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208 pages, Paperback
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 3, 2013
The book itself is quite short and can be read at one sitting if you have an afternoon free. It is also possible to skip some of the more preachier pages without the omission having any effect on the plot. There are 100 chapters of different lengths - some only half a page and I did wonder while reading it whether some of the chapters were included for no other reason than to reach that magic number 100. There are a few chapters that add nothing to the plot at all but consist of `My list and gripes on the following topic' and you wonder where this came from or what it has to do with the plot. Nothing it so happens just the author getting something off his chest - but you can quite easily skip them without any damage.
The writing is lively though and carries the reader through without much effort as it is largely based on dialogue. I found the characters added little to the plot however and there are three pages where the contacts list of the main character's mobile phone is listed with a short summary of who they are and why they are in his phone list. I found myself having to resort to these pages more frequently than I felt necessary to remind myself who certain characters were as the book progressed. I couldn't see why so many characters waltzed in and out of the book and why the few characters who mattered weren't more developed i.e. his parents. I couldn't see the reason for some of them at all as they added nothing to the plot i.e. the boss where he worked. I wondered if this had been pointed out to him - hence the contacts list of the mobile phone.
On the positive side there is a `stand up comedian' feel to some of the observations and a lot of them couldn't be repeated in more refined company but they are funny. As for the GAA? Almost irrelevant to the plot really. It could have been a rugby club, tennis club etc. It had no effect on the storyline and is hardly mentioned. I suppose that is a novel waiting to be written. In summary then - read the book if you want something light to read and can buy it second hand but don't expect a book with a sports background as it's only about a campy very out young man who falls for an Arabic Englishman who plays football.
The writing is lively though and carries the reader through without much effort as it is largely based on dialogue. I found the characters added little to the plot however and there are three pages where the contacts list of the main character's mobile phone is listed with a short summary of who they are and why they are in his phone list. I found myself having to resort to these pages more frequently than I felt necessary to remind myself who certain characters were as the book progressed. I couldn't see why so many characters waltzed in and out of the book and why the few characters who mattered weren't more developed i.e. his parents. I couldn't see the reason for some of them at all as they added nothing to the plot i.e. the boss where he worked. I wondered if this had been pointed out to him - hence the contacts list of the mobile phone.
On the positive side there is a `stand up comedian' feel to some of the observations and a lot of them couldn't be repeated in more refined company but they are funny. As for the GAA? Almost irrelevant to the plot really. It could have been a rugby club, tennis club etc. It had no effect on the storyline and is hardly mentioned. I suppose that is a novel waiting to be written. In summary then - read the book if you want something light to read and can buy it second hand but don't expect a book with a sports background as it's only about a campy very out young man who falls for an Arabic Englishman who plays football.
December 21, 2024
I didn't enjoy this novel and I didn't finish it - that doesn't mean it is bad - it is a YA adult novel so my inability to like, understand, care about, never mind identify with the main character might seem to be a given - but I didn't have any problems with his previous novel 'Snapshots' about being gay in Crossmaglen in the midst of the troubles, and I know a hell of a lot less about that then the subject of this novel.
The main problem is that I didn't like the main character or his obsessions, interests, attitudes, etc. - I don't care that much about hair products (hahaha if your wondering if I still have any hair - I do) and I hate text messages as text in a novel but that only reflects the novel isn't aimed at me. YA novels are aimed at YA but if they are very good, like Jarlath Gregory's 'Snapshots' they transcend a genre and speak to anyone and everyone. Such ubiquity is perhaps more a matter of chance than intention. To write a first novel as brilliant as 'Snapshots' is to always be under the burden of either ignoring it or being crushed by the challenge of repeating previous brilliance. I don't condemn Jarlath Gregory for not writing another 'Snapshots' - I just warn you that this is different sort of novel.
The main problem is that I didn't like the main character or his obsessions, interests, attitudes, etc. - I don't care that much about hair products (hahaha if your wondering if I still have any hair - I do) and I hate text messages as text in a novel but that only reflects the novel isn't aimed at me. YA novels are aimed at YA but if they are very good, like Jarlath Gregory's 'Snapshots' they transcend a genre and speak to anyone and everyone. Such ubiquity is perhaps more a matter of chance than intention. To write a first novel as brilliant as 'Snapshots' is to always be under the burden of either ignoring it or being crushed by the challenge of repeating previous brilliance. I don't condemn Jarlath Gregory for not writing another 'Snapshots' - I just warn you that this is different sort of novel.
July 4, 2007
No mention of Leah in this one.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews