Tags
fathers and sons, history, Ireland 1837-1901, Ireland Famine1845-1852, phsychological fiction, social conditions, surveying
A story of one family, their history, their continuous story of survival relying on each other, and with the land itself – some parts magical, some unexplainable but always richly connected and intertwined. Take your time and savor the language. O’Farrell’s descriptive writing and fully developed characters brings 19th century Ireland to life.
“A breathtaking hymn to the sanctity of natural spaces, operating on timescales both intimate and geological. I finished Land moved not only by the vivid lives of its human characters but the thrumming, gorgeous presence of its mosses, waters, winds, and skies.” —Daniel Mason, author of North Woods
“Majestic. . . . O’Farrell’s prose is a gift: Her language is lush and muscular. . . . Land is a story of great losses—and greater power.” —BookPage (starred review)
“A rich portrait of family life. . . . Land is a historical novel imbued with O’Farrell’s signature interest in absorbing family relationships. . . . O’Farrell’s writing is propulsive and luscious throughout.” —The New York Times
“Land is filled with lush, almost fragrant prose. . . . Every word matters, though, which O’Farrell makes clear in the final 130 pages of this epic. . . . The last section of Land is the best thing I’ve read this year.” —Chris Hewitt, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“Land is as visceral as a novel can get. It feels deeply and it tells deeply, both of nature and of the small tragedy of man. It’s rare to find a story so grand told with such a fine brush. Land read to me as ancient and brand-new all at once, and something best experienced by diving into it headfirst.” —Yael van der Wouden, author of The Safekeep
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