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Blood Ties
Set mainly in Ireland, Jennifer Lash's dark, exhilarating novel is about the redemptive power of love. It tells of Violet Farr and her loveless marriage, her wild, unfathomable son and his illegitimate son, all of them bound together in a repeating pattern of exile and homecoming, rejection and, finally, acknowledgement and love. As Elizabeth Buchan wrote in the London Times , "Jennifer Lash is a Lawrentian in so far as she mines her material for the blood and thunder roaring between spouses, and between parents and children."
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
About the author
Jennifer Lash
9 books17 followersBorn at Chichester, Sussex on 27 February 1938 to Joan Mary Moore, who was of Irish Catholic descent, and Brigadier Henry Alleyne Lash, a British colonial officer, Jennifer Lash lived in India where her father was stationed until the age of 6. When her family returned to England, they settled down in Surrey. Raised a Roman Catholic, Lash attended boarding school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and continued on to Farnham Art School. When she was 16 years old, her studies were cut short by family problems. She discontinued her education and moved to London where she supported herself with odd jobs to support her artistic pursuits.
In 1962, she published her second book The Climate of Belief and married Mark Fiennes with whom she raised 7 children: actors Ralph Fiennes and Joseph Fiennes, film makers Martha Fiennes and Sophie Fiennes, composer Magnus Fiennes, Jacob Fiennes, a conservation manager, and a foster son, Michael Emery, an archaeologist. The family frequently relocated and lived in Suffolk, Wiltshire, Ireland and London. Lash went on to write four more novels over the next twenty years. They are: The Prism (1963), Get Down There and Die (1977), The Dust Collector (1979) and From May to October (1980).
Lash's haunting paintings were featured in several exhibitions in places such as The Penwith Galleries in St Ives, The Halesworth Gallery and Westleton Chapel Galleries in Suffolk.
In the late 1980s Lash was diagnosed with breast cancer. While in remission from the disease, she travelled to Lourdes and Saintes Maries de la Mer in France and to Spain's sacred Santiago de Compostella. During this time she wrote her only non-fiction book, On Pilgrimage. Jennifer Lash lost her fight to cancer on 28 December 1993 at Odstock, Wiltshire, aged 55. Her final novel Blood Ties was published posthumously in 1997 and is widely regarded as her finest work.
In 1962, she published her second book The Climate of Belief and married Mark Fiennes with whom she raised 7 children: actors Ralph Fiennes and Joseph Fiennes, film makers Martha Fiennes and Sophie Fiennes, composer Magnus Fiennes, Jacob Fiennes, a conservation manager, and a foster son, Michael Emery, an archaeologist. The family frequently relocated and lived in Suffolk, Wiltshire, Ireland and London. Lash went on to write four more novels over the next twenty years. They are: The Prism (1963), Get Down There and Die (1977), The Dust Collector (1979) and From May to October (1980).
Lash's haunting paintings were featured in several exhibitions in places such as The Penwith Galleries in St Ives, The Halesworth Gallery and Westleton Chapel Galleries in Suffolk.
In the late 1980s Lash was diagnosed with breast cancer. While in remission from the disease, she travelled to Lourdes and Saintes Maries de la Mer in France and to Spain's sacred Santiago de Compostella. During this time she wrote her only non-fiction book, On Pilgrimage. Jennifer Lash lost her fight to cancer on 28 December 1993 at Odstock, Wiltshire, aged 55. Her final novel Blood Ties was published posthumously in 1997 and is widely regarded as her finest work.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 11, 2012
i wish this book had grabbed me more than it did. on paper, it is my kind of story: irish family, various tragedies, wild natural setting, sorrows spanning generations...that is my kind of yummy right there. and the author - underknown female novelist, mother of those fiennes brothers, artistic promise terminated by tragic illness, critical accolades, commercially forgotten...this book had promise smeared all over it.
and yet i thought it was only okay.
i think where it lost me was the writing style and the characterization. i have no problem with a densely-written story. in fact, that is my preference with sweeping family dramas. i like detail, i like thick prose. but this was just too ruminative with repetitive characterization and very little action, and the characters consistently did things that were baffling, abrupt, and had immediate life-changing consequences that seemed unrealistic, psychologically.
some examples:
the story itself was good - a study of the consequences of neglect, filtering down through the generations. it begins with cecil and violet - a marriage one part convenience, one part exhausted disappointment, one part stifling homosexual urges, and they maintain a distant, baffled attachment to each other. violet spends most of her time alone, aloof, wandering the moors with her beloved dog, the only creature in the world she is able to feel any affection towards. eventually, this marriage produces a son, whom neither of its parents show any interest in whatsoever. they are fairly old when he is born, and cecil has been slipping into an addled condition that is highly routinized and solitary. violet is mostly disgusted with lumsden's existence, and resents his presence in her life, relying on a nanny to see to his development after he disappoints her by not showing early signs of exceptionality. the three of them coexist uneasily, lumsden is sent to england for school, returning for brief visits until during one of these visits, he gets caught in a compromising situation with a camera and three little first communion girls, whereupon he is shipped off to england permanently.
once he is there,having been invited not to return to his school, he has no prospects or skills, and becomes an opportunist, getting involved in a sort of con situation and almost inadvertently knocking up a girl named dolly, with her own checkered past of bad decisions, madness, and parental disappointment. by the time she knows she is preggers, he is long gone, and she is forced to raise their child alone, without resources or support.
if violet was baffled by the birth of lumsden, dolly is horrified by the presence of her son spencer. she refuses to put him up for adoption, for reasons that are muddled but seem to center on her holding on to some kind of dream she had about the one-time magic she had in the barn with lumsden - when she felt that her life still had possibilities.
her treatment of spencer is abysmal, criminal, horrifying. her abuse and neglect turn him into an incredibly damaged child, retreating into himself, unable to communicate except in howls and frantic masturbation. dolly's friend tug eventually takes over the care of spencer, living with dolly and witnessing her alcoholism, her parade of lovers, and her cruelty towards spencer. eventually, there is a breaking point, and tug manages to track down lumsden, who wants nothing to do with spencer or dolly, but who agrees, with malicious glee, to have the child sent to violet.
tug, not knowing anything about lumsden's upbringing, thinks that the irish countryside, animals, fresh air, and loving grandparents will be just the thing to wash the taint of dolly off of him.
it couldn't be any worse, right?
well.
it's not great. if violet couldn't cope with a "normal" child, she's not going to be able to cope with a terribly damaged three-year old who has just been separated not only from his poisonous mother, but also from tug, the only person who has ever shown him any kindness,and sent off to an unfamiliar and desolate palce. violet is even older now,and cecil has fallen even further down the tunnel of incompetence. it is not an ideal place for a boy to heal.
and that's all the plot i am going to give - i'm sorry if it sounds like i gave away too much already. but i wanted to give a sort of rough outline of the situation; how some people are just ill-equipped to be parents and their self-involvement does have consequences that persist through generations.
there is a lot of plot after this point, so i don't think i have given away too much, and i wish there were more reviews of this book on here to balance my own, because i think this book does have a reader, but the stifling prose and repetitive dwelling on the internal monologues of the anxious made me a little anxious myself, a little impatient to just get on with the story.
it's definitely not a bad book, but it was not the right book for me at this time.
come to my blog!
and yet i thought it was only okay.
i think where it lost me was the writing style and the characterization. i have no problem with a densely-written story. in fact, that is my preference with sweeping family dramas. i like detail, i like thick prose. but this was just too ruminative with repetitive characterization and very little action, and the characters consistently did things that were baffling, abrupt, and had immediate life-changing consequences that seemed unrealistic, psychologically.
some examples:
the story itself was good - a study of the consequences of neglect, filtering down through the generations. it begins with cecil and violet - a marriage one part convenience, one part exhausted disappointment, one part stifling homosexual urges, and they maintain a distant, baffled attachment to each other. violet spends most of her time alone, aloof, wandering the moors with her beloved dog, the only creature in the world she is able to feel any affection towards. eventually, this marriage produces a son, whom neither of its parents show any interest in whatsoever. they are fairly old when he is born, and cecil has been slipping into an addled condition that is highly routinized and solitary. violet is mostly disgusted with lumsden's existence, and resents his presence in her life, relying on a nanny to see to his development after he disappoints her by not showing early signs of exceptionality. the three of them coexist uneasily, lumsden is sent to england for school, returning for brief visits until during one of these visits, he gets caught in a compromising situation with a camera and three little first communion girls, whereupon he is shipped off to england permanently.
once he is there,having been invited not to return to his school, he has no prospects or skills, and becomes an opportunist, getting involved in a sort of con situation and almost inadvertently knocking up a girl named dolly, with her own checkered past of bad decisions, madness, and parental disappointment. by the time she knows she is preggers, he is long gone, and she is forced to raise their child alone, without resources or support.
if violet was baffled by the birth of lumsden, dolly is horrified by the presence of her son spencer. she refuses to put him up for adoption, for reasons that are muddled but seem to center on her holding on to some kind of dream she had about the one-time magic she had in the barn with lumsden - when she felt that her life still had possibilities.
her treatment of spencer is abysmal, criminal, horrifying. her abuse and neglect turn him into an incredibly damaged child, retreating into himself, unable to communicate except in howls and frantic masturbation. dolly's friend tug eventually takes over the care of spencer, living with dolly and witnessing her alcoholism, her parade of lovers, and her cruelty towards spencer. eventually, there is a breaking point, and tug manages to track down lumsden, who wants nothing to do with spencer or dolly, but who agrees, with malicious glee, to have the child sent to violet.
tug, not knowing anything about lumsden's upbringing, thinks that the irish countryside, animals, fresh air, and loving grandparents will be just the thing to wash the taint of dolly off of him.
it couldn't be any worse, right?
well.
it's not great. if violet couldn't cope with a "normal" child, she's not going to be able to cope with a terribly damaged three-year old who has just been separated not only from his poisonous mother, but also from tug, the only person who has ever shown him any kindness,and sent off to an unfamiliar and desolate palce. violet is even older now,and cecil has fallen even further down the tunnel of incompetence. it is not an ideal place for a boy to heal.
and that's all the plot i am going to give - i'm sorry if it sounds like i gave away too much already. but i wanted to give a sort of rough outline of the situation; how some people are just ill-equipped to be parents and their self-involvement does have consequences that persist through generations.
there is a lot of plot after this point, so i don't think i have given away too much, and i wish there were more reviews of this book on here to balance my own, because i think this book does have a reader, but the stifling prose and repetitive dwelling on the internal monologues of the anxious made me a little anxious myself, a little impatient to just get on with the story.
it's definitely not a bad book, but it was not the right book for me at this time.
come to my blog! 
November 25, 2016
Σήμερα καλούμαι να βαθμολογήσω το πρωτότοκο παιδί μου! Την πρώτη μου μετάφραση που εκδόθηκε πριν 12 ολόκληρα χρόνια από τον συγχωρεμένο τον Νίκο Καλέντη, έναν άνθρωπο που αγαπούσε αληθινά τα βιβλία, που παθιαζόταν μαζί τους. Πόσα πρόσωπα να θυμηθώ από εκείνη την εποχή; Τον φιλόλογο Τσαούση, την αγαπημένη μου Σύσση Καπλάνη, την υπεύθυνη της Μπλούμσμπερι Τζένι Πάροτ, τη φίλη μου την Σόφι Φάινς; Ό,τι και να πω για αυτό το βιβλίο και για όλα όσα μου χάρισε θα είναι λίγο.
Η υπόθεση: τρεις γενιές μιας οικογένειας στην Ιρλανδία και την Αγγλία, ένας αποτυχημένος γάμος οδηγεί στην γέννηση ενός προβληματικού παιδιού που λόγω έλλειψης αγάπης επαναλαμβάνει τα λάθη των γονιών του και τα διαιωνίζει και στην επόμενη γενιά. Και δίπλα στην οικογένεια και τις μπερδεμένες σχέσεις τους αρκετοί άλλοι ήρωες: φίλοι, γείτονες, συμμαθητές που ο καθένας παίζει τον ρόλο του στην ιστορία μας.
Η υπόθεση: τρεις γενιές μιας οικογένειας στην Ιρλανδία και την Αγγλία, ένας αποτυχημένος γάμος οδηγεί στην γέννηση ενός προβληματικού παιδιού που λόγω έλλειψης αγάπης επαναλαμβάνει τα λάθη των γονιών του και τα διαιωνίζει και στην επόμενη γενιά. Και δίπλα στην οικογένεια και τις μπερδεμένες σχέσεις τους αρκετοί άλλοι ήρωες: φίλοι, γείτονες, συμμαθητές που ο καθένας παίζει τον ρόλο του στην ιστορία μας.
February 5, 2008
I originally read this because the author is Ralph Fiennes's mom, but man she is an amazing author.... Very touching book.
December 22, 2022
Blood Ties is a story about 3 generations of a complicated family, Violet and Cecil, their son Lumsden and his fling Dolly, and their troubled son Spencer.
I loved the cleverness of the sequencing in this novel. We start at a place close to the present day, the author revealing things that don't yet make sense to us. Throughout the book the gaps in our knowledge are filled as we uncover the pasts of these characters, one at a time. This really allows us to gain an in depth understanding of their personalities and what drives them forward.
I've seen quite a few reviews of books in general, this one included, where the lack of likeable characters and overall darkness is what prompts people to dislike a story. I understand that to a degree; I'm not reading these dark tales with enjoyment; but I don't feel that toxic characters prompt a low rating or negative review, especially when the writing is excellent. At the end of the day, unfortunately some people's lives don't have "light to balance out the darkness", and unfortunately horrible people do exist.
In terms of the writing, of course there are varying opinions about what constitutes "excellent writing". I've stated before that I'm someone that loves flowery language, and that I have a preference for descriptiveness over minimalistic writing. As a result, I really enjoyed this novel's prose. I do agree with the reviews that it's definitely dense, and there were times when Lash used an exceeding number of similes to describe something, sometimes a third of a page taken up describing something. But whilst that was an issue for some, I have nothing negative to say about that; it only meant more beautiful and complex images could be created in my mind.
I definitely noticed a shift in the tone of the story once we reached the halfway point. The first half was much more tame and almost humorous in a way due to the narrative voice of one of the characters. The second half however uncovered darker themes as we got closer to the focus of the troubled boy, Spencer, at the centre of this novel. There were some dark themes and plot points, and 2 scenes in particular in the second half that were quite challenging to read (trigger warnings include infant abuse/negligence, violence and robbery). As previously mentioned, metaphors and symbols were frequent in this novel. There was this unicorn Spencer had pictured since he was a child, and it was this beautifully tragic symbol of hope and protection continuously referenced, something he always held onto. More pertinent a symbol though was Mount Murna, a mountain next to Violet & Cecil's property. It's power in the story rests in the fact that it's the only thing that the 3 generations within the family have in common: it is a place of sanctuary, a source of strength for all 3 of them. While they don't know they share this in common, we as the readers can see it, and you can't help but feel the draw yourself to this fictional mountain.
I shed tears at a few moments in the last 30 pages; it's such a bittersweet ending <3.
Anyway, I thought this story was immersive and captivating and the writing was beautiful. Highly recommend.
I loved the cleverness of the sequencing in this novel. We start at a place close to the present day, the author revealing things that don't yet make sense to us. Throughout the book the gaps in our knowledge are filled as we uncover the pasts of these characters, one at a time. This really allows us to gain an in depth understanding of their personalities and what drives them forward.
I've seen quite a few reviews of books in general, this one included, where the lack of likeable characters and overall darkness is what prompts people to dislike a story. I understand that to a degree; I'm not reading these dark tales with enjoyment; but I don't feel that toxic characters prompt a low rating or negative review, especially when the writing is excellent. At the end of the day, unfortunately some people's lives don't have "light to balance out the darkness", and unfortunately horrible people do exist.
In terms of the writing, of course there are varying opinions about what constitutes "excellent writing". I've stated before that I'm someone that loves flowery language, and that I have a preference for descriptiveness over minimalistic writing. As a result, I really enjoyed this novel's prose. I do agree with the reviews that it's definitely dense, and there were times when Lash used an exceeding number of similes to describe something, sometimes a third of a page taken up describing something. But whilst that was an issue for some, I have nothing negative to say about that; it only meant more beautiful and complex images could be created in my mind.
I definitely noticed a shift in the tone of the story once we reached the halfway point. The first half was much more tame and almost humorous in a way due to the narrative voice of one of the characters. The second half however uncovered darker themes as we got closer to the focus of the troubled boy, Spencer, at the centre of this novel. There were some dark themes and plot points, and 2 scenes in particular in the second half that were quite challenging to read (trigger warnings include infant abuse/negligence, violence and robbery). As previously mentioned, metaphors and symbols were frequent in this novel. There was this unicorn Spencer had pictured since he was a child, and it was this beautifully tragic symbol of hope and protection continuously referenced, something he always held onto. More pertinent a symbol though was Mount Murna, a mountain next to Violet & Cecil's property. It's power in the story rests in the fact that it's the only thing that the 3 generations within the family have in common: it is a place of sanctuary, a source of strength for all 3 of them. While they don't know they share this in common, we as the readers can see it, and you can't help but feel the draw yourself to this fictional mountain.
I shed tears at a few moments in the last 30 pages; it's such a bittersweet ending <3.
Anyway, I thought this story was immersive and captivating and the writing was beautiful. Highly recommend.
May 28, 2022
I really wish I liked this more but I found the characters extremely unlikeable and after the first 100+ pages I found myself skimming through to the end. Overall the novel itself is pretty loaded with negativity that people face every day in their lives, and yet I would have liked the novel better if the author decided to balance out that darkness with some light, humor, or anything positive to lighten the mood but sadly I guess in real life there are people who live their lives that can be unforgiving and either incapable of getting themselves out of it to make their own lives better and its everyone's fault but themselves.
So, unfortunately, I give this book a 1-star rating and I wouldn't recommend it.
So, unfortunately, I give this book a 1-star rating and I wouldn't recommend it.
May 31, 2013
The story line of this book is absolutely heartbreaking...yet...its redemptive conclusion is such a surprise and makes everything worth it. While at first I wasn't sure I could get through the book because some it is so terribly sad, now I'm planning to read it again some day. I have NEVER had that experience with a book!
October 31, 2019
I bought this novel years ago in response to a promotion by Lash's famous children: Ralph and Joseph Fiennes. I was curious. Here's what I learned about this novel: Lash's writing style is dense, repetitious, and reminded me a lot of Virginia Woolf. Lash immerses the reader in her exploration of the Farrs, a dysfunctional Irish family living in a manor house just outside a small town. She reveals Irish attitudes toward the English as well as the "classes" among the Irish and how they interact. And she's created some of the most unpleasant characters to know that I've ever read. Reading this novel is like watching an extremely slow motion train wreck.
Violet is the matriarch of this family, and Lash begins by giving the reader a summary of the entire novel, teasing and foreshadowing some of the major events. Then Lash introduces the members of this family in more detail, taking the reader deep into their thoughts, feelings, and motivations. So we follow Violet as she leaves home and marries Cecil, Cecil's true nature as well as Violet's in their relationship, the birth of their son, his childhood and growing into adulthood. There is a sense of stumbling through, not really thinking of consequences, and in Violet's case, not wanting to let go of her rigid belief system. Then their son, Lumsden, meets Dolly, and they stumble into parenthood without really wanting it and not accepting the responsibility of it. Their son, Spencer, suffers from a lack of attachment to his mother, and this affects his mind but not his intelligence. Lash's writing about Spencer produces some of the most beautiful writing and insights into the psychological wounds children sustain. Some of the secondary characters bring spice to the story as well as humanity and warmth that is so lacking in the Farr family.
As I read, I wondered why Lash had been so fascinated by these characters that she would write a substantial novel about them. It's a sad story. The characters, while vividly brought to life through Lash's prose, are not particularly likeable. I wondered if she had wanted to explore what might happen if a mother doesn't want the child she bears and doesn't allow herself to bond with the child. Violet is the first, followed by Dolly. Each woman has different reasons and responses to their sons. And in each case the fathers are either not present in the child's life or indifferent.
Would I recommend this novel? Not really. It's beautifully written, but I would have liked a bit more light to balance out the darkness that permeates the story and the characters. On the other hand, there are people in this world who live such lives of unrelenting darkness and seem incapable of creating light for themselves.
Violet is the matriarch of this family, and Lash begins by giving the reader a summary of the entire novel, teasing and foreshadowing some of the major events. Then Lash introduces the members of this family in more detail, taking the reader deep into their thoughts, feelings, and motivations. So we follow Violet as she leaves home and marries Cecil, Cecil's true nature as well as Violet's in their relationship, the birth of their son, his childhood and growing into adulthood. There is a sense of stumbling through, not really thinking of consequences, and in Violet's case, not wanting to let go of her rigid belief system. Then their son, Lumsden, meets Dolly, and they stumble into parenthood without really wanting it and not accepting the responsibility of it. Their son, Spencer, suffers from a lack of attachment to his mother, and this affects his mind but not his intelligence. Lash's writing about Spencer produces some of the most beautiful writing and insights into the psychological wounds children sustain. Some of the secondary characters bring spice to the story as well as humanity and warmth that is so lacking in the Farr family.
As I read, I wondered why Lash had been so fascinated by these characters that she would write a substantial novel about them. It's a sad story. The characters, while vividly brought to life through Lash's prose, are not particularly likeable. I wondered if she had wanted to explore what might happen if a mother doesn't want the child she bears and doesn't allow herself to bond with the child. Violet is the first, followed by Dolly. Each woman has different reasons and responses to their sons. And in each case the fathers are either not present in the child's life or indifferent.
Would I recommend this novel? Not really. It's beautifully written, but I would have liked a bit more light to balance out the darkness that permeates the story and the characters. On the other hand, there are people in this world who live such lives of unrelenting darkness and seem incapable of creating light for themselves.
April 5, 2026
A story of a neglected child, who grows up to be a bit of a psychopath (can you be a "bit" of one? In any case, he has little to no regard for any other living thing.) He, Lumsden, seduces a simple village girl, Dolly, who is flattered into believing that they have a future. Well, they sort of do -- she finds she is pregnant long after he has skedaddled. Dolly refuses to adopt her son out in a mistaken belief that the father will return to her. In her frustration she often beats the boy, once choking him. Spenser, the boy is mostly raised by her friend, until that friend, nicknamed Tug, finds Dolly arguing with a john while Spencer is home with her.
Tug takes Spencer to his grandparents, who have no affection for this child, either. He is mostly nonverbal, and is taken under the wing of their housekeeper, Maura, and Donal, who works around the property. Donal shows Spencer the animals and other living things, teaching Spencer how they live. Due to a misunderstanding, and the fact that Violet, the grandmother, never wanted the child, she sends him away after an incident on the farm.
There's more to the story, and it's dismal. But so beautifully written that I continued to read and enjoyed the book immensely. I do have to say that the denouement was a bit surprising, but not disingenuous enough to make me rethink my opinion of the book.
Tug takes Spencer to his grandparents, who have no affection for this child, either. He is mostly nonverbal, and is taken under the wing of their housekeeper, Maura, and Donal, who works around the property. Donal shows Spencer the animals and other living things, teaching Spencer how they live. Due to a misunderstanding, and the fact that Violet, the grandmother, never wanted the child, she sends him away after an incident on the farm.
There's more to the story, and it's dismal. But so beautifully written that I continued to read and enjoyed the book immensely. I do have to say that the denouement was a bit surprising, but not disingenuous enough to make me rethink my opinion of the book.
December 29, 2025
I really wanted to like Blood Ties, but it just didn’t land for me. The idea behind it is solid showing how emotional neglect gets passed down through generations but actually reading it felt more draining than meaningful.
Most of the characters were hard to connect with, especially Violet. I get that she’s supposed to be cold and unloving, but she felt so distant that I never understood why she was the way she was. After a while, it felt like the book was just piling misery on top of misery without giving the reader enough emotional payoff.
The pacing was another issue. A lot of the story moved very slowly, and there were long stretches where it felt like nothing really changed. By the time the focus shifted to Spencer and things started to hint at hope, I was already pretty checked out.
That said, the book isn’t terrible. There are moments where the writing is strong, and the message about kindness from strangers breaking harmful cycles is a good one
Most of the characters were hard to connect with, especially Violet. I get that she’s supposed to be cold and unloving, but she felt so distant that I never understood why she was the way she was. After a while, it felt like the book was just piling misery on top of misery without giving the reader enough emotional payoff.
The pacing was another issue. A lot of the story moved very slowly, and there were long stretches where it felt like nothing really changed. By the time the focus shifted to Spencer and things started to hint at hope, I was already pretty checked out.
That said, the book isn’t terrible. There are moments where the writing is strong, and the message about kindness from strangers breaking harmful cycles is a good one
April 11, 2022
I wanted to like the book because the writing was solid for the most part (one line I loved was “the truth was, she felt, transitory.”) but the writer suffered from triplicating everything. For every good simile she’d follow it up with 3 more similes or 3 more examples. Verbose writing seemed to be the style of the time so that didn’t bother me as much. But the characters weren’t engaging enough for me to care about them. They seemed to fall into two categories: toxic and tragic or pathetic and tragic. At 200 pages I just wanted to know what happened in the end so I skipped to the last 3 chapters and it wasn’t worth reading the last half. It gets two stars because I wasn’t mad about having read as much as I did I because I find value in reading about toxic family dynamics. Spoiler: if you do finish it there’s a happy-ish ending (happier than I thought it was going to be anyway).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2023
A tough read. Took me so long get into the story because the writing is so dense and often convoluted. This is a story of 4 generations in Ireland all connected by Violet, a horrible, cold woman, and her husband, Cecil, a doddering old man with latent homosexual tendencies. Their unwanted child is unloved and practically loathed. Then he has a child, Spencer, from a dalliance with a sad, unbalanced girl. This grandchild, neglected and abused, is sent to Violet and Cecil who further neglect him. Spencer will end up fathering a child, now a great grandchild to Violet. Such a sad, maddening novel. Even the ending, which almost redeems itself, is tragic.
February 20, 2023
Beautifully written book with lovely prose but I agree with a lot of the other reviews, was over-charged with negativity and painted life in the most bleak way possible, felt a little too forced. I didn't like how the author jumped at the opportunity to use coarse language, calling dogs bitches amd describing every child as ugly and every woman as fat. But at least there was a somewhat happy ending, which I really was not expecting at all.
October 11, 2019
It took me sometime to get into this one because the book begins exceedingly slow. The Author, for a lack of a better term, molest words. She overextends her descriptions and illustrations. it was exhausting. However, by mid range, I was interested in these characters. This interest propelled me to the end. Although long winded, Blood Ties is a good choice.
December 23, 2021
Dense, rich language, slow burn , redemptive ending.
August 28, 2024
Mostly dark and sad.
September 22, 2025
What a fascinating life. I actually love how this mother chose to rear her children. What a family I love Ralph Fiennes. Sorry if I have spelt that wrong
March 30, 2015
I was very lost in the writing style for this book. Usually I love a book that can fully describe in details things that are happening because it gives the story, plot, and even characters a better sense of understanding. I love family dramas because it's interesting and it can go so many ways. Detail is key for a topic such as family drama but the writing was bland- prose if you will because of the structure. The actions taken placed were suddenly, incredulous , just very idiotically unrealistic, psychologically speaking. I think it missed a certain spark- action or maybe another character. The troubled individual did somewhat well defined and written but I'm just throughly disappointed because it promised me exposure of nerves of family feelings and family hell.
August 16, 2016
I wanted to like this book, I really did. I bought it on sale and the cover immediately had me intrigued. I couldn't even finish it though. I was so confused about the whole story line and it kinda had me freaked out. Maybe it just isn't my taste of book, but I, personally, did not enjoy it.
January 11, 2008
One of my favorite books of all time. Guaranteed to make you cry.
July 21, 2009
Beautifully written, but holy crap was it ever GRIM!
March 2, 2012
I wish I could give this book 6 or 7 stars. 5 is too few.
March 18, 2012
Grim but wonderful
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January 4, 2014Fran
March 22, 2014
Compelling reading if somewhat maudlin at times. Would read another by this author.
July 27, 2015
I found the book on the library shelves. I was going to give it a 2 but the ending was a good surprise and I liked it how she tied everything together. Good book for a messed up family.
January 23, 2016
Very honest, with a sort of hurried narrative that at parts seems to nearly stumble in trying to communicate a truth without losing the momentum or tone of a scene.
November 1, 2016
Loved this! It's fabulous.
January 8, 2022
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