Goodreads Ireland discussion

This is the discussion thread for the September read winner, The Story of Lucy Gault

Declan.

I thought it would be, so i ordered it , i hope it gets here before the October read...:)

I hope so. The more readers involved in the discussion, the merrier.

Heads up people, I just got this book on Amazon for a penny plus shipping! I am looking forward to reading it.

I managed to get a copy of this from the Library, hopefully will get started next week.

I started this today - I'm listening to the audio version narrated by Conor Mullen, so quoting parts, never mind page numbers, is difficult to impossible. Also, I listen while I drive to and from the office, so I, er, have distractions...

Firstly, Mullen is doing a good job as narrator - he has a very neutral accent, a pleasure to listen to, and he characterizes the different voices very well. If anybody has the option, then I recommend this version.

On to the book itself - it has me hooked already and I'm less than two hours into it. The writing is beautiful, very clean sentences, no unnecessary words, and I think the dialogue is spot on. That's what I expected from it, so it's good not to be disappointed.

What I didn't expect is how gripping the plot is! I don't want to spoil this for anyone, so I won't mention any details, but there were parts that had me listening wide-eyed, a bit more intently than I should.

My favourite part so far, and this won't spoil anything, is the letter from Eloise's aunt's companion to Aloysius Sullivan.

Oh can't wait mine is coming via a friend via another friend on a plane...........

Pauline wrote: "Oh can't wait mine is coming via a friend via another friend on a plane..........."

Now, that's dedication. Hopefully I'll have mine tomorrow.

Declan the only way to get books on a plane or by boat.......makes me appreciate the simple life when i am home in Ireland.......also making me think hard about a kindle....

Pauline wrote: "Declan the only way to get books on a plane or by boat.......makes me appreciate the simple life when i am home in Ireland.......also making me think hard about a kindle...."

Fionna wrote: "I started this today - I'm listening to the audio version narrated by Conor Mullen, so quoting parts, never mind page numbers, is difficult to impossible. Also, I listen while I drive to and from t..."

@ Pauline. I think it has to be a kindle. Treat yourself next time you're home.

@Fionna. I've started a spoiler discussion thread in the folder if you want to start discussing the novel there. Hopefully I can join you soon.

I borrowed a copy from library today. I'm about halfway through it. It's prose is very pleasant to read, but I find after the first fifty pages that very little has happened.

I still have high hopes for a good ending.

just got my copy from the library, I begin today!

Me too! Can't wait.

i just had this flown in today, what a small book.......hahaha!

Pauline wrote: "i just had this flown in today, what a small book.......hahaha!"

I know. I've hardly touched it and I'm nearly finished.

well declan, i got brother's lot and ireland aswell, so they look like a long read.........

I am rereading it for the second time. I love Trevor's writing. I think he writes about his characters despite their faults with great acceptance -if not compassion. The book is bringing up as many questions for me as it did the first time around but I might have to continue along those lines in the spoiler discussion. I'm afraid I am neglecting things around the house because I am so into it even though I know what happens.

Well, I finished it today, and I have mixed feelings about it. It certainly wasn't to my taste but there was some very powerful writing here. Especially in the last eighty or so pages.

I have just started and dont have any warm feelings for Lucy's parents yet, please tell me it gets better!?!

Pauline wrote: "I have just started and dont have any warm feelings for Lucy's parents yet, please tell me it gets better!?!"

You'll certainly feel for them. It's all very emotional. I can't promise any one aspect gets better, but it's worth sticking with it.

60% through now and want to slit my wrists.........

Pauline wrote: "60% through now and want to slit my wrists........."

Hurry and get to the spoiler discussion.

we should have a half way through no going back spoiler discussion group!

It's a thought. I could arrange that for the next read, I supppose.

Yikes! I just relized this book isn't available in Kindle edition yet! I don't think I'll be able to read it as there aren't too many English bookstores nearby. I'll make a valiant effort to find a copy, though!

@Mo i wouldn't go out of your way to do that!

Ha! Well, it turns out that I'm going to Dublin at the end of the month. Maybe I'll pick up a copy then. Hey, if anyone has any great suggestions for things to do in Dublin, I'd welcome them, as I've never been there before.

I have been to Dublin twice now and enjoyed both times. The first time I did all the tourist things but last time I got a lot of enjoyment from just watching all the people, especially the hoards of young people, around the university areas and St. Stephen's Green. The really nice thing is that people are always willing to chat. When I go to the coffee shops here (Seattle area) everybody seems plugged into their computer, ipod or cell phone and it is not nearly as social. Oh -Go searching for music.

One of my life goals had always been to go to Ireland and take a poetry class at Trinity. Well I have been to Ireland and read a poem at Trinity after seeing the Book of Kells. Close enough.

And I have to disagree with Pauline. You have to pick up the book! It isn't a high energy, heroic story but it is a thoughtful and well-written story about a family during difficult times, a family who seems resistant to the concept of Carpe Diem. He writes a lot about loss and lonliness. William Trevor is routinely considered one of the best contemporary Irish writers..

Enjoy!

Mo wrote: "Ha! Well, it turns out that I'm going to Dublin at the end of the month. Maybe I'll pick up a copy then. Hey, if anyone has any great suggestions for things to do in Dublin, I'd welcome them, as I'..."

If you can find the time, go to the Brú na Bóinne centre in County Meath to visit the ceremonial mounds of Newgrange and Knowth. They're world heritage sites, and very impressive. They're older than the Egyptian Pyramids.

Declan wrote: "Mo wrote: "Ha! Well, it turns out that I'm going to Dublin at the end of the month. Maybe I'll pick up a copy then. Hey, if anyone has any great suggestions for things to do in Dublin, I'd welcome ..."

I have to second that recommendation. We went to Ireland last Halloween and spent two nights in Trim. The local high school history teacher took the two of us to Newgrange and it literally took my breath away. It's also older than Stonehenge and there's quite a list of people who want to visit it at the Dec. equinox. We also had a great night in Trim. The history teacher took us to a back room of a pub (no tourists but nobody cared the end of Oct. We had so much fun with the locals buying us drinks, playing the harmonica and a girl who kept calling everyone a Whanker. As Americans, we found it hilarious as we had never heard it before. I must admit it got funnier the drunker we got. Get off the beaten path. Those are the best times.

Get off the beaten path. Those are the best times.

That's the best travel advice anyone could ever give.

I think I'll open a folder re: Irish Holidays. That way people can go crazy discussing destinations.

Well, I have to admit all of the comments on the book intrigued me, so I picked up the book in Dublin today. We'll see...

I have very mixed feelings about the book, but one thing I can promise is that it will leave its mark.

Declan wrote: "Get off the beaten path. Those are the best times.

That's the best travel advice anyone could ever give.

I think I'll open a folder re: Irish Holidays. That way people can go crazy discussing de..."
I think its a brilliant idea... as a long term tourist... two more years here... I want to learn about this little lovely country as much as I can. Loved Newgrange... it was magic. I want to win the space for the winter equinox sooooo bad.

Mae wrote: "I think its a brilliant idea... as a long term tourist... two more years here... I want to learn about this little lovely country as much as I can. Loved Newgrange... it was magic. I want to win the space for the winter equinox sooooo bad"

The last time that I was there I forgot to enter my name. (Facepalm)

I just got back from my Dublin holiday. I loved Newgrange and Knowth. You can still enter the lottery by emailing your contact information to this address: [email protected] Do it fast, though. The lottery closes any day now.

Mo wrote: "I just got back from my Dublin holiday. I loved Newgrange and Knowth. You can still enter the lottery by emailing your contact information to this address: [email protected] Do it fast, though. Th..."

Thank you very much, Mo. :)

Well, I finished the book last week, but I've been hesitant to comment because I know I'm in the minority. I tend to agree with Laura's opinions. I loved Trevor's writing and the compassion he quietly demonstrated toward his characters. Strangely, I didn't find this a depressing book at all. I think I've become a fan of the understated in my advanced years!

There was some very powerful writing here, that's for sure. I still found the whole thing to be style over substance. The final scenes were she settles down to tea in the town and when she has tea with the Nuns, (I could go on) were all beautifully written. I actually loved his style, but there were too many gaping holes. Had there been a more solid story I would have given it at least 4 stars. I couldn't bring myself to score utah more highly. I still think it very depressing.

The thing is -life can be depressing. Trevor tends to write about flawed characters who "don't seize the day" in any meaningful way. There a lots of folks like that. His don't tend to be heroic stories or characters. I really admire his acceptance of his flawed characters. I have the feeling that his acceptance of life as it is -carries over from his real self.

But I still can't accept the manner of Lucy's disappearance. They found some clothes on the beach and because of that they just assumed she was dead. It was a real possibility that she was wondering around with hypothermia, but there was no search. I can't accept that and it made the rest of the novel suffer as a result. If I don't believe in the cause I can't believe in the consequences.

Similarly, Captain Gault spent his whole life there. Regardless of how his wife felt, I don't accept that he could spend most of the second half of his life without ever contacting the friends he made in his early life.

These are huge problems for me.

It was really, really stupid of them.

I would still read his work again, but I'll give it some time. His style is very powerful. By the end I was deeply invested in all of the characters. That's no mean feat.

I support Laura and her arguments. This is the first Trevor work I've read, and I will read more, eventually! Too many books on the nightstand right now!

@ Declan - I totally agree with you, the fact that they just accepted she had drown was totally unrealistic, surely a mothers maternal instinct would have given her just a tiny bit of hope that she was still alive, and they would have stayed for a few months at least, and then if they still felt they had to move on give the solicitor a forwarding address just in case she turned up.

I think if you’re a parent and your child goes missing, until there’s proof that your child is dead, i.e. a dead body, there must always be a little bit of hope that they are still alive.

Sam wrote: "@ Declan - I totally agree with you, the fact that they just accepted she had drown was totally unrealistic, surely a mothers maternal instinct would have given her just a tiny bit of hope that she..."

Not just a child. If anyone in my family went missing, I wouldn't give up so easily.