Was He Really All That Charming?

I can't say that I loved this book, but I also can't say that I hated it. I found the language beautiful, McDermott clearly captured the spirit of an Irish tale in her flowing diction. Her descriptions were so vivid that I could picture every building and every character, as if they'd been a part of my life.

However enchanting her language, however, I was not particularly attracted to the book. I came to truly care about the characters because they felt like my family, I didn't though, feel any sense of purpose after closing the book. I'd read it, cover to cover, but I didn't feel affected very deeply by it. I could not determine whether McDermott intended to create a sympathetic character in Billy or not. I felt as though I should pity him and his trials and tribulations, I felt unmoved though.

Billy drank too much, and he blamed it on an unfair life. I was sorry for his life, but did not sympathize with his actions. Maive married him because her father was an alcoholic, and she wouldn't know what to do with herself if she didn't have someone to look after. I didn't sympathize with an of these characters, it was their apathy that brought them to the tragic end they faced. Their story touched the surface of my heart, but it failed to penetrate very deeply.

McDermott's writing is enough to make the book worth a read, but don't go out of your way to read it.