bit confusing and hard to follow. Could have been intentional because it was told from the perspective of a 100 year old woman in a mental hospital, or it could have been me. I plan to read some more tonight.

[Jess]

Peggy wrote: "I started my book 2 days ago, it's The Secret Scripture. I read only one chapter so far which felt a bit confusing and hard to follow. Could have been intentional because it was told from the persp..."

I really liked this book when I read it many years ago. I have a distinct memory of weeping while reading it on a train. It gets heavy at times!

[Cherie]

Christina wrote: "I finished chapter 15 in The Searcher, I am seriously wrapped up in this book. I have no idea what is happening in this town or who the shady characters are... They all seem shady. ..."

(view spoiler)[LOL! I remember how surprising it was to have Trey turn out to be a girl. And, yeah, that Marty guy turned out to be quite the character, huh? I could not figure out what was going on with him. (hide spoiler)]

[Peggy]

Jess wrote: "Peggy wrote: "I started my book 2 days ago, it's The Secret Scripture. I read only one chapter so far which felt a bit confusing and hard to follow. Could have been intentional because it was told ..."

Thanks Jess, I'll go on with it for a little longer.

I read a few more chapters yesterday but it doesn't really grab my interest yet. I made a list of books that I've owned since 2013, and I try to pick as many of those as I can for challenges and group reads this year. I did say to myself that I should either read them or remove them from my TBR if I don't like them, so I was almost ready to just abandon this one. I'm at 10% now, I'll read to 20% and decide what to do with it then.

[Cherie]

I finished reading In the Woods today. Whew, that was a nail biter! I really could hardly pit it down. I do not know which story, the present one or the 1984 one was better or not - it was a close call because of the way the book was put together. I really loved the writing style of Tana French. She is not in your fact about putting everything down and she writes terrific characters. I am only sorry it took me so many years to get to it.

[Jess]

Cherie wrote: "I finished reading In the Woods today. Whew, that was a nail biter! I really could hardly pit it down. I do not know which story, the present one or the 1984 one was better or not - ..."

I have read three of the Dublin Murder Squad series so far and enjoyed them all. Each one focuses on a different member of the 'squad' which some readers found dissapointing after really liking Rob Ryan but I think it keeps the series fresh.

If you are looking for a standalone Tana French, The Wych Elm is fantastic but quite different to the murder squad books as it is slower and more gothic / thriller than crime (although it certainly has crime and mystery elements).

I haven't read The Searcher yet but it is high on my TBR list.