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Reading this book and thinking about its sudden popularity brings to mind Jemima Kirke’s advice/meme to unconfident young women that maybe they might be thinking about themselves too much. Some beautiful prose but ultimately an insufferable read if you’re not in the headspace for sad-girl Descartes stream of consciousness.

Took a break from my backlog of American literary fiction to read this portrait of daily family life set against the backdrop of Mussolini’s Italy, by one of my favourite Italian authors. Seeing as history seems to be repeating itself in the year of our lord 2025, I figured it would be worthwhile to read a great work by an author who grew up in a household of political activism against fascism.

A very beautiful and dare I say perfect novel. Reading this felt to me almost as powerful as reading Anna Karenina or Crime and Punishment for the first time. Rooney deserves all the praise in the world - her writing is brilliant and I will be thinking about these characters for a long time to come.

I’m glad I saved this for the slow week between Christmas and the New Year, but I wasn’t actually expecting to love it as much as I do. Torn between continuing to tear through it, or to try and savour it for a while.

“tant pis, man” - new mantra for 2025

Since reading Freedom by Franzen, I haven’t enjoyed the last 10 books I’ve read or listened to this year. I think that means I’m the problem and not the books themselves. Maybe 2025 will be the year I stop complaining and start DNFing? In the meantime, I can’t wait for this one to end. Boring!

Bit of a slow/boring start, but another great audiobook loan from Libby - and can’t complain when Meryl Streep is the narrator.

Had to chuckle when the second somewhat recently published Irish novel (also set outside of Dublin in the aftermath of the financial crisis) that I’ve also been reading has characters using the words “gowl” and “lugubrious”. I’ve never heard anyone use these words before, back home or elsewhere.

Lol, the ending of this book. Anyways…an objectively good but ultimately ridiculous novel. Would recommend, even though it turned out to not be my cup of tea.

Despite being annoyingly pedantic about the various historical inaccuracies throughout this fictitious novel, I’ve really been enjoying this Irish family saga. Sadly, however, it only takes an unexpected and highly graphic violent assault scene to ruin my day and start to resent an author.

Things that did not exist in what I assume is supposed to be 1970s rural Ireland: McDonalds and Burger King, mobile phones and texting, Nike Air Force 1s, booming passenger car sales, or cocaine. Really enjoying the audiobook all the same!

As someone who grew up in rural Ireland during the financial crisis, I originally avoided this novel (too close to home) but then decided to borrow the audiobook when it became available on Libby. Really loving it so far (lots of laughter and emotional moments) but quite surprised that there is reference to 12-year-olds taking videos on their phones, playing Candy Crush, or buying a new Switch in 2008?