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Star of the Sea #2
Redemption Falls
1865. The Civil War is ending. Eighteen years after the Irish famine-ship Star of the Sea docked at New York, a daughter of its journey, Eliza Duane Mooney, sets out on foot from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crossing a ravaged continent on a quest. Eliza is searching for a young boy she has not seen in four years, one of the hundred thousand children drawn into the war. His fate has been mysterious and will prove extraordinary.
It is a walk that will have consequences for many seemingly unconnected the stunning intellectual Lucia-Cruz McLelland, who deserts New York City to cast her fate with mercurial hero James Con O'Keeffe -- convict, revolutionary, governor of the desolate Western township of Redemption Falls; rebel guerilla Cole McLaurenson, who fuels his own gruesome Westward mission with the blind rage of an outlaw; runaway slave Elizabeth Longstreet, who turns resentment into grace in a Western wilderness where nothing is as it seems.
O'Keeffe's career has seen astonishing highs and lows. Condemned to death in 1848 for plotting an insurrection against British rule in Ireland, his sentence was commuted to life transportation to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania. From there he escaped, abandoning a woman he loved, and was shipwrecked in the Pacific before making his way to the teeming city of New York. A spellbinding orator, he has been hailed a hero by Irish New Yorkers, refugees from the famine that has ravaged their homeland. His public appearances are thronged to the rafters and his story has brought him fame. He has married the daughter of a wealthy Manhattan family, but their marriage is haunted by a past full of secrets. The terrors of Civil War have shaken his every belief. Now alone in the west, he yearns for new beginnings.
Redemption Falls is a Dickensian tale of war and forgiveness, of strangers in a strange land, of love put to the ultimate test. Packed with music, balladry, poetry, and storytelling, this is "a vivid mosaic of a vast country driven wild by war" ( Irish Independent ), containing "moments of sustained brilliance which in psychological truth and realism make Daniel Defoe look like a literary amateur" ( Sunday Tribune ). With this riveting historical novel of urgent contemporary resonance, the author of the bestselling Star of the Sea now brings us a modern masterpiece.
It is a walk that will have consequences for many seemingly unconnected the stunning intellectual Lucia-Cruz McLelland, who deserts New York City to cast her fate with mercurial hero James Con O'Keeffe -- convict, revolutionary, governor of the desolate Western township of Redemption Falls; rebel guerilla Cole McLaurenson, who fuels his own gruesome Westward mission with the blind rage of an outlaw; runaway slave Elizabeth Longstreet, who turns resentment into grace in a Western wilderness where nothing is as it seems.
O'Keeffe's career has seen astonishing highs and lows. Condemned to death in 1848 for plotting an insurrection against British rule in Ireland, his sentence was commuted to life transportation to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania. From there he escaped, abandoning a woman he loved, and was shipwrecked in the Pacific before making his way to the teeming city of New York. A spellbinding orator, he has been hailed a hero by Irish New Yorkers, refugees from the famine that has ravaged their homeland. His public appearances are thronged to the rafters and his story has brought him fame. He has married the daughter of a wealthy Manhattan family, but their marriage is haunted by a past full of secrets. The terrors of Civil War have shaken his every belief. Now alone in the west, he yearns for new beginnings.
Redemption Falls is a Dickensian tale of war and forgiveness, of strangers in a strange land, of love put to the ultimate test. Packed with music, balladry, poetry, and storytelling, this is "a vivid mosaic of a vast country driven wild by war" ( Irish Independent ), containing "moments of sustained brilliance which in psychological truth and realism make Daniel Defoe look like a literary amateur" ( Sunday Tribune ). With this riveting historical novel of urgent contemporary resonance, the author of the bestselling Star of the Sea now brings us a modern masterpiece.
471 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2007
144 people are currently reading
1276 people want to read
About the author
Joseph O'Connor
105 books631 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin. He is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes , The Salesman , Inishowen , Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls , as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction.
He was recently voted ‘Irish Writer of the Decade’ by the readers of Hot Press magazine. He broadcasts a popular weekly radio diary on RTE’s Drivetime With Mary Wilson and writes regularly for The Guardian Review and The Sunday Independent. In 2009 he was the Harman Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Baruch College, the City University of New York.
Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin. He is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes , The Salesman , Inishowen , Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls , as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction.
He was recently voted ‘Irish Writer of the Decade’ by the readers of Hot Press magazine. He broadcasts a popular weekly radio diary on RTE’s Drivetime With Mary Wilson and writes regularly for The Guardian Review and The Sunday Independent. In 2009 he was the Harman Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Baruch College, the City University of New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
March 17, 2019
An epic American civil war novel with at its heart an Irish Republican James O'Keefe who ends up in America after escaping hanging and imprisonment in Australia. The novel makes a mystery of the true identity of O'Keefe, idolised and hated in equal measure, by deploying a mosaic of forms - conventional third-person narrative interspersed with first-hand accounts, ballads, transcripts of documents, posters, poems, all of which provide the author with an opportunity to impress with his ventriloquist skills. But you know at the dinner table when a guest does a very good impression of someone and then carried away by his success begins boring everyone with a whole string of impressions? Well, this novel can feel like that at times. The more conventional sections of narrative were for me the most successful when the author shows himself to be a better prose writer than most but many of the documents bored me a little. I understood that he was telling us that any history cannot be understood by only one source but often these ruses to underline the fallacy of objective truth as possibility were long winded and repetitive. I'm currently reading the predecessor to this novel which is more straightforward and more enjoyable.
Ultimately it feels like O'Keefe is at heart a sentimental man and it's his mania for feeding his sentimentality in the guise of nationalism, reminiscent at times of the Germans under Nazism, which is responsible for much that is awry and damaging in his character.
Ultimately it feels like O'Keefe is at heart a sentimental man and it's his mania for feeding his sentimentality in the guise of nationalism, reminiscent at times of the Germans under Nazism, which is responsible for much that is awry and damaging in his character.
Want to read
June 7, 2009This book might stay on my "currently-reading" shelf for years. Seriously dense, with confusing, stream-of-consciousness writing, I've read the first 50 or so pages and I still have no idea what this book is about. I loved it's predecessor, The Star of the Sea. This book is not a sequel, by any stretch of the imagination. One of the characters is simply the daughter of two of the characters in Star of the Sea. And I'm not even clear on who the father is supposed to be.
I'm not clear on anything about this book.
I'm not clear on anything about this book.
July 1, 2008
Take one part ersatz Wm. Faulkner (the story begins, basically, with a barefoot girl fearlessly crossing the countryside) or by Sir Walter Scott influencing Wm. Faulkner. Two parts of Cormac McCarthy at his bloodiest (the mute, murderous boy, Jeddo Mooney, is pretty much a McCarthy stock character). Throw in a smidge of Daniel Defoe and quite a bit of 19th century adventure pulp. Season with every imaginable cliche about the Irish American experience, make the characters (even the "bad" ones) impossibly progressive,educated and liberal-minded for their context so as not to piss off your slightly left-leaning, middle class, suburban book club audience, stir the same romantic blarney about Irish Revolutionaries, feign experimentalism by writing some chapters as newspaper clippings and occasionally changing up the typeface and end with a Hollywood reveal so obvious I actually groaned aloud.
Basically, a bloody beach novel with pretensions of being something far grander (I think I read the word "Joycean" in the blurbs on the back). Not boring, unless you're as sick of Civil War novels as I am.
And by the way:
That a girl could walk barefoot and largely unscathed from New Orleans to Montana is hard to believe. That she could do it in less than a year is completely inane.
Basically, a bloody beach novel with pretensions of being something far grander (I think I read the word "Joycean" in the blurbs on the back). Not boring, unless you're as sick of Civil War novels as I am.
And by the way:
That a girl could walk barefoot and largely unscathed from New Orleans to Montana is hard to believe. That she could do it in less than a year is completely inane.
January 11, 2008
I had no idea what was going on for the first fifty pages but if you stick with you will fall in love with this book.
October 12, 2008
Redemption Falls is an epic Reconstruction era set novel based around the fate of a mute Confederate boy soldier and an former convict Irish aggitator turned Union General Con O'Keeffe and by extension those lives and histories that they are connected to.
The setting for the novel is the USA's painful recovery from the Civil War and this mixture of healing wounds and unrepairable damage both to the physicallity, the psyche and the very fabric of American society is at the the heart of the fractured stories in the novel.
The narrative voice in the story is very rarely directly from O'Keeffe or the boy,and most of the story the reader has to piece together from fragments of 'historical documents', diaries, letters, songs, recordings, posters, bills and scraps of evidence following a paper trail, much like a historian, to piece together the story to it's breathtaking conclusion.
The reason for this choice of narrative becomes apparent at the end and it is deeply effective and completely compelling and makes Redemption Falls a gripping page turner.
The setting for the novel is the USA's painful recovery from the Civil War and this mixture of healing wounds and unrepairable damage both to the physicallity, the psyche and the very fabric of American society is at the the heart of the fractured stories in the novel.
The narrative voice in the story is very rarely directly from O'Keeffe or the boy,and most of the story the reader has to piece together from fragments of 'historical documents', diaries, letters, songs, recordings, posters, bills and scraps of evidence following a paper trail, much like a historian, to piece together the story to it's breathtaking conclusion.
The reason for this choice of narrative becomes apparent at the end and it is deeply effective and completely compelling and makes Redemption Falls a gripping page turner.
February 21, 2012
Redemption Falls (is the title ironic?) is a powerful novel whose de facto setting is the eponymous township, just after the end of the American Civil War. It's probably misleading to claim O'Connor's book is "about" any one character: the major players are all important and contribute to the O. Henry-like conclusion.
Many readers have found Redemption Falls confusing and unreadable - persevere! O'Connor mixes the styles considerably, but each part, each chapter advances the whole, presenting not only different points of view but also various historical and literary forms.
Ultimately, it's as complex as a human being. To paraphrase the blurb, no one and nothing is as it seems.
For those expecting a standard beginning-middle-end page-turner, stick with Dan Brown. Yes, Redemption Falls is a difficult read - but worth every moment.
Many readers have found Redemption Falls confusing and unreadable - persevere! O'Connor mixes the styles considerably, but each part, each chapter advances the whole, presenting not only different points of view but also various historical and literary forms.
Ultimately, it's as complex as a human being. To paraphrase the blurb, no one and nothing is as it seems.
For those expecting a standard beginning-middle-end page-turner, stick with Dan Brown. Yes, Redemption Falls is a difficult read - but worth every moment.
July 10, 2008
What an incredible piece of fiction! This sequel to Star of the Sea gets two thumbs up. Such is the amazing attention to detail I had to continually remind myself that it was a work of fiction. O'Connor is a master story-teller (the Salman Rushdie of Ireland) and if you liked Star of the Sea you will love Redemptin Falls.
December 22, 2018
De Amerikaanse Burgeroorlog tussen Noord en Zuid, het was een ellendige periode vol wreedheden en veel te veel verloren levens. De eerste vijftig pagina’s moest ik even doorbijten, wennen aan de stijl én het geweld dat me om de oren sloeg. Riep af en toe herinneringen op aan Meridiaan van bloed van Cormac MacCarthy, een boek over het vijandige, wantrouwige en gewelddadige pioniersleven. Maar dan opent het historische verhaal zich in al zijn pracht. Niet alleen de vertelling is de moeite waard, ook de verschillende schrijfstijlen maken het boek grandioos. O’Connor baseerde zich op talloze oude documenten om deze geschiedenis te schrijven – geen documentaire, het blijft fictie – en hij past zijn schrijfstijl aan elk van zijn personages aan. Daardoor ontstaat een gevarieerd boek dat een interessante inkijk biedt in een van de donkerste periodes uit de geschiedenis van Amerika. Aanrader! Zoals ook zijn Stella Maris er een is.
August 4, 2009
Somewhere underneath this collection of "stream of consciousness" ramblings lurks a great story. Perhaps the author will tell it one day.
March 27, 2023
A great writer,magnificent prose,but not one of his best.
July 25, 2016
Amerikanische Geschichte ist nicht jedermanns Sache, das ist mal sicher. Und die Nachwehen des Bürgerkriegs finden in Deutschland sicherlich erst recht kaum Beachtung. Dennoch ist man überrascht, daß sich zumindest ein Buch über eben jenen Krieg auch hier in den vergangenen Jahren großer Beliebtheit erfreute (zumindest bei der Kritik): E.L. Doctorows "Der Marsch". Dort war es der Krieg selbst, v.a. die letzten Monate, die behandelt und erzählt wurden.
Daß dieser Krieg eine Art kathartische "Geburt einer Nation" war, arbeitete Robert Olmstead in dem viel zu wenig beachteten Roman "Der Glanzrappe" aus, indem er den Weg eines Jugendlichen durch die Kriegswirren, auf der Suche nach dem Vater, der nach hause kommen soll (so der Auftrag der Mutter), als eine Art coming-of-age, auch als einen Initiationsritus darstellte.
Und nun also O'Connors beachtlicher Wurf "Wo die Helden schlafen" (ein irreführender und somit schlechter deutscher Titel; ähnlich der Klappentext). Schauplatz ist das "Territorium", also jenes Gebiet westlich des Mississippi, das lange als "Louisiana-Territory" firmierte, bis auch diese Landmassen in Einzelstaaten aufgeteilt wurden. Die Zeit der Handlung sind die Monate direkt nach der Einstellung der Kampfhandlungen im April 1865. Die Protagonisten sind der Gouverneur des Territoriums, seine Frau, ein scheinbar stummer Junge und seine Schwester, die ihn sucht. Letztere - der Junge und seine Schwester - sind Mulatten, also für Weiße, v.a. jene aus dem Süden, Menschen 2. Klasse, ehemalige Sklaven.
O'Connor schildert die Geschichte in einer Summe vieler Stimmen, aber auch, indem er Briefe, Tagebucheinträge, Balladen- und Songtexte, Manifeste oder Aufrufe einbaut. Er erzählt wahrlich die Geschichte der Geburt einer Nation, aus einem biblischen Bruderkampf erwachsen, zugleich zeigt er aber auch auf, wie die Geschichte eines Landes direkte Verbindungen mit der Legende und der Mythenbildung aufnimmt. Gerade in den Einschüben, den Balladentexten wird deutlich, wie das, was eben gerade geschieht, direkten Eingang in die Legende findet. So treibt ein (an Jesse James angelehnter) Bandit namens Johnny Thunders in der Umgebung von "Redemption Falls" (so auch der Originaltitel), wo die Handlung spielt, sein Unwesen. Dieser ist ein ehemaliger Südstaatler, der den Kampf nicht aufgeben will. Seine Handlungen sind äußerst brutal, werden jedoch als Heldentaten besungen.
Wesentlich ist O'Connor, daß seine "Helden" - alles gebrochene, meist auch durchaus unsympathische Figuren - irischer Abstammung sind. Aufgrund ihres katholischen Glaubens galten auch sie als Bürger 2. Klasse, sie kämpften auf beiden Seiten im Bürgerkrieg und diese Tatsache ist O'Connor schon ein Symbol der unsinnigen Blutopfer dieses Krieges (der übrigens der war, der prozentual die meisten Opfer in direkten Kampfhandlungen forderte, sogar mehr als WKI und WKII). Und wie sich irische Mythologie mit der der neuen Heimat mischt, wie jemand, der in der alten Heimat ein Bandit war, in der neuen Heimat aufgrund gerade dieser Geschichte ein Held sein kann, verdeutlicht die Risse, die Uneinheitlichkeit und die Brüche der amerikanischen Geschichte.
Atmosphäre und Stimmung dieses Romans sind der Geschichte gemäß eher düster (obwohl es Momente grimmigen Humors gibt), es sei also ein jeder gewarnt, der einen Unterhaltungsroman sucht. Anders als meine Vorrezensenten würde ich das Buch nicht als schwierig zu lesen einstufen. Die Geschichte packt und O'Connor findet eine Sprache, die das Lesen flüssig macht. Die Unterbrechungen durch verschiedene (schon erwähnte) Einschübe steigern die Spannung. Wahr ist allerdings auch, daß man aufmerksam sein muß, Teile der Story und v.a. des Hintergrunds erschließen sich nur in der Kombination der verschiedenen Textkörper und -arten.
Sicher kein Unterhaltungsroman, ist "Wo die Helden schlafen" ein Stück großer Gegenwartsliteratur, das auch dadurch interessant wird, daß hier ein Europäer auf ein Stück uramerikanischer Geschichte und die Rolle derer blickt, die, aus dem "alten" Europa kommend, diese Geschichte mitgeprägt haben.
Wer sich also für amerikanische Geschichte und deren "nation building" interessiert, sollte diesen Titel unbedingt lesen!
Daß dieser Krieg eine Art kathartische "Geburt einer Nation" war, arbeitete Robert Olmstead in dem viel zu wenig beachteten Roman "Der Glanzrappe" aus, indem er den Weg eines Jugendlichen durch die Kriegswirren, auf der Suche nach dem Vater, der nach hause kommen soll (so der Auftrag der Mutter), als eine Art coming-of-age, auch als einen Initiationsritus darstellte.
Und nun also O'Connors beachtlicher Wurf "Wo die Helden schlafen" (ein irreführender und somit schlechter deutscher Titel; ähnlich der Klappentext). Schauplatz ist das "Territorium", also jenes Gebiet westlich des Mississippi, das lange als "Louisiana-Territory" firmierte, bis auch diese Landmassen in Einzelstaaten aufgeteilt wurden. Die Zeit der Handlung sind die Monate direkt nach der Einstellung der Kampfhandlungen im April 1865. Die Protagonisten sind der Gouverneur des Territoriums, seine Frau, ein scheinbar stummer Junge und seine Schwester, die ihn sucht. Letztere - der Junge und seine Schwester - sind Mulatten, also für Weiße, v.a. jene aus dem Süden, Menschen 2. Klasse, ehemalige Sklaven.
O'Connor schildert die Geschichte in einer Summe vieler Stimmen, aber auch, indem er Briefe, Tagebucheinträge, Balladen- und Songtexte, Manifeste oder Aufrufe einbaut. Er erzählt wahrlich die Geschichte der Geburt einer Nation, aus einem biblischen Bruderkampf erwachsen, zugleich zeigt er aber auch auf, wie die Geschichte eines Landes direkte Verbindungen mit der Legende und der Mythenbildung aufnimmt. Gerade in den Einschüben, den Balladentexten wird deutlich, wie das, was eben gerade geschieht, direkten Eingang in die Legende findet. So treibt ein (an Jesse James angelehnter) Bandit namens Johnny Thunders in der Umgebung von "Redemption Falls" (so auch der Originaltitel), wo die Handlung spielt, sein Unwesen. Dieser ist ein ehemaliger Südstaatler, der den Kampf nicht aufgeben will. Seine Handlungen sind äußerst brutal, werden jedoch als Heldentaten besungen.
Wesentlich ist O'Connor, daß seine "Helden" - alles gebrochene, meist auch durchaus unsympathische Figuren - irischer Abstammung sind. Aufgrund ihres katholischen Glaubens galten auch sie als Bürger 2. Klasse, sie kämpften auf beiden Seiten im Bürgerkrieg und diese Tatsache ist O'Connor schon ein Symbol der unsinnigen Blutopfer dieses Krieges (der übrigens der war, der prozentual die meisten Opfer in direkten Kampfhandlungen forderte, sogar mehr als WKI und WKII). Und wie sich irische Mythologie mit der der neuen Heimat mischt, wie jemand, der in der alten Heimat ein Bandit war, in der neuen Heimat aufgrund gerade dieser Geschichte ein Held sein kann, verdeutlicht die Risse, die Uneinheitlichkeit und die Brüche der amerikanischen Geschichte.
Atmosphäre und Stimmung dieses Romans sind der Geschichte gemäß eher düster (obwohl es Momente grimmigen Humors gibt), es sei also ein jeder gewarnt, der einen Unterhaltungsroman sucht. Anders als meine Vorrezensenten würde ich das Buch nicht als schwierig zu lesen einstufen. Die Geschichte packt und O'Connor findet eine Sprache, die das Lesen flüssig macht. Die Unterbrechungen durch verschiedene (schon erwähnte) Einschübe steigern die Spannung. Wahr ist allerdings auch, daß man aufmerksam sein muß, Teile der Story und v.a. des Hintergrunds erschließen sich nur in der Kombination der verschiedenen Textkörper und -arten.
Sicher kein Unterhaltungsroman, ist "Wo die Helden schlafen" ein Stück großer Gegenwartsliteratur, das auch dadurch interessant wird, daß hier ein Europäer auf ein Stück uramerikanischer Geschichte und die Rolle derer blickt, die, aus dem "alten" Europa kommend, diese Geschichte mitgeprägt haben.
Wer sich also für amerikanische Geschichte und deren "nation building" interessiert, sollte diesen Titel unbedingt lesen!
January 31, 2021
Written weirdly and I couldn't get into it
July 9, 2018
I've only read two other books by Joseph O'Connor so far: Star of the Sea and Ghostlight, and I can honestly say that just like them, Redemption Falls is full of ambition, masterful writing, and poetry-like prose. The creativity and energy O'Connor invests in his writing have long earned my respect and admiration for him.
True to the style he uses in Star of the Sea, O'Connor creates many different "documents" and sources of information to build this story: letters and personal correspondence of people involved, newspaper articles, announcements posted on the streets, witness testimonies and even songs and ballads "from the period". All of these documents add up to tell the story of a girl who crosses the United States barefoot, searching for her brother, said brother joining the army only to end up in the house of an alcoholic Irish patriot sentenced to death, then sent to Australia, then ran-away to the States, and the not so successful marriage of said patriot. If this book isn't a page-turner, I don't know what is.
But. As much as I couldn't get enough of it and utterly enjoyed O'Connor's delightful writing, I was also a bit disappointed. First of all, O'Connor used a bit too much "cowboy English" from the 19th century for my taste - with a vast array of different dialects, pronunciations, and jargon - this slowed me down quite a few times and at some point seemed a bit overdone. I did get used to it eventually, and actually started enjoying it a bit after a while, but then another issue came up - around the last third of the book I started feeling that the main story, its culmination, was a bit too simple and flat compared to the complexity of the novel. I didn't feel this book needs so many characters, so many sources of information, and so many complications to achieve what actually happens in the end. I was wondering whether O'Connor got lost in his own over-complication of the events in this book and couldn't find his way out of it, or if he just had all these ideas he wanted to put on paper and decided to cram them all in one book.
Overall - spectacular writing from a really inspiring and creative author, but a tad over-complicated story.
True to the style he uses in Star of the Sea, O'Connor creates many different "documents" and sources of information to build this story: letters and personal correspondence of people involved, newspaper articles, announcements posted on the streets, witness testimonies and even songs and ballads "from the period". All of these documents add up to tell the story of a girl who crosses the United States barefoot, searching for her brother, said brother joining the army only to end up in the house of an alcoholic Irish patriot sentenced to death, then sent to Australia, then ran-away to the States, and the not so successful marriage of said patriot. If this book isn't a page-turner, I don't know what is.
But. As much as I couldn't get enough of it and utterly enjoyed O'Connor's delightful writing, I was also a bit disappointed. First of all, O'Connor used a bit too much "cowboy English" from the 19th century for my taste - with a vast array of different dialects, pronunciations, and jargon - this slowed me down quite a few times and at some point seemed a bit overdone. I did get used to it eventually, and actually started enjoying it a bit after a while, but then another issue came up - around the last third of the book I started feeling that the main story, its culmination, was a bit too simple and flat compared to the complexity of the novel. I didn't feel this book needs so many characters, so many sources of information, and so many complications to achieve what actually happens in the end. I was wondering whether O'Connor got lost in his own over-complication of the events in this book and couldn't find his way out of it, or if he just had all these ideas he wanted to put on paper and decided to cram them all in one book.
Overall - spectacular writing from a really inspiring and creative author, but a tad over-complicated story.
May 7, 2015
This was another complex novel, to follow 'Star of the Sea' which charted the voyage of an emigrant ship to USA from Ireland in 1847, yet through the various strands of the novel, told the stories of landowner, tenant and insurgent in the 19th century through its pages, in what was a style that was sometimes hard to follow.
At times I found this novel similarly difficult structure wise. As well as featuring Eliza Duane Mooney, daughter of Mary Duane from the first novel, on her quest to find her younger brother in the aftermath of the Civil War, among others, it charts the life of James Con O'Keefe, a former Irish revolutionary, escaped from penal Australia and, after leading a band of Irish immigrants in the Union Army, now Governor of an unnamed western state, where upholding the rule of law is often impossible.
Knowing little about this period of US history, I've no reference point as to whether O'Connor's portrayal of the brutality on show in the novel is accurate-I suspect that it is-but as in 'Star of the Sea', I felt that too much was crammed into the pages, which at times got in the way of the narrative. Eye witness accounts, ballads, testimonies etc, while bringing the story together in an authentic manner, just made the book a little too much hard work to be an enjoyable read for me.
A worthwhile story, and a well crafted and thought out narrative, but be prepared for a bit of page flicking to remind yourself of all the various strands of this novel when reading it, if that's what you decide to do.
At times I found this novel similarly difficult structure wise. As well as featuring Eliza Duane Mooney, daughter of Mary Duane from the first novel, on her quest to find her younger brother in the aftermath of the Civil War, among others, it charts the life of James Con O'Keefe, a former Irish revolutionary, escaped from penal Australia and, after leading a band of Irish immigrants in the Union Army, now Governor of an unnamed western state, where upholding the rule of law is often impossible.
Knowing little about this period of US history, I've no reference point as to whether O'Connor's portrayal of the brutality on show in the novel is accurate-I suspect that it is-but as in 'Star of the Sea', I felt that too much was crammed into the pages, which at times got in the way of the narrative. Eye witness accounts, ballads, testimonies etc, while bringing the story together in an authentic manner, just made the book a little too much hard work to be an enjoyable read for me.
A worthwhile story, and a well crafted and thought out narrative, but be prepared for a bit of page flicking to remind yourself of all the various strands of this novel when reading it, if that's what you decide to do.
September 3, 2011
'Redemption Falls' was one of the hardest fictional novel that I had to finish. This is in no part the fault of the author, Joseph O'Connor. His immense knowledge of the English language is beyond doubt as he weaves a grand tale of intricacy and detail to make the reader eventually learn the core of the story.
It was the constant switch between common speech of that era and grammatically correct English that bothered me most about the book. I had to endure endless referings to the dictionary and exasperated re-reading of sentences and paragraphs, to understand much of the narration.
In the end however, I understood the need for the author to write the way that he did. So overall, though it was a toil to complete the book, the story's conclusion was worth the effort. This is a novel that I would ONLY recommend to those who have a good grasp of old style literature and the patience to admire and enjoy such mannerisms. I cannot say that I enjoyed 'Redemption Falls' but I would rate the book high for great penmanship and literary standard.
It was the constant switch between common speech of that era and grammatically correct English that bothered me most about the book. I had to endure endless referings to the dictionary and exasperated re-reading of sentences and paragraphs, to understand much of the narration.
In the end however, I understood the need for the author to write the way that he did. So overall, though it was a toil to complete the book, the story's conclusion was worth the effort. This is a novel that I would ONLY recommend to those who have a good grasp of old style literature and the patience to admire and enjoy such mannerisms. I cannot say that I enjoyed 'Redemption Falls' but I would rate the book high for great penmanship and literary standard.
November 24, 2012
I picked this up without knowing what it was about, because I had previously really enjoyed Star of the Sea and like O'Connor's writing. I know next to nothing about the American Civil War and its aftermath, so it was really good to find out more. I found the book incredibly evocative, and unlike a lot of readers here it seems, I was gripped from the start. I found it a very gripping read, giving profound & very real insights into the traumatic consequences of war. Highly recommended.
May 22, 2019
Excellent, but brutal, tale of the Irish in America in the years following the Civil War. O'Connor paints a 'warts and all' picture of Irish men and women on the wild frontier lands: domestic violence, drunkenness, rape, murder, insurrection, betrayal abound, mixed with occasional mercy, generosity and forgiveness. Constructed as a series of collected documents and memories of an Irish scholar researching his own family, this a thoroughly immersive experience which packs a number of shocks and surprising revelations in its more than 400 pages of compulsive narrative. O'Connor's literary artistry and inventive prose never cease to enthral the reader.
February 11, 2013
Often when I read novels like this, where the story unfolds from about a million different points of view via letters and newspaper articles and diary entries and the time jumps all over the place, I think to myself "I've put in a lot of reading time, I've paid my dues, I'm too old for these shenanigans." But just when I was about to give up (about 1/4 way in) it did really come together and I was hooked.
It takes place in the years right after the Civil War, about the convergence of the aforementioned million characters who all had different war experiences, on both sides, and many of them are Irish immigrants (the author is Irish, as if you couldn't tell by how wordy he is).
Overall, it's powerful writing and very sad (did I mention Irish?). And I was totally surprised by the surprise ending.
One thing I was not expecting, but maybe I should have given the themes and setting, is that there are a few episodes of graphic violence -- not tons, and graphic in a literary way (which seems worse), but still. Just so you know.
It takes place in the years right after the Civil War, about the convergence of the aforementioned million characters who all had different war experiences, on both sides, and many of them are Irish immigrants (the author is Irish, as if you couldn't tell by how wordy he is).
Overall, it's powerful writing and very sad (did I mention Irish?). And I was totally surprised by the surprise ending.
One thing I was not expecting, but maybe I should have given the themes and setting, is that there are a few episodes of graphic violence -- not tons, and graphic in a literary way (which seems worse), but still. Just so you know.
September 14, 2011
I started this book in March 2010 but couldn't get through it...
I started this book again in April 2011 and finally I got it! In the beginning I had to look up some of the details about the Civil war but once I refreshed my historical knowledge it was easier to read. It did take a long time for me to get through the book because I had to get used to all the different characters and the way he writes from one personage to another. But when all the pieces of this puzzle started falling into place it was great to read. I just wanted to know what happened and what was going to happen to Eliza and Jeddo. While reading I made notes in the book and tried to guess who the narrator was and how he got that name. I really think this was a good book, it just takes some time and effort to read it but in my opinion you are rewarded for that in the end.
I started this book again in April 2011 and finally I got it! In the beginning I had to look up some of the details about the Civil war but once I refreshed my historical knowledge it was easier to read. It did take a long time for me to get through the book because I had to get used to all the different characters and the way he writes from one personage to another. But when all the pieces of this puzzle started falling into place it was great to read. I just wanted to know what happened and what was going to happen to Eliza and Jeddo. While reading I made notes in the book and tried to guess who the narrator was and how he got that name. I really think this was a good book, it just takes some time and effort to read it but in my opinion you are rewarded for that in the end.
May 29, 2021
The first half will test your patience. It'll have you questioning O'Connor's skills to put together a story. You'll drudge through dozens of fragmented chapters, you'll start questioning your own intelligence, and why you just can't seem to make any damn sense of any of it. And then quite suddenly, the puzzle pieces you've absorbed from all of the frustration and confusion along the way magnetically snap together, and- without particularly knowing how- you'll find that this book's hooks have sunk themselves deep within your heart. The places, the characters, the horrors and the sorrows stay with you long after you put it down. There are surprises throughout and up until the very last lines of this veiled-masterpiece that leave the jaw dropped and the chin trembling- if only you perservere.
December 27, 2011
A chronicle of the lives of a group of characters just after the end of the American civl war. This is an epic told in a dreamlike style- jumping from character to character and time frame to time frame, in a variety of ways from different perspectives- and I think it really works.
The book managed to be at the same time very bleak, but with some redemption and just as paradoxically, there were sections I absolutely loved and parts I disliked a lot. This work should not be undertaken lightly- it needs effort, but I found it well worthwhile.
The ending was spellbinding (unlike The Star of the Sea ending which disappointed)
Joseph O Connor is a genius- all respect.
The book managed to be at the same time very bleak, but with some redemption and just as paradoxically, there were sections I absolutely loved and parts I disliked a lot. This work should not be undertaken lightly- it needs effort, but I found it well worthwhile.
The ending was spellbinding (unlike The Star of the Sea ending which disappointed)
Joseph O Connor is a genius- all respect.
March 12, 2021
Somehow a Redemption Falls had a promising start, although even the initial chapters were extremely harsh and dark. This unrelenting tone of disaster, with dismal events following each other continually, finally forced me to give up on this novel.
This extreme negativity, also combined with descriptions of events that seemed far-fetched in the time period in which the novel is set, were enough to stop me from reading further at the moment.
There may certainly be literary merits I'm overlooking.
This extreme negativity, also combined with descriptions of events that seemed far-fetched in the time period in which the novel is set, were enough to stop me from reading further at the moment.
There may certainly be literary merits I'm overlooking.
July 12, 2021
It's a big ambitious book that doesn't quite deliver. This is Irish American history written in a style reminiscent of Faulkner or Dos Passos. The device of interpolated poems, fictional newspaper clippings, reports etc works. Unfortunately, the tale being told isn't sufficiently interesting to hold the attention. The protagonist isn't convincing and many of the minor characters don't ring true. I found the ending quite contrived. He's a great writer but this is not one of his better books.
February 9, 2013
This is an incredibly lyrical book, centering around James "Con" O'Keefe and his wife Lucia. Sent to New Zealand for his part in agitating for Irish home rule, he escapes and makes his way to America where he rises to the rank of general in the Union army during the civil war. He then assumes governership of part of the Western territories, and it is at this point that most of the story unfolds. The novel reminds one of a scrapbook at times rather than a single-threaded story line.
April 11, 2008
I was so looking forward to this book but after 200 pages, I just about tossed it across the room. Written by Joseph O'Connor..of Star Of The Sea fame. This book is supposed to be a sequel of sorts to Star...but after 200 pages there were only a few references to what took place in the first book. Same writing style but with this one, I could not get used to it and never knew who was speaking.
March 14, 2010
Initially I found it somewhat hard going, not so much the different voices and devices as the fact that the narrative seemed unfocused. I persisted and was I rewarded! I fell in love with the book and felt bereft when it ended.
August 18, 2009
The beginning is a bit confusing and slow but Joseph strikes again with layered stories and characters that you get attached to and are actually interested in.
December 6, 2011
Very clever I'm sure but I just can't get in to it. It's here there and bloody everywhere.
May 28, 2020
It is both a celebration of language and a repudiation of war and nationalism. Joseph O'Connor examines the cost of a person’s beliefs and the effect it takes on their psyche, how a love for an ideal can overwhelm a soul and cloud their judgement and affect their morality. Told through a collection of firsthand accounts, wanted posters and ballads and poems the cant and patois of its narrators colours the story with a sense of a nation finding its sense of self.
Set in post-civil war America the characters in this book reflect the society in which they live, indeed the society they themselves are shaping. James "Con" O'Keefe is a man to whom the love of Ireland and his desire to see it free of Imperialism shapes his entire persona. His attachment to heroism sees him detached from reality, from physical comfort and any hope of having a family or a semblance of peace. His struggles are perpetuated, left in an echo chamber of his own belief. His life in a parable for the dichotomy of war. For every winner, there is a loser and a belief no matter how strongly held can’t light a fire or comfort a soul.
The horrors of the Civil War and the silence which permeated the Nation in its aftermath are manifested in the characters. Such as Jeddo Mooney, a forgotten drummer boy in the Confederate army left adrift and the sudden halting of the war. His childhood shaped by trauma and violence. He struggles to make sense of the vulgarity he has been exposed to and longs for a home he isn't sure exists. The only salvation for anyone is language, song or poetry. The brilliance of this book is in how it melds Gaelgie, English, Spanish, German et cetera and shows the common thread we all share, the ability to express ourselves through words and action and how often the words are pretty but the action is not. The melting pot of America is a cluster of peoples opposed but similar and the maleffect of Nationalism still exists to this day. The lessons of war are never learned and indeed repeated as was the case for the Irish people who endured their own Civil War, its foreshadowing shown in how Irish fought against Irish for their adopted homeland as was the case with people of many other nations.
The title of the book is prescient because redemption is sought by all who appear in this book, redemption for ills done on family, on strangers and on themselves. In order to redeem oneself one must first excoriate their demons but if their demon is their faith in an ideal that drives them then how can the forsake everything which has driven them only when in hindsight, they've seen it was the very thing that lead to their fall.
Set in post-civil war America the characters in this book reflect the society in which they live, indeed the society they themselves are shaping. James "Con" O'Keefe is a man to whom the love of Ireland and his desire to see it free of Imperialism shapes his entire persona. His attachment to heroism sees him detached from reality, from physical comfort and any hope of having a family or a semblance of peace. His struggles are perpetuated, left in an echo chamber of his own belief. His life in a parable for the dichotomy of war. For every winner, there is a loser and a belief no matter how strongly held can’t light a fire or comfort a soul.
The horrors of the Civil War and the silence which permeated the Nation in its aftermath are manifested in the characters. Such as Jeddo Mooney, a forgotten drummer boy in the Confederate army left adrift and the sudden halting of the war. His childhood shaped by trauma and violence. He struggles to make sense of the vulgarity he has been exposed to and longs for a home he isn't sure exists. The only salvation for anyone is language, song or poetry. The brilliance of this book is in how it melds Gaelgie, English, Spanish, German et cetera and shows the common thread we all share, the ability to express ourselves through words and action and how often the words are pretty but the action is not. The melting pot of America is a cluster of peoples opposed but similar and the maleffect of Nationalism still exists to this day. The lessons of war are never learned and indeed repeated as was the case for the Irish people who endured their own Civil War, its foreshadowing shown in how Irish fought against Irish for their adopted homeland as was the case with people of many other nations.
The title of the book is prescient because redemption is sought by all who appear in this book, redemption for ills done on family, on strangers and on themselves. In order to redeem oneself one must first excoriate their demons but if their demon is their faith in an ideal that drives them then how can the forsake everything which has driven them only when in hindsight, they've seen it was the very thing that lead to their fall.
July 20, 2021
An admission! I’ve given up on a novel. I don’t do it very often, but this one just defeated me. I persevered for 200 pages, but eventually realised there were books to read which I would be much happier reading. I still have fond memories of reading Star of the Sea and was thrilled to find this “sort of” sequel to that novel. How disappointed I am.
I found the whole concept impenetrable, the miss-mash of characters, the wife ranging styles of narration. At times I felt I was reading a huge clue in a cryptic crossword puzzle. Extracts from Irish ballads, 19th Century “Wanted” posters from the US, letters, reflection (supposedly oral) by a barely literate slave, far too complex for my liking.
I found the whole concept impenetrable, the miss-mash of characters, the wife ranging styles of narration. At times I felt I was reading a huge clue in a cryptic crossword puzzle. Extracts from Irish ballads, 19th Century “Wanted” posters from the US, letters, reflection (supposedly oral) by a barely literate slave, far too complex for my liking.
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