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Title:
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Boy from the Sea, The |
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Authors:
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Carr, Garrett |
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Genre:
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Fiction |
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Pages:
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323 |
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Year:
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2025 |
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Publisher:
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Picador |
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Language:
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English |
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Description:
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With his parentage a mystery, Brendan Bonnar could answer to both ‘the boy in the barrel’, and ‘the boy from the sea’, as he was found as a newborn in 1973 washed up on a beach near a Donegal village. It is the Bonnar family, Ambrose, Christine and their young son Declan who give him a home. His arrival may be a miracle, but life in general is getting progressively harder for the village with the calamitous impact on their livelihoods of the new European fishing quotas. Gentle, perceptive and lightened by the self-deprecating humour of the unnamed narrator, this is the moving portrait of a tight-knit Irish community weathering hard times, and a dysfunctional family where sibling rivalry looms large.
Comments from BDS Reviewers:"All that is good about an Irish story - dry, self-deprecating humour, witty observations and a captivating delivery".
"The plot of the book is original and engaging, with a constant sense of foreboding".
"This is a story that will get under your skin - you will love and hate the characters and their behaviours. It is all about characterisation, and the complications of just ordinary people".
"It is another 'hard life in Ireland' story, but a really good one. Much more".
"The story is told in the first person plural, from the point of view of an unnamed villager - this was an original and interesting way to tell a story".
"There is a hint of mysticism to the story - religion and superstition also add to the feeling of God, myth, and luck being guiding principles of life".
"I also enjoyed Ambrose's and Christine's history and relationship - it was a realistic and gentle portrait of a marriage".
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Categories:
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Fiction, Community, Family Saga, Historical, Mystery, Relationships, Social commentary/perspectives, Ireland, Adoption, Just Added, 2027 Titles |
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