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In the Country of the Young
In the 1840s, a ship full of Irish emigrants founders off the coast of Maine in a terrible winter blizzard. Fishermen from a nearby island are able to save nearly everyone—except one young girl who repeatedly calls out for her brother as she's carried to shore. Soon after reaching safety, she passes away.
In the present day, a middle-aged artist lives alone in a cottage on the same island, haunted by the memory of his twin sister who died when he was a boy. Though the community is so close that the inhabitants still speak with a slight Irish brogue—the legacy of the 150 settlers who never looked farther for a place to call home—he has been unable to form a meaningful connection with another human being since childhood.
Then, one quiet All Hallow's Eve, the ghost of the shipwrecked girl will enter his house, beckoned by a candle left burning in the window. And nothing will ever be the same again
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2000
17 people are currently reading
537 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Carey
8 books220 followersLisa Carey was born in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish-American parents. She grew up in Brookline and later moved with her family to Hingham, Massachusetts.
She attended Boston College and received a B.A. in English and Philosophy in 1992.
Pursuing her MFA in Writing, she took a semester off and lived in Inishbofin, Ireland for six months. There, Carey began her first novel, The Mermaids Singing. This novel was her creative thesis for her MFA and she graduated from Vermont College in 1996.
For five years, Carey divided her time between Ireland and New England, where she wrote her next two novels, In the Country of the Young and Love in the Asylum.
In 2003, she married Timothy Spalding. They moved to Portland, Maine, where she finished her fourth novel, Every Visible Thing. They live there still with their son, Liam Patrick. She returns to Ireland whenever she can.
She recently finished her fifth novel, The Stolen Child, which will be published by HarperCollins in January, 2017.
She attended Boston College and received a B.A. in English and Philosophy in 1992.
Pursuing her MFA in Writing, she took a semester off and lived in Inishbofin, Ireland for six months. There, Carey began her first novel, The Mermaids Singing. This novel was her creative thesis for her MFA and she graduated from Vermont College in 1996.
For five years, Carey divided her time between Ireland and New England, where she wrote her next two novels, In the Country of the Young and Love in the Asylum.
In 2003, she married Timothy Spalding. They moved to Portland, Maine, where she finished her fourth novel, Every Visible Thing. They live there still with their son, Liam Patrick. She returns to Ireland whenever she can.
She recently finished her fifth novel, The Stolen Child, which will be published by HarperCollins in January, 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
May 29, 2021
This is billed as a ghost story, but that isn’t really the designation I would put upon it. Fantasy erotica maybe. Stranger than just ghosts or the paranormal. It is too steeped in fantasy to really capture my imagination at all. What is most frustrating is that the writer can actually spin a tale, and the beginning had some promise, despite the impossibilities it presented. Well, you cannot criticize that it isn’t realistic when you knew it was a “ghost story” going in, can you?
It has a similar plot thread to a book that I adore, A Portrait of Jennie. I say this to emphasize that it is not the impossibilities that make this book not work, it is the author’s inability to present those impossibilities in a way that makes you want to believe in them. I was far more interested in the backstories of the two main characters, a reclusive artist who saw ghosts regularly in his childhood and is grieving the long ago death of his twin sister, and the dead girl who returns from the dead, in the flesh, with her own story of tragedy and loss. This is why I say it is “billed as a ghost story”, because by definition, ghosts are spirits, not people, and they do not return in a flesh and blood incarnation.
The erotic part doesn’t really start until you are ¾ of the way into the story and invested enough to finish. I still contemplated just closing the book and walking away. Not that sex itself is bothersome, but oh my goodness PLEASE, I do not need pages of detailed explanation. I wasn’t looking for a textbook. I know how it is done. At the risk of a spoiler, the artists’ first sexual encounter is in a graveyard with a ghost. Sex with people is sometimes strange enough to picture mentally, sex with ghosts and dead (but not) girls is even stranger.
This might have been a 3 star read for me at one point. It deteriorated into 1.5 stars, and so I compromised at 2. This book came to me as a recommendation from a friend. I’m not sure how I am going to tell her about my reaction to it. Oddly enough, it has a number of 5-star reviews and an overall rating of 3.92. Just goes to show you how differently we readers can see things.
It has a similar plot thread to a book that I adore, A Portrait of Jennie. I say this to emphasize that it is not the impossibilities that make this book not work, it is the author’s inability to present those impossibilities in a way that makes you want to believe in them. I was far more interested in the backstories of the two main characters, a reclusive artist who saw ghosts regularly in his childhood and is grieving the long ago death of his twin sister, and the dead girl who returns from the dead, in the flesh, with her own story of tragedy and loss. This is why I say it is “billed as a ghost story”, because by definition, ghosts are spirits, not people, and they do not return in a flesh and blood incarnation.
The erotic part doesn’t really start until you are ¾ of the way into the story and invested enough to finish. I still contemplated just closing the book and walking away. Not that sex itself is bothersome, but oh my goodness PLEASE, I do not need pages of detailed explanation. I wasn’t looking for a textbook. I know how it is done. At the risk of a spoiler, the artists’ first sexual encounter is in a graveyard with a ghost. Sex with people is sometimes strange enough to picture mentally, sex with ghosts and dead (but not) girls is even stranger.
This might have been a 3 star read for me at one point. It deteriorated into 1.5 stars, and so I compromised at 2. This book came to me as a recommendation from a friend. I’m not sure how I am going to tell her about my reaction to it. Oddly enough, it has a number of 5-star reviews and an overall rating of 3.92. Just goes to show you how differently we readers can see things.
August 31, 2014
There are ghosts in this book, set among the Irish in Ireland and America, but if you want a generic ghost story, stay away, On the other hand if you are looking for a gorgeous, satisfying, layered book where the the ghostliness of humans and the humanity of ghostliness illuminates the nature of us in a fresh, affecting and edgy way, then this is for you. It's a skilled and complex work of genuine literature, that is also hard to put down. A lonely artist in recent times is haunted by his lost twin and in his yearning for her corporeal return invites into life the ghost of a mere slip of a girl, lost in the wreck of an Irish famine ship a century and a half earlier. Ireland then and Maine today are fully inhabited, families and communities brought into vivid existence, while the peculiarity of this ghost made flesh rattles the cage of our expectations, and show us much about the living. She grows to adulthood in a single year, turning the damaged, womanizing artist from a father to a lover through all the agonizing complications in between. This is dangerous and intriguing territory few would dare to explore, and it bears the fruit of true understanding. Carey is a gifted writer with language bleeding from her fingertips, and has the craft to make a complex book spanning history and geography a lucid page-turner. The sensuality of the writing finally gathers itself into an unusually complicated and potent sexual atmosphere, that is wonderfully resolved. Carey has found a new and potent way to write about the connections of death, sex, life, love, and history. (note: I met Lisa Carey at an artist colony and a later read this book. Reading the books of acquaintances is a dangerous thing and prone to embarrassment, and not reviews, but in this case the outcome was a delight to be shared.)
August 21, 2010
I don't really know what to say about this book, except that it has stuck with me for years and years. I love the mysticism of it. It is not a "comfortable" book but the writing is beautifully crafted.
October 6, 2019
You could probably call this a Historical novel/fantasy/love? story. In the 1800's a ship came to an island near Maine. Most everyone was ill but some adults and many children survived to later populate the island. Aisling was a young child who was saved by a resident, who lost his life in the effort. She subsequently died. In present day, Oisin is a bit of a hermit/artist who hears noises at night and eventually sees Aisling. She is a lovely 7 year old who wants Oisin's attention. He doesn't want to give it but takes good care of her as she grows into a teen. This is an intriquing story that you don't want to put down, in many places it is tragic yet poignant and appealing in a very strange way. Aisling is essentially a ghost, and you wonder how long can she live her second life and why?
June 8, 2009
I read this book a few years ago and could never remember the title. I recently came across it again at the library and had to check it out again. It is haunting and it is one of those rare books that "got to me".
December 27, 2019
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4.5 stars.
In the late 1800s during Ireland’s Potato Famine, hundreds of Irish immigrated to America and Canada on ‘famine ships.’ One ship, the Tir na Nog, ran aground off the coast of Maine and most aboard died, including a young girl, Aisling. In modern times, artist Oisin MacDara lives an almost hermit life in the woods of Tiranogue Island. He rarely has any contact with other people and the islanders have come to accept him on his own terms. On Samhain night, Oisin lights a candle and leaves his door open, as tradition dictates, and from the mist comes a girl. Oisin had been able to see ghosts and spirits in his youth, but lost the ability when his twin sister died. In all the years since, Oisin has tried to figure out how to bring his Sight back. Now, it seems he is able to See spirits once more, or at least one spirit, who enters his life on Samhain night.
Carey’s novel is a delight. It is atmospheric and gothic, full of Irish myth and tradition. Readers get a sense of disbelief at first when Aisling wanders in out of the shadows, and, very slowly, come to realise the girl is the same as the one who died on the famine ship. As Aisling’s stay with Oisin becomes longer, she begins to grow at an astronomical rate, catching up to her adult self and gaining the experiences she missed out on in life. Oisin reluctantly takes on the role of provider, by turns pleased for and interested in the companionship and resenting her presence in his quiet, solitary life. With the help of an open-minded and trusting neighbor, Deirdre, Oisin is able to give Aisling a lifetime of experiences in what he knows will be the limited time available to her.
The character development here was extraordinary. I loved seeing Aisling’s growth and how she changed from a scared little girl into a self-confident young woman. Oisin, too, changed and grew to accept love and help from others. I identified with him a lot since I am also a very solitary person and don’t trust easily.
Various themes of loss, mental illness, sexuality, and inflexible social customs made for some very rich discussion during this particular book club meeting.
4.5 stars.
In the late 1800s during Ireland’s Potato Famine, hundreds of Irish immigrated to America and Canada on ‘famine ships.’ One ship, the Tir na Nog, ran aground off the coast of Maine and most aboard died, including a young girl, Aisling. In modern times, artist Oisin MacDara lives an almost hermit life in the woods of Tiranogue Island. He rarely has any contact with other people and the islanders have come to accept him on his own terms. On Samhain night, Oisin lights a candle and leaves his door open, as tradition dictates, and from the mist comes a girl. Oisin had been able to see ghosts and spirits in his youth, but lost the ability when his twin sister died. In all the years since, Oisin has tried to figure out how to bring his Sight back. Now, it seems he is able to See spirits once more, or at least one spirit, who enters his life on Samhain night.
Carey’s novel is a delight. It is atmospheric and gothic, full of Irish myth and tradition. Readers get a sense of disbelief at first when Aisling wanders in out of the shadows, and, very slowly, come to realise the girl is the same as the one who died on the famine ship. As Aisling’s stay with Oisin becomes longer, she begins to grow at an astronomical rate, catching up to her adult self and gaining the experiences she missed out on in life. Oisin reluctantly takes on the role of provider, by turns pleased for and interested in the companionship and resenting her presence in his quiet, solitary life. With the help of an open-minded and trusting neighbor, Deirdre, Oisin is able to give Aisling a lifetime of experiences in what he knows will be the limited time available to her.
The character development here was extraordinary. I loved seeing Aisling’s growth and how she changed from a scared little girl into a self-confident young woman. Oisin, too, changed and grew to accept love and help from others. I identified with him a lot since I am also a very solitary person and don’t trust easily.
Various themes of loss, mental illness, sexuality, and inflexible social customs made for some very rich discussion during this particular book club meeting.
February 1, 2010
I truly don't know where to begin describing this book except to say that is fantasy at it's best. Filled with melancholy and beauty. A ghost is one of the main characters... so there is much communication between the dead and the living
Carey intertwines harsh reality with the magical and mythical. The details about the Irish famine, the tons of food that were exported from the country while over a million people starved to death, and the horrible conditions on board the "coffin ships" are all--sad to say--historically accurate. It may seem morbid to some, but for the ancestors of those who crossed the Atlantic in those ships--or were buried at sea along the way--the famine is a watershed event that will remain embedded in our psyche for generations, like one of Carey's characters who die but stubbornly refuse to go away.
April 30, 2013
I absolutely loved this strange and beautiful story - the product of a sort of marriage between a ghost story and a romance. It was so moving - just absolutely beautiful. Carey has a lot of talent - I love her other books, too, but this one is my favorite! It is such a different sort of book that it’s hard to describe. But I read it in one sitting, just loving every page. I absolutely adored it! What a terrific story, with wonderful characters and a highly original premise. I look forward to continuing to follow this talented author’s career!
June 26, 2011
I'm often impetuous when it comes to reviewing books that I feel passionately about. Whether I love them or hate them, I often review them without a lot of thought. I realized that my former review of this book really didn't make a lot of sense, so I'm going to try again.
This is an odd book. I can admit that. The story of a loner who's waiting for a ghost. When a ghost eventually arrives, it's not the one that he has been waiting for, but it's the one he needs. Strange, right?
I didn't have a lot of expectations when I started reading In the Country of the Young, so it's a little silly to say that this book exceeded them. However, that is exactly what it did. I had a visceral reaction to this book, the likes of which I have never felt before. The most astounding thing is, I don't know why.
On the surface, I had a handful of reasons to hate this book. Not the least of which is the almost-disturbing-but-somehow-moving romance Oisin finds himself entangled in. However, none of those reasons seemed to matter when I closed the book at the end of a long, sleepless night.
There are a few key moments in my life that I will always remember as "life-changers." Some are seemingly ridiculous, some are obviously momentous, but all have fundamentally changed something in my mind about my life and how I live it. Reading this book was one of those moments.
This is absolutely not a book for everyone. There are times it is downright disturbing, but for me, well, I'll never be the same.
This is an odd book. I can admit that. The story of a loner who's waiting for a ghost. When a ghost eventually arrives, it's not the one that he has been waiting for, but it's the one he needs. Strange, right?
I didn't have a lot of expectations when I started reading In the Country of the Young, so it's a little silly to say that this book exceeded them. However, that is exactly what it did. I had a visceral reaction to this book, the likes of which I have never felt before. The most astounding thing is, I don't know why.
On the surface, I had a handful of reasons to hate this book. Not the least of which is the almost-disturbing-but-somehow-moving romance Oisin finds himself entangled in. However, none of those reasons seemed to matter when I closed the book at the end of a long, sleepless night.
There are a few key moments in my life that I will always remember as "life-changers." Some are seemingly ridiculous, some are obviously momentous, but all have fundamentally changed something in my mind about my life and how I live it. Reading this book was one of those moments.
This is absolutely not a book for everyone. There are times it is downright disturbing, but for me, well, I'll never be the same.
September 24, 2013
Absoultely loved this book, so beautifully written and kept me enthralled from start to finish. I really can't recommend this book highly enough, it touched my heart and soul and stayed with me long after the last page.
A gorgeous intertwining story of a relationship between the living and the dead, the book draws you in and you find yourself easily getting attached to these two lost souls.
Creative and endearing with a bloody good history lesson thrown in, definitely a book to get all cosy with on a quiet Autumn evening.
A gorgeous intertwining story of a relationship between the living and the dead, the book draws you in and you find yourself easily getting attached to these two lost souls.
Creative and endearing with a bloody good history lesson thrown in, definitely a book to get all cosy with on a quiet Autumn evening.
August 15, 2019
4.5 stars
August 17, 2023
Who says you can't go home? How is this novel not widely famous? This is beautiful, haunting, tragic, inspiring, comforting, and hard in all the good ways. I loved it. The prose... sigh... I just kept rereading lines for their shear beauty and resonance. Thank you, Lisa Carey.
November 26, 2022
good not great, i did not like the girl coming back to seduce a grown man, but i liked the story of the ship and her life
June 29, 2011
OK. This review is one big spoiler. So stop reading if you want to read this book.
It is billed as a ghost story. Hmmm. I guess. It does have a ghost in it. Technically. But she turns into a real little girl. Then she starts to grow quickly into an adult. All within a year. All of this takes place on the island in the cabin of an artist/recluse who hasn't had a successful relationship in his entire life and is in fact pining for his dead twin sister to return to him.
He thought perhaps the ghost was her.
Talk about inappropriate. Well, that is just the beginning, for this book is just awash in the inappropriate boners that the artist has for his sister, his mother, this young (10 years old to start!) girl. Honestly, it is rather disgusting.
I was intrigued at how the author was able to write it in such a lovely matter that you never actually said the words, pedophile, but it was there, in the back of your mind. Hovering. Ready to leap out. The writing is really beautiful and is the only thing that kept me going. However, I found the subject matter distasteful and the main character a hot mess.
I finished the book and it did come with the requesite bedding of the ghost for her to "experience" the fullness of life. Ultimately you are to believe that this causes the artist to change and make a real relationship with one of his one night stands, but it is so un believable. He is to damaged.
I say avoid this book and avoid leaving your door open with a candle lit on all hallow's eve. You just never know.
It is billed as a ghost story. Hmmm. I guess. It does have a ghost in it. Technically. But she turns into a real little girl. Then she starts to grow quickly into an adult. All within a year. All of this takes place on the island in the cabin of an artist/recluse who hasn't had a successful relationship in his entire life and is in fact pining for his dead twin sister to return to him.
He thought perhaps the ghost was her.
Talk about inappropriate. Well, that is just the beginning, for this book is just awash in the inappropriate boners that the artist has for his sister, his mother, this young (10 years old to start!) girl. Honestly, it is rather disgusting.
I was intrigued at how the author was able to write it in such a lovely matter that you never actually said the words, pedophile, but it was there, in the back of your mind. Hovering. Ready to leap out. The writing is really beautiful and is the only thing that kept me going. However, I found the subject matter distasteful and the main character a hot mess.
I finished the book and it did come with the requesite bedding of the ghost for her to "experience" the fullness of life. Ultimately you are to believe that this causes the artist to change and make a real relationship with one of his one night stands, but it is so un believable. He is to damaged.
I say avoid this book and avoid leaving your door open with a candle lit on all hallow's eve. You just never know.
June 10, 2008
When I first began reading this book, I wasn't too impressed with the first few paragraphs, which as most people know are essential to "pulling you in" as the reader, so I shelved it. At that time, I didn't have much time for reading anyway. Later on, I found myself needing something to read and I decided to give it another try. I bought the book, so I should just read it. The second time around, I fell in love with the book. It interweaves the life of a reclusive artist living on an island off the coast of Maine and the mysterious life of a child who died in a shipwreck close by. The ghostly child visits the artist and forces him to find out what happened to her in her life and death on her journey to America to escape the famine in Ireland. This book was one that left me deep in thought for days after reading and I almost picked it up and re-read it right away. This haunting novel is one I would highly recommend
January 25, 2019
"In the Country of the Young" may well be my favorite January read, simply because it made me think of March. The lovely, lyrical prose is drenched in rain and ocean spray. The character's are Irish, haunted, and poetic - ghosts, banshees, and the spiritually lost.
I loved every page!
Lisa Carey is such a gifted writer. Her words flucuate effortlessly between the Ireland of potato famine years to present day Massachusetts - and the fact that one of her main characters happens to be a ghost only adds depth to her story. Aislin, said spirit, was an illegitimate Irish child who lost the only person who loved her in the difficult crossing to America. She died soon after, and didn't live again for many years . . . until a lonely man's Halloween lantern drew her in. Oison has been seeing ghosts all his life, but none have been as real to him as Aislin. In fact, he's never before loved a ghost . . .
Ah, gentle reader, this is so worth the read! Pick it up today!
I loved every page!
Lisa Carey is such a gifted writer. Her words flucuate effortlessly between the Ireland of potato famine years to present day Massachusetts - and the fact that one of her main characters happens to be a ghost only adds depth to her story. Aislin, said spirit, was an illegitimate Irish child who lost the only person who loved her in the difficult crossing to America. She died soon after, and didn't live again for many years . . . until a lonely man's Halloween lantern drew her in. Oison has been seeing ghosts all his life, but none have been as real to him as Aislin. In fact, he's never before loved a ghost . . .
Ah, gentle reader, this is so worth the read! Pick it up today!
March 24, 2018
A ghost story steeped in the mysticism of the Irish and a pervasive yet classy eroticism. Unique, sensual, vivid, humorous, languid, daring...I can only think of single loaded adjectives to describe this exceptional and well-crafted novel. I loved it. The supernatural elements are fantastic (there are banshees, succubi, mournful processions of the restless dead wandering through the night), but it’s the vivid characters and the immersion into their present desires and their memories of the past that is so enveloping and enthralling. A truly wonderful book.
March 7, 2017
Beautiful and magical and mysterious. That special lilt of Irish mythology's charm hammered into the weariness of Mainers, a perfect representation of second/ third generation storytelling art- nostalgia for a past one has hardly ever actually known. Such a good story, in fact, that I had to give it 4 stars despite my discomfort with the almost-incest and sorta-pedophilia (is it pedophilia when one is a ghost who was seven 150 years ago?)
July 16, 2011
Somewhere in this mess is a good story. The author should have focused on one of the poorly intersecting and underdeveloped plot lines instead of trying to combine them. I thought this was supposed to be a ghost story, but it turned out to be creepy in the wrong way, and a lot of the events were unexplained, so it was really disapointing.
December 29, 2016
This book is beautiful, magical and enthralling. The first Lisa Carey novel I read was The Stolen Child, I loved it so much that I bought all the others - this was the second I've read and I wasn't disappointed. It's a real page turner and the magical/other worldly quality is so vivid and well described that you are bought in from the moment you start. Looking forward to reading more Carey magic!
July 12, 2019
Haunting, heartbreaking, and at times disturbing, this is a ghost story unlike any other I have read. Although I disliked the paranormal romance towards the end, the novel is beautifully written, with alternating storylines where the living and the dead intermingle, Aisling's past related though flashbacks to the Irish famine, and the myth of Tír na nÓg carried throughout.
May 13, 2018
I thought all parts of this story were very interesting. The story of Aisling's early life were tragic but interesting. Oisin's younger years were unusual and traumatic in a different way. It was good to see they way they came together and what they were able to give each other in their own ways, even though they are constantly wondering what will happen next.
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July 30, 2011Beautiful and haunting, erotic and painful... an unconventional masterpiece of the "ghost story" genre. The incorporation of Irish history / mythology adds extra flavor, and the characters are very real and believable. I'll read anything Carey writes.
November 3, 2012
The main character leaves the door open on Halloween so that his dead sibling can come in. Instead he gets the ghost of a girl who died in a shipwreck. She takes bodily form and over the course of several months grows up. (Yes the neighbors are wondering). Interesting read.
January 21, 2015
This book started out really slow. While aspects of the story line were interesting, there were some really creepy elements. And not creepy in that there are ghosts, but creepy in a completely different way. After making it halfway through the book, it did pick up and I finished it quickly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2009
This love story/ghost story/historical fiction is unusual and captivating. Read it!
August 5, 2012
One of my favorite books of all times! A beautiful love story, complete with a ghost. A MUST read!!
September 11, 2016
I had read The Mermaid Sings and loved the book. I liked this book. Nice story of ghosts.
March 4, 2017
Disturbingly good. Beautiful and relaxing read.
May 25, 2017
Very original ghost story. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews