Caravan of the Lost and Left Behind

by Deirdre Shanahan

‘Caravan of the Lost and Left Behind,’ the first novel from Deirdre Shanahan, is the hauntingly moving story of Eva, a former Irish traveller who returns to Ireland with her son Torin to stay with her father and secretively find Caitlin, the daughter she abandoned there years before. Torin and Caitlin meet and we see their entangled relationship with Caitlin, and the consequences when they discover their true connection. They have to negotiate out of their mother’s troubled past. The novel explores the tensions around family and what it means, escape and flight, urban and rural life and the compromises we have to make to survive and love.

Genres: Contemporary

229 pages, Hardcover

Published May 30, 2019

Reviews

[Nick Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written book about belonging. Torin is in all kinds of trouble, so his mother takes him from London to rural Ireland to escape. She becomes more at home whilst he struggles to belong.

Torin struggles to connect with anyone around him whilst the weight of what might be going on in London still holds over him. We see his development through many well-written chapters, but each scene stands alone. It felt like there were so many opportunities to develop other characters or the relationships between them.

This is definitely a book to read though.

[Andrea Barlien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully grim story of a young man learning who he is in the world. Set amongst traveler communities Shanahan describes the country lovingly even when its harshness bites. Torin will haunt me for a while I think.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, another of my Blue Moose book-token, punts, told a story that hooked me, and kept me reading, despite my feeling it over-did the forewarnings and took longer to tell than was necessary. That said, it effectively evoked the several locations and the ending felt finely judged.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book at all. The layout is very confusing as is the story

[kcmg✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really weird book, just happy it’s finished. Think I only carried on reading because the girl was called Caitlin other than it just felt really pointless. I liked the idea of the story and loved it being set in Ireland I also love how Liverpool was mentioned a few times (even though it was only brief). But other than that I didn’t like it.

I hate leaving negative reviews but I really did not enjoy this at all and the ending was so up in the air. Like did they carry on a relationship even though they’re siblings? What happened to the grandad and delia?

I also feel like this any bad thing this author could think of she was just like ‘yeah I’ll add that in’. It was literally one thing after the other. Like what did it to the story to kill the horse off? What was the whole Pauley bit at the end with him being all banged up because he fell out a window but also seemed fine at the party with Torin.

I came into this book clueless and I’m leaving clueless. I just didn’t get it. It kinda felt like a chore reading it and I hate that because reading usually gives me so much joy and this just sucked the life out of me.

This is probably one of the harshest reviews I have and probably ever will write and I feel awful but it’s just one of them I guess 😬.