The Gathering by Anne Enright
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Book Reviews of The Gathering
Book Review: Awkward but interesting
Summary: 3 Stars
Thirty-eight-year-old Veronica Hegarty has the sad task of going to Brighton, England, to bring the body of Liam, her one-year-older brother, who has drowned himself at sea, back to her mother's house in Dublin, where eight surviving siblings are to gather. But this incident has caused Veronica to widely reminisce about her entire life, beginning from the time when she, at age eight, and Liam were shipped off to her grandmother Ada's house to her highly unsettled marriage.
Veronica turns a harsh light on life in general, refusing to be taken in by the platitudes and convenient fictions of life. A main theme is her rather cynical view of sexuality, from male genitalia to the predominance of exploitation. In some cases she finds love to be a form of hate. In addition, the uncomfortable communication at Liam's wake hardly supports the notion of families as primary entities for emotional support.
Most of the story is rather difficult to follow as the author abruptly switches among locales, generations, and characters. Because much of the book is in the form of what Veronica remembers, the question invariably arises of whether events actually occurred or are imagined.
The book is a slow read. The writing can be quite sharp and clever one moment and awkward the next. The author is telling us something; it's just a little vague. The reader is required to work pretty hard to dig out what is there.
Book Review: true to her irish heritage
Summary: 3 Stars
Anne Enright uses her compelling and unique Irish voice to tell the story of a large Irish family, individually and collectively haunted by its past.
The Gathering refers to the wake that follows the death of Liam, a once-beloved brother and son, whose potential was never realized. Liam's sister, Veronica, examines his senseless death, telling the story of this "embarrassingly" large family by uncovering some of its demons. Veronica narrates from the various perspectives of her present position as an unfulfilled mother and wife, angry and resentful daughter, annoyed adult sister, as well as that of her younger childhood self, trying to make sense of the events that ultimately shaped this family into its current dysfunctional state. Veronica uses the wake to force her to make sense of the unfulfilled lives of herself, Liam, and the other family members.
Themes of sexual identity, family loss, and guilt, are articulately explored from a variety of angles. Character and theme dominate the plot so those looking for a linear plot should probably keep looking. Others willing to lose themselves in a unique style where memory is used to create the sense of cause and effect, should be quite satisfied with this evocative novel told in a very singular voice.
Book Review: Disapointed
Summary: 3 Stars
This book revolves a woman, her Irish family and the death of her brother Liam. She starts having flashbacks and memories from when Liam was alive. It also turns out theres a secret. Then the family starts preparing for the funeral and in between all this the woman starts replaying all these relationships she had in the past.. Eloquently though boringly.
There was just too much going on in this one. Relationship after relationship and the characters were not that interesting. I agree with the other reviewers concerning how confusing and disjointed this book was. The author has a way with words and is quite poetic at times though that can't save this from the overlapping stories and characters that go on and on and on. It didn't move me. I would give it somewhere between a 2 and 3.
Book Review: a real family
Summary: 3 Stars
A GATHERING takes place mostly in modern day Dublin but it could have been anyplace or time when a very large family was possible. This book looks back on the dynamics of this family after the children have grown up and especially at the relationship between the protaganist and her brother. She reviews her relationship with him and what went wrong in his life and if she might have saved him. It's a little dreary but realistic if you like that sort of thing.Book Review: disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
I very much agree with Robin Freidman's review. The book was very well written but I did not find it enjoyable. Skip it.