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Tan
‘Peelers have a knack for hitting you where it hurts; broken nose, bruised ribs, a few loosened teeth...no more than a rapist deserved, Sergeant Coveney and District Inspector Webber had said. Proper order, too - except the lad was no rapist, and Webber knew it.’
It’s 1914 and Liam Mannion is forced into exile for a crime he didn’t commit. He flees Balbriggan, the only home he has ever known and travels to England, where he enlists and endures the torment of trench warfare in France. Five years later he’s back in England, a changed man, living in the shadow of his battlefield memories. Liam finds work in a Manchester cotton mill but prejudice and illness soon see him destitute. Starving and desperate, he enlists in a new military force heading to Ireland - the Black and Tans - and is posted to the very town he fled as a youth.
While he has been away Liam’s childhood friends have joined the republican cause, while his brother has allied himself to the Crown forces. Liam must wrestle with his own conflicted feelings about duty to the ruthless Tans and loyalty to his friends. The potent combination of ambition, patriotism and betrayal collide, forcing him to act as he comes face to face with the man who spread lies about him all those years before.
It’s 1914 and Liam Mannion is forced into exile for a crime he didn’t commit. He flees Balbriggan, the only home he has ever known and travels to England, where he enlists and endures the torment of trench warfare in France. Five years later he’s back in England, a changed man, living in the shadow of his battlefield memories. Liam finds work in a Manchester cotton mill but prejudice and illness soon see him destitute. Starving and desperate, he enlists in a new military force heading to Ireland - the Black and Tans - and is posted to the very town he fled as a youth.
While he has been away Liam’s childhood friends have joined the republican cause, while his brother has allied himself to the Crown forces. Liam must wrestle with his own conflicted feelings about duty to the ruthless Tans and loyalty to his friends. The potent combination of ambition, patriotism and betrayal collide, forcing him to act as he comes face to face with the man who spread lies about him all those years before.
- GenresIreland
295 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2012
3 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
David Lawlor
5 books64 followersDavid has been a journalist for over 30 years. He has written four historical fiction novels, Tan, The Golden Grave, A Time of Traitors and Patriots' Blood, set in the 1920s during the Irish War of Independence and Civil War, and following the character Liam Mannion.
He has also the author of High Crimes,a modern crime novel set in Dublin and revolving around a stalker and his victims.
David also contributed a short story to the anthology, For Whom The Bell Trolls: 25 Tales of Terror, Triumph & Trolls
David is also a book editor - copy and content editing. Check out http://historywithatwist.wordpress.co... for further information.
He lives in Wicklow, Ireland, with his wife and four children.
He has also the author of High Crimes,a modern crime novel set in Dublin and revolving around a stalker and his victims.
David also contributed a short story to the anthology, For Whom The Bell Trolls: 25 Tales of Terror, Triumph & Trolls
David is also a book editor - copy and content editing. Check out http://historywithatwist.wordpress.co... for further information.
He lives in Wicklow, Ireland, with his wife and four children.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 8, 2016
What a great story! Historical fiction has always been one of my favourite genres and now and again one will find a book that will leave a lasting impression. Tan was such a book! It was based around difficult times in Irish history. I never like writing too much as to what happens in a story for fear of spoiling for others, but I do highly recommend. I am now eager to read 'The Golden Grave'.
I would like to thank the author for sending me an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
I would like to thank the author for sending me an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 11, 2017
Tan by David Lawlor is one of those rare novels that jumps the more frequented time of the Easter Rising and delves into the painful time that follows in Irish history: the War of Indipendence. As all wars fought at home, this is a time that tasted people in more than one way. A man or a woman had to be really certain of their stance to go through such times.
David Lawlor clearly knows these time very well. His depiction not just of the events, but of the feelings of people and their reasons are so naturally entwined with the story that it’s almost a given. And some of the events described are so detailed and personalthat it almost suggests me they come from true oral history. In spite of the very sparse style, this is a story that involves because of the sheer power of its subject matter.
It is a very ‘male’ story, and I actually appreciated this. In a time where writing strong female characters seem to be the thing to do (and there are a few strong female characters in this story, don’t be misled!), I appreciate the choice to go in a different direction.
It’s a ‘male’ story not just because most of the characters are men doing men’s stuff (namely, war), but because of the kind and quality of the relationships depicted: father and son, brotherly love and friendship and betrayal, virile camaraderie and rivalry. But it also touches more universal themes of love and betrayal, of alienation and belonging.
It’s a good story. Read it!
David Lawlor clearly knows these time very well. His depiction not just of the events, but of the feelings of people and their reasons are so naturally entwined with the story that it’s almost a given. And some of the events described are so detailed and personalthat it almost suggests me they come from true oral history. In spite of the very sparse style, this is a story that involves because of the sheer power of its subject matter.
It is a very ‘male’ story, and I actually appreciated this. In a time where writing strong female characters seem to be the thing to do (and there are a few strong female characters in this story, don’t be misled!), I appreciate the choice to go in a different direction.
It’s a ‘male’ story not just because most of the characters are men doing men’s stuff (namely, war), but because of the kind and quality of the relationships depicted: father and son, brotherly love and friendship and betrayal, virile camaraderie and rivalry. But it also touches more universal themes of love and betrayal, of alienation and belonging.
It’s a good story. Read it!
Read
August 14, 2020 DNF at 55%
It is good when you didn't read like thousand books about the same topic. I think I read TOO MUCH about it, I am tired of it without recognizing it.
It is good when you didn't read like thousand books about the same topic. I think I read TOO MUCH about it, I am tired of it without recognizing it.
February 10, 2013
Wrongly accused of a heinous crime by a ruthless policeman, Liam Mannion, a young Irishman, is forced to flee everything he has ever known — his family, town and country — in 1914.
Five years after Liam escapes Balbriggan and Ireland, much has changed. World War I is over, but Liam and many of the men who fought in the trenches have been scarred forever by the brutality and violence of the conflict. At the same time, Ireland is mired in a war of its own pitting those serving the British government like the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) police force against the Irish Republican Army, the military wing of the movement to create a free Irish nation.
In Tan: A Story of Exile, Betrayal and Revenge, author David Lawlor (@LawlorDavid) builds a wonderfully gripping fictional story against a backdrop of actual events during the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), including the Sack of Balbriggan. Liam, his family and friends, and the other characters are richly drawn and complex, with ambitions and motivations that range from the most basic to the highest ideal. There are plenty of action scenes and a few romances along the way as the narrative builds to an intense conclusion — I was glued to my Kindle for the final five chapters.
Demobilized from the Army after the Great War and unable to hold a job in England, a sick and starving Liam has little choice but to join a new paramilitary group being formed to bring order to Ireland: The Black and Tans, so named because of the mismatched/grab-bag of uniforms they are issued. The ranks of the Tans are filled by veterans of the Great War, men who have not been able to reintegrate into society. Many are petty criminals and violent thugs, others — like Liam — suffer from what we today would call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but was first termed around this time as "Shell Shock."
The introduction of the Tans into the conflict was intended to provide enough manpower to tip the scales against the increasing popularity of the IRA, and it coincided with the decision of the British and RIC leadership to "take the gloves off" in their fight against the rebels. The result was predictable as the ill-disciplined Tans — to paraphrase one of my favorite lines from James Webb's excellent Vietnam novel Fields of Fire — created more rebels than they stopped.
It is interesting to note that religion plays little role in Tan. Although many Americans are likely to view the history of Ireland through the lens of religious conflict (Protestant North vs. Catholic Republic), the truth is — inevitably — much more complex. At the time when Tan was set by some estimates the vast majority, seventy-five percent, of the RIC were Irish-Catholic and several prominent members of the Irish Nationalist movement were Protestant. Although religion certainly became an issue later, especially during "The Troubles," during the Irish War of Independence the question wasn't what church you attended but what your vision for the country's future was: a free republic or some version of continued British rule.
Tan is the third novel I've read in the past year which in some degree has featured Ireland and the conflict there, although the first set in the War of Independence/Civil War time period. It is a beautiful country with a highly complex and rich history. I highly recommend Tan to anyone looking for a exciting read and am thrilled to see from his blog historywithatwist.wordpress.com that Mr. Lawlor is working on a sequel.
I can't wait to read it.
Five years after Liam escapes Balbriggan and Ireland, much has changed. World War I is over, but Liam and many of the men who fought in the trenches have been scarred forever by the brutality and violence of the conflict. At the same time, Ireland is mired in a war of its own pitting those serving the British government like the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) police force against the Irish Republican Army, the military wing of the movement to create a free Irish nation.
In Tan: A Story of Exile, Betrayal and Revenge, author David Lawlor (@LawlorDavid) builds a wonderfully gripping fictional story against a backdrop of actual events during the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), including the Sack of Balbriggan. Liam, his family and friends, and the other characters are richly drawn and complex, with ambitions and motivations that range from the most basic to the highest ideal. There are plenty of action scenes and a few romances along the way as the narrative builds to an intense conclusion — I was glued to my Kindle for the final five chapters.
Demobilized from the Army after the Great War and unable to hold a job in England, a sick and starving Liam has little choice but to join a new paramilitary group being formed to bring order to Ireland: The Black and Tans, so named because of the mismatched/grab-bag of uniforms they are issued. The ranks of the Tans are filled by veterans of the Great War, men who have not been able to reintegrate into society. Many are petty criminals and violent thugs, others — like Liam — suffer from what we today would call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but was first termed around this time as "Shell Shock."
The introduction of the Tans into the conflict was intended to provide enough manpower to tip the scales against the increasing popularity of the IRA, and it coincided with the decision of the British and RIC leadership to "take the gloves off" in their fight against the rebels. The result was predictable as the ill-disciplined Tans — to paraphrase one of my favorite lines from James Webb's excellent Vietnam novel Fields of Fire — created more rebels than they stopped.
It is interesting to note that religion plays little role in Tan. Although many Americans are likely to view the history of Ireland through the lens of religious conflict (Protestant North vs. Catholic Republic), the truth is — inevitably — much more complex. At the time when Tan was set by some estimates the vast majority, seventy-five percent, of the RIC were Irish-Catholic and several prominent members of the Irish Nationalist movement were Protestant. Although religion certainly became an issue later, especially during "The Troubles," during the Irish War of Independence the question wasn't what church you attended but what your vision for the country's future was: a free republic or some version of continued British rule.
Tan is the third novel I've read in the past year which in some degree has featured Ireland and the conflict there, although the first set in the War of Independence/Civil War time period. It is a beautiful country with a highly complex and rich history. I highly recommend Tan to anyone looking for a exciting read and am thrilled to see from his blog historywithatwist.wordpress.com that Mr. Lawlor is working on a sequel.
I can't wait to read it.
October 12, 2012
Lawlor, David; TAN A STORY OF EXILE, BETRAYAL AND REVENGE
`Peelers have a knack for hitting you where it hurts; broken nose, bruised ribs, a few loosened teeth...no more than a rapist deserved, Sergeant Coveney and District Inspector Webber had said. Proper order, too - except the lad was no rapist, and Webber knew it.'
It's 1914 and Liam Mannion is forced into exile for a crime he didn't commit. He flees Balbriggan, the only home he has ever known and travels to England, where he enlists and endures the torment of trench warfare in France. Five years later he's back in England, a changed man, living in the shadow of his battlefield memories. Liam finds work in a Manchester cotton mill but prejudice and illness soon see him destitute. Starving and desperate, he enlists in a new military force heading to Ireland - the Black and Tans - and is posted to the very town he fled as a youth.
While he has been away Liam's childhood friends have joined the republican cause, while his brother has allied himself to the Crown forces. Liam must wrestle with his own conflicted feelings about duty to the ruthless Tans and loyalty to his friends. The potent combination of ambition, patriotism and betrayal collide, forcing him to act as he comes face to face with the man who spread lies about him all those years before.
I've just finished reading David Lawlor's TAN and frankly I'm all done in! On page one I was transported to Balbriggan, Ireland in 1914 and thence to the Continent for the first World War and back again to Ireland for a horrifying story based on factual events.
Lawlor is a masterful storyteller and I was scarcely able to put his book down for meals or sleeping. Each character in this tale became real for me. I endured their fears and felt the bile of anger and frustration rising in the back of my throat. I smelled the cordite hanging in the air after a pitched battle, and fell exhausted back into my chair.
The awful history of the Tans meting out their twisted sense of "justice" in occupied Ireland is a story well known to all. In TAN, David Lawlor has made it personal and real. It isn't without its moments of levity though; there were smiles and laughter enough.
I did need to look up, and clarify a few Irish slang terms early on but it didn't detract from the story at all. I'm not even certain looking them up was necessary for the enjoyment of the story. That's just my way. The pace of the tale is tight and well written with little "cliff hangers" tossed in here and there that made me more and more anxious as the story progressed. The immensely satisfying ending left me with an enormous smile on my face despite the fact that I am sorry to be saying farewell to a group of characters I quickly came to love.
This book is a definite 5 star read that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who enjoys history, action, and mystery/suspense. Get it. Read it. You'll love it!
`Peelers have a knack for hitting you where it hurts; broken nose, bruised ribs, a few loosened teeth...no more than a rapist deserved, Sergeant Coveney and District Inspector Webber had said. Proper order, too - except the lad was no rapist, and Webber knew it.'
It's 1914 and Liam Mannion is forced into exile for a crime he didn't commit. He flees Balbriggan, the only home he has ever known and travels to England, where he enlists and endures the torment of trench warfare in France. Five years later he's back in England, a changed man, living in the shadow of his battlefield memories. Liam finds work in a Manchester cotton mill but prejudice and illness soon see him destitute. Starving and desperate, he enlists in a new military force heading to Ireland - the Black and Tans - and is posted to the very town he fled as a youth.
While he has been away Liam's childhood friends have joined the republican cause, while his brother has allied himself to the Crown forces. Liam must wrestle with his own conflicted feelings about duty to the ruthless Tans and loyalty to his friends. The potent combination of ambition, patriotism and betrayal collide, forcing him to act as he comes face to face with the man who spread lies about him all those years before.
I've just finished reading David Lawlor's TAN and frankly I'm all done in! On page one I was transported to Balbriggan, Ireland in 1914 and thence to the Continent for the first World War and back again to Ireland for a horrifying story based on factual events.
Lawlor is a masterful storyteller and I was scarcely able to put his book down for meals or sleeping. Each character in this tale became real for me. I endured their fears and felt the bile of anger and frustration rising in the back of my throat. I smelled the cordite hanging in the air after a pitched battle, and fell exhausted back into my chair.
The awful history of the Tans meting out their twisted sense of "justice" in occupied Ireland is a story well known to all. In TAN, David Lawlor has made it personal and real. It isn't without its moments of levity though; there were smiles and laughter enough.
I did need to look up, and clarify a few Irish slang terms early on but it didn't detract from the story at all. I'm not even certain looking them up was necessary for the enjoyment of the story. That's just my way. The pace of the tale is tight and well written with little "cliff hangers" tossed in here and there that made me more and more anxious as the story progressed. The immensely satisfying ending left me with an enormous smile on my face despite the fact that I am sorry to be saying farewell to a group of characters I quickly came to love.
This book is a definite 5 star read that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who enjoys history, action, and mystery/suspense. Get it. Read it. You'll love it!
July 6, 2012
Experience the essence of revenge
Tan is referred to the “Black and Tans” in Ireland. They consisted of soldiers who previously served and were brought into Ireland in 1919 by London’s government. Their job was to assist the RIC, the Royal Irish Constabulary.
The first Black and Tan soldiers arrived in Ireland in March 1920. They accepted the job offered because they were unemployed and unskilled (except to fight in a war). So the main reason was pure and simple; money. They severely lacked discipline and found pleasure in terrorizing local communities during Ireland’s War of Independence.
The story of exile:
The year is 1914; the place is Balbriggan, Ireland. A young man named Liam Mannion is accused of rape. He is beaten just shy of death by the ruthless RIC District Inspector Webber. In order to save his life, Liam’s father helps him escape and he ends up in England. He enlists and fights in the war for five hellish years. Today we call it PTSD; in 1919 Liam deals silently with the memories of trench warfare.
Liam needs to find work, so he takes a job in a cotton mill in Manchester. Not only is the job hell physically, mostly because of the five years spent at war ruining his lungs, but the Brits don’t like the Irish, so the prejudices were hell to put up with on a daily basis.
Since poor Liam could hardly breathe working in the mill, he quit. With no job and no food, he once again enlists, this time in the “Black and Tans.” Ironically, he is assigned a post in Balbriggan, Ireland, his home town which he fled in 1914.
The story of betrayal:
Liam is now a Black and Tan, and his hometown friends fight for the republican cause and his own brother for the British Armed Forces. Again, poor Liam has to deal with fighting on the unscrupulous Tan side while he wrestles with his feelings of loyalty to friends and family.
The story of revenge:
Remember the beating he took from Inspector Webber? Well, you must read Tan – A story of exile, betrayal and revenge, to experience the essence of revenge.
David Lawlor’s descriptions of violent combat battles are exceptionally compelling. However, he didn’t lose sight of the fact his book was a historical fiction. Lawlor brilliantly introduces the family; Liam’s brother Eoin, who is jealous of Liam, and his father, Dan, who he loves and respects.
Other characters including friends and women are perfectly woven into the story. It’s a beautifully written novel in which to entertain and learn about this period of Irish history.
Tan is referred to the “Black and Tans” in Ireland. They consisted of soldiers who previously served and were brought into Ireland in 1919 by London’s government. Their job was to assist the RIC, the Royal Irish Constabulary.
The first Black and Tan soldiers arrived in Ireland in March 1920. They accepted the job offered because they were unemployed and unskilled (except to fight in a war). So the main reason was pure and simple; money. They severely lacked discipline and found pleasure in terrorizing local communities during Ireland’s War of Independence.
The story of exile:
The year is 1914; the place is Balbriggan, Ireland. A young man named Liam Mannion is accused of rape. He is beaten just shy of death by the ruthless RIC District Inspector Webber. In order to save his life, Liam’s father helps him escape and he ends up in England. He enlists and fights in the war for five hellish years. Today we call it PTSD; in 1919 Liam deals silently with the memories of trench warfare.
Liam needs to find work, so he takes a job in a cotton mill in Manchester. Not only is the job hell physically, mostly because of the five years spent at war ruining his lungs, but the Brits don’t like the Irish, so the prejudices were hell to put up with on a daily basis.
Since poor Liam could hardly breathe working in the mill, he quit. With no job and no food, he once again enlists, this time in the “Black and Tans.” Ironically, he is assigned a post in Balbriggan, Ireland, his home town which he fled in 1914.
The story of betrayal:
Liam is now a Black and Tan, and his hometown friends fight for the republican cause and his own brother for the British Armed Forces. Again, poor Liam has to deal with fighting on the unscrupulous Tan side while he wrestles with his feelings of loyalty to friends and family.
The story of revenge:
Remember the beating he took from Inspector Webber? Well, you must read Tan – A story of exile, betrayal and revenge, to experience the essence of revenge.
David Lawlor’s descriptions of violent combat battles are exceptionally compelling. However, he didn’t lose sight of the fact his book was a historical fiction. Lawlor brilliantly introduces the family; Liam’s brother Eoin, who is jealous of Liam, and his father, Dan, who he loves and respects.
Other characters including friends and women are perfectly woven into the story. It’s a beautifully written novel in which to entertain and learn about this period of Irish history.
January 25, 2013
TAN is a gripping novel that tells the story of Liam Mannion, beginning before World War I and continuing into the Irish War of Independence. Framed for a crime he didn’t commit, Liam is exiled to England and endures five years of trench warfare in France before making his way back to his homeland as a member of the infamous Black and Tan forces, a group that served as a brutal strong arm force for the English crown. Stationed in his hometown of Balbriggan, Liam is forced to confront his own divided loyalties, as well as those of his own family, and face the brute who framed him.
Before reading this novel, I knew little about the Irish War of Independence. In fact, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t heard the term “Black and Tan” until I picked up this book and then, coincidentally, they were mentioned in the current season of Downton Abbey. But this is why I love historical fiction. In the hands of a skilled author like Lawlor, I’m transported to another place and time to learn about events that mattered a great deal.
Lawlor is a fantastic storyteller. He created characters I cared about, crafting even minor players in ways that made them memorable and real. I was pleased to find that the women in the story were written with substance and compassion. Lawlor builds the action in scene after scene in a way that makes the book hard to put down. Fortunately the frequent battle scenes that create an abundance of tension and anxiety are balanced with moments of humor.
The author’s sympathies are clearly with the Irish, but the story fairly points out that both sides in a war are capable of brutality, both sides have legitimate points of view. Because Liam’s own brother sides with the British, readers face the complicated reality of families torn apart by war. No one gets off easily in this one.
Many characters speak in Irish vernacular, which took me a while to settle into, but which ensured I was immersed in Ireland. The dialect didn’t get in the way of enjoying the story, since it could all be understood in context.
TAN made me want to know more about the Irish War of Independence. Lawlor has me eager to read his next book.
Before reading this novel, I knew little about the Irish War of Independence. In fact, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t heard the term “Black and Tan” until I picked up this book and then, coincidentally, they were mentioned in the current season of Downton Abbey. But this is why I love historical fiction. In the hands of a skilled author like Lawlor, I’m transported to another place and time to learn about events that mattered a great deal.
Lawlor is a fantastic storyteller. He created characters I cared about, crafting even minor players in ways that made them memorable and real. I was pleased to find that the women in the story were written with substance and compassion. Lawlor builds the action in scene after scene in a way that makes the book hard to put down. Fortunately the frequent battle scenes that create an abundance of tension and anxiety are balanced with moments of humor.
The author’s sympathies are clearly with the Irish, but the story fairly points out that both sides in a war are capable of brutality, both sides have legitimate points of view. Because Liam’s own brother sides with the British, readers face the complicated reality of families torn apart by war. No one gets off easily in this one.
Many characters speak in Irish vernacular, which took me a while to settle into, but which ensured I was immersed in Ireland. The dialect didn’t get in the way of enjoying the story, since it could all be understood in context.
TAN made me want to know more about the Irish War of Independence. Lawlor has me eager to read his next book.
January 15, 2013
After stumbling across the local police inspector in-flagrante during a party, Liam has to flee Ireland to avoid a trumped up rape charge. In England he joins the army and serves his time in the hell of the First World War. After demobbing, he finds the respect promised the surviving soldiers to be swamped by the anti-Irish racism of the time and loses his job. Starving and at rock bottom he is induced to join an auxiliary police force being formed to respond the military campaign by the IRA. Paradoxically his unit is assigned back to his home county. Initially he tries to maintain discipline and standards in his unit but, as the senior figures in the establishment encourage the amoral elements of the force to commit the excesses that the Black and Tans became infamous for, Liam’s divided loyalties are stretched too far and Liam defects to his local brigade. As the insurgency and reprisals intensify, Liam finds himself in mortal combat with the very inspector who framed him. In the balance is not just Liam’s life but those of his family and friends.
This is a great story with a slow and deliberate build up to an exciting finale. The book examines a difficult time in Anglo-Irish relations and the racism of the time is exposed in frank terms. I found the characters very believable: I’m sure that few people set out to be the bad guy but usually arrive there in small steps. The plot was engaging and developed well, and the fractures in society caused by WW1 and the Emergency were well portrayed by the author. I enjoyed this book and have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending it. Five stars.
This is a great story with a slow and deliberate build up to an exciting finale. The book examines a difficult time in Anglo-Irish relations and the racism of the time is exposed in frank terms. I found the characters very believable: I’m sure that few people set out to be the bad guy but usually arrive there in small steps. The plot was engaging and developed well, and the fractures in society caused by WW1 and the Emergency were well portrayed by the author. I enjoyed this book and have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending it. Five stars.
September 21, 2014
“Tan” by David Lawlor is a gripping novel that drew me in from the very first scene. Set in Ireland before and after World War I the story centres around the Mannion family. In an outrage of Imperial injustice Liam Mannion gets framed for a crime he has not committed and flees the country. His ambitious brother Eoin remains friendly with the British occupying forces while father Dan supports the IRA.
The set up for the further plot is well laid out. The complicated relationships and torn loyalties, as the story unfolds, show what a talented writer Lawlor is. He depicts immaculately how personal and political motivation both led to injustice and betrayal at the time.
The writing is flawless, particularly outstanding is the easy flowing and authentic dialogue. Lawlor manages to strike a good balance between using Irish slang and maintaining a comfortable flow for the reader. There are great descriptions of factory work and his settings seem generally well researched and competent.
I was gripped by the arrogance of the British forces at the time, an attitude that is frequently found in work about the British Empire. As I am neither British nor Irish I am not politically involved but the abuse of power described made some of the story a little uncomfortable for me and instigated a lot of anger and lust for revenge. This would be my only criticism of the novel: It seems to imply that there is a justification for violent revenge and I felt that at times it paints a rather black and white picture of right and wrong.
The set up for the further plot is well laid out. The complicated relationships and torn loyalties, as the story unfolds, show what a talented writer Lawlor is. He depicts immaculately how personal and political motivation both led to injustice and betrayal at the time.
The writing is flawless, particularly outstanding is the easy flowing and authentic dialogue. Lawlor manages to strike a good balance between using Irish slang and maintaining a comfortable flow for the reader. There are great descriptions of factory work and his settings seem generally well researched and competent.
I was gripped by the arrogance of the British forces at the time, an attitude that is frequently found in work about the British Empire. As I am neither British nor Irish I am not politically involved but the abuse of power described made some of the story a little uncomfortable for me and instigated a lot of anger and lust for revenge. This would be my only criticism of the novel: It seems to imply that there is a justification for violent revenge and I felt that at times it paints a rather black and white picture of right and wrong.
January 29, 2014
An author faces a monumental task when writing historical fiction. If one historical fact is wrong or an anachronism appears, the reader is likely to put aside the book in favor of one that achieves historical accuracy tempered with believable dialogue, heightened tension, and sympathetic, yet flawed, heroes.
If you are a reader of historical fiction who requires accuracy, suspense, and flawed, yet heroic main characters, then I suggest you read Tan - A Story of Exile, Betrayal and Revenge by David Lawlor.
Set in England and then Ireland in the year after the end of World War I, Tan explores war from a closer view immediately following Liam Mannion's release from the English Army in 1919. Here's a guy forced to leave Ireland at a young age because of an act he witnessed after a night of drinking at a friend’s wedding. It’s here where the conflict of the story begins when the evil Webber blames and accuses the young Liam of an indecent act against a virtuous married woman. Webber’s fiction that forces Liam into exile begins a whole series of events that mark Liam for life.
Liam heads to England in 1914 and ends up in the English army fighting in France during the majority of World War I.
When Liam eventually heads back to England after the horrid and putrid rot of dead bodies that made up his memory of the war, he ends up in an insufferable situation which leads him to homelessness, and then worse, as an officer of the crown as a member of the powerful and often repressive Black and Tan. Liam turns a blind eye to the atrocious behavior of his English comrades, only until it becomes evident that his loyalty to the Black and Tan extracts too high of a rent for clean clothes and warm bowl of soup.
Lawlor captures the uncertainty of the times through the examination of Liam's uncertain future as he's thrust into situations beyond his control. Precise and graphic descriptions of life in England and Ireland post-World War I show that despite the end of a tragic war on the mainland of Europe, Ireland faced an even greater war at home with the invasion and intrusion of the Tans.
I fell in love with Lawlor’s descriptions of the setting in Tan as I lost myself in the world of the Irish fighting for their lives and their homeland. Here’s an example of Lawlor’s powerful descriptive talent:
“They leaned against the viaduct’s promenade rail, looking out on their hometown, watching the slow huff of a steam engine as it trundled into the station, the smell of the sea mingling with the coke from Cumisky’s coal yard beneath them.”
It’s filled with contrast and detail that employ the senses to show the reader that the situation and the setting are both beautiful and polluted.
Tan is both tender and violent as the reader is drawn into the abyss of angry revenge and the love and loyalty of friends and family. It also shows that being born into a family does not guarantee such loyalty. The character of the individual breeds the kind of loyalty that would take a bullet and shoot a bullet to protect and exact revenge.
I highly recommend Tan if you like to lose yourself into another world in the past of one hundred years ago on the soil of Ireland, bloodied from wars and stained with tears.
If you are a reader of historical fiction who requires accuracy, suspense, and flawed, yet heroic main characters, then I suggest you read Tan - A Story of Exile, Betrayal and Revenge by David Lawlor.
Set in England and then Ireland in the year after the end of World War I, Tan explores war from a closer view immediately following Liam Mannion's release from the English Army in 1919. Here's a guy forced to leave Ireland at a young age because of an act he witnessed after a night of drinking at a friend’s wedding. It’s here where the conflict of the story begins when the evil Webber blames and accuses the young Liam of an indecent act against a virtuous married woman. Webber’s fiction that forces Liam into exile begins a whole series of events that mark Liam for life.
Liam heads to England in 1914 and ends up in the English army fighting in France during the majority of World War I.
When Liam eventually heads back to England after the horrid and putrid rot of dead bodies that made up his memory of the war, he ends up in an insufferable situation which leads him to homelessness, and then worse, as an officer of the crown as a member of the powerful and often repressive Black and Tan. Liam turns a blind eye to the atrocious behavior of his English comrades, only until it becomes evident that his loyalty to the Black and Tan extracts too high of a rent for clean clothes and warm bowl of soup.
Lawlor captures the uncertainty of the times through the examination of Liam's uncertain future as he's thrust into situations beyond his control. Precise and graphic descriptions of life in England and Ireland post-World War I show that despite the end of a tragic war on the mainland of Europe, Ireland faced an even greater war at home with the invasion and intrusion of the Tans.
I fell in love with Lawlor’s descriptions of the setting in Tan as I lost myself in the world of the Irish fighting for their lives and their homeland. Here’s an example of Lawlor’s powerful descriptive talent:
“They leaned against the viaduct’s promenade rail, looking out on their hometown, watching the slow huff of a steam engine as it trundled into the station, the smell of the sea mingling with the coke from Cumisky’s coal yard beneath them.”
It’s filled with contrast and detail that employ the senses to show the reader that the situation and the setting are both beautiful and polluted.
Tan is both tender and violent as the reader is drawn into the abyss of angry revenge and the love and loyalty of friends and family. It also shows that being born into a family does not guarantee such loyalty. The character of the individual breeds the kind of loyalty that would take a bullet and shoot a bullet to protect and exact revenge.
I highly recommend Tan if you like to lose yourself into another world in the past of one hundred years ago on the soil of Ireland, bloodied from wars and stained with tears.
February 14, 2013
My Review: It has been awhile since I read a book I had trouble putting down at bedtime. This book is one of those. From the beginning I was drawn into the lives and world of the people of the early days of the IRA. From Liam getting run out of town to the final scene I was hooked. You always want all of the good, fight for the right, characters to end up happily ever after however since this is historical fiction you know they can not. You suffer the sadness and horror they go through while fighting for their independence from the brutal rule of the British. It is one of the best historical novels I have read in a long time and I was not ready for it to end.
November 9, 2015
I stumbled on this book by accident and it caught my attention right away given it's subject. I was disappointed as it is set during a time of great interest to me and one which I intend to study in depth hopefully in the not too distant future. All I can say is read it and enjoy.
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