OUR REVIEW:
Of the two other works I've read by Maggie O'Farrell, I'd say Land has a similar emotional landscape as well as a depth of research that many have come to appreciate about her works. I think, for me, I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. This novel felt like a novel for her- a way for her to delve into a place she clearly loves and explore it in all of its richness and sadness. That being said, I was thoroughly engaged and was curious about how she'd tie the land + the characters together, which she did again and again and again, all the way to the end. And to be honest, the ending was something I'd expect from her, so in that respect it was very satisfying. I think I wanted a little relief from the relentlessness of it all, but to be fair, the land and the people she wrote about didn't really get that, so why would we? Despite my longing for a more happy ending, I did enjoy it-a solid 4 star read for me.
BUY IT: https://tinyurl.com/bdaefwxx
SYNOPSIS:
A spellbinding story of separation, longing, recovery and survival as a family makes a new home in the aftermath of tragedy.
On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomás and his reluctant son, Liam, are working for the great Ordnance Survey project to map the whole of Ireland. The year is 1865, and in a country not long since ravaged and emptied by the Great Hunger, the task is not an easy one. Tomás, however, is determined that his maps will be a record of the disaster.
The British soldiers in charge are due to arrive any day, expecting the work to be completed, but Tomás is sent off course by an unsettling encounter in a copse. His life, and those of his family, will never be the same again. Liam is terrified by the sudden change in his taciturn father. What was it that caused such cracks to open in Tomás and how is Liam, aged only ten, going to finish the mapping, and get them both home?
Land is a story of buried treasure, overlapping lives, ancient woodland, persistent ghosts, a particularly loyal dog, and how, when it comes to both land and history, nothing ever goes away.
On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomás and his reluctant son, Liam, are working for the great Ordnance Survey project to map the whole of Ireland. The year is 1865, and in a country not long since ravaged and emptied by the Great Hunger, the task is not an easy one. Tomás, however, is determined that his maps will be a record of the disaster.
The British soldiers in charge are due to arrive any day, expecting the work to be completed, but Tomás is sent off course by an unsettling encounter in a copse. His life, and those of his family, will never be the same again. Liam is terrified by the sudden change in his taciturn father. What was it that caused such cracks to open in Tomás and how is Liam, aged only ten, going to finish the mapping, and get them both home?
Land is a story of buried treasure, overlapping lives, ancient woodland, persistent ghosts, a particularly loyal dog, and how, when it comes to both land and history, nothing ever goes away.
Post a Comment
Comments are bloggy food.
Feed our blog...