Picked up from Hotel Cestelli's bookshelf in Florence, Italy.

As much as I would love to start reading this book (like many others), life seems to be getting in the way of me tackling my tbr pile. So, having borrowed the idea from shnedwards, I am sending this book out as a bookring for one of the '1001 books to read before you die' titles.

Participants:

- GateGypsy (Canada)
- shnedwards (England)
- TQD (Australia)
- Livrecache (Australia)
- DrCris (Australia)
- KLL (Australia)
- Luckaye (Australia)
- lakelady2282 (Australia)
- cat207 (Australia)
- Jubby (Australia - back home to me)

RELEASE NOTES:

Posting off to Gategypsy.

Arrived in the mail today! Have a stack of other bookring books ahead of it, but will get to it as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing this! I'm so excited about being able to work on completing that 1001 list!

Finally! I''m so sorry it took so long to get to this! Oh the mixed blessing of being snowstormed with bookring books!

I finished it last night, but I fell asleep, like, five times trying to read the last chapter (it was way past my bedtime,) so I had to re-read it this morning **laughs**

O''Brien''s telling of insanity was fascinating. (I''m actually really glad to have had the chance to read this book, especially right now! I''ve got a story in my head that wants telling, and I''m struggling with the idea of how to communicate the insanity of one of the characters. This book was helpful and encouraging in that respect, for me.) She was wonderful about telling it from all angles, from that of innocent bystanders, from the perspectives of people who don''t know the person but know the fear, from people who "used to know," from family members, and even from right inside Michen''s head. Although it was a work of fiction, it was a very “true” story—no convenient twists of plot, no eleventh-hour surprise sweet ending. I could see directions the story could go to make it an easier story, to make things end better, less devistatingly, and I’m glad that O’Brien didn’t take any easy outs.

I commend her for her unflinching and poetic novel. I thank her.

Interestingly, the cover attached to this journal entry doesn''t have any writing on it other than the title and author. The cover I found online to add to my 43things.com entry had this quote: “In the Forest is a savage portrait of desolation and rage, brilliantly told, and truely shocking.” A very good summary. The copy that is actually making the rounds with us, however, says that “Edna O’Brien is one of the greatest writers in the English-speaking world.” Those were some pretty big words to live up to, and I don’t know that she’s “one of the greatest,” but she’s definately among the more forcefully skilled, those I agree ought to have been permitted to publish!

This was a good book about horrible things, and told, yes, brilliantly.

I will be PMing shnedwards as soon as I submit this entry, and hope to have it in the post at the end of this week (payday.) YaY! for finishing another of the 1001 books!

Gack! Between all the end-of-summer work, back-to-school upheaval, tuition, etc, this book didn't make it to the post office 'til Sept 22. It is, however now in the capapble hands of Canada Post, and should be arriving with shnedwards in a very reasonable amount of time. Thank you very much for your patience with me, and thank you for sharing!

It's here! Thanks very much jubby and GateGypsy for sending this to me! I'll read it next after I've finished the one I'm reading now.

I'm sorry everyone but I just couldn't finish this book! I approached it with a feeling of trepidation anyway because of the subject matter and got more and more tense as the story progressed. I suppose it's an indication of Edna O'Brien's powers as a writer that it had such an effect on me. Or maybe I'm just a big wuss.

I will try again in the future but in the meantime this copy will go to the next person. No rating out of 10: I'll leave that to those who actually finish the book!

PMing TQD

Ack! Sorry for holding onto this book for so long. It's on the plane to tqd now, though.

Turned up in the mail today, along with a bag containing six (yep, you read that one right) bookrings. Meeep.

Don't worry, jubby, this one will be taking precedence! Thanks very much, shnedwards for sending this one to me! Oh, Mr Bear made me read out the enclosed Xmas card to him and wanted to know if "bestwishesshnedwards" was my friend. Too cute.

Er, I did have this one a while, didn't I? Sorry, but it's moving again now...

It didn't take me long to read, although I wasn't entirely certain I was going to bother with finishing it (after reading the 2007 Man Booker Prize winner - The Gathering - about a dysfunctional Irish family, I wasn't sure I wanted to read about yet more dysfunctional Irish people). However, about half way through I did get into it, and then it was a fast (although not easy) read.

The book is about Mich O'Kane, who has been sadly failed by the system. His mother died, leaving him alone and he was obviously very attached to his mother. His father basically deserted him. And all the institutions he was sent to abused him, or allowed other children to abuse him. So he turns into a very (VERY) scary man. And he's let out of prison in England, and comes back to wreak horror and terror on the town where he lived as a child. And on the interloper, Eily, who is a "free spirit" who has moved there with her young son.

I found the constant jumping from one character's viewpoint to another quite irritating. Not that I couldn't work out who was "talking", but it was just far too many characters for me to keep straight in my head. But, perversely, it was one of those chapters from the point of view of a minor character that got me finally interested in this vicious violent story. And that was when you suddenly realise that the locals are so petrified of O'Kane (or the "Kinderschreck") that he's become mythologised and is a grown-up bogeyman, complete with supernatural powers.

The locals are so scared of O'Kane that they won't give him up to the Guardi in fear of reprisals, and so are complicit in all his crimes. But O'Kane to them is beyond human, he's the embodiment of evil and terror.

At Houlihan's pier we saw a blue flame, about twenty feet high off the ground and I thought at first it was a lifebuoy on fire and I wanted to swing to the right and investigate but the women wouldn't let me, they said, 'Drive on drive on." They kept insisting then that it was a crowd of drunks who had lit a fire on the harbour and that it would be awful to call the guards at that hour of night.
Deep down we believe he has been sent by God, as punishment upon us.

A very unpleasant story, not one that made me happy at all to read it. Thanks anyhow for a chance to read this one, jubby! And cross another 1001 book off my list! :)

I shall pop his in the post to livrecache asap, I've already got another book to send her too.

UPDATE 30 JAN 2008: And on its way to livrecache today. Happy reading!

Many thanks. Arrived safely on Friday. I shall read it and move it on as quickly as possible.

Apologies: I've just realised this book is part of a bookring. Moving house has done BAD things to my organisation of books -- it even arrived AFTER we'd moved, but we seem to still be in a state of disarray with our books. However, I'm now trying to rectify that. I hope to spend most of the Easter break reading, so this book should be on its way soon. Sorry for holding it up!

I'm afraid, after holding this ring up for so long, that I did not really get into this book. I found it depressing.

However, I was interested to read this interview with its author.

http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,706211,00.html

I have DrCris's address, so I'll pop it in the post today.

RELEASE NOTES:

Continuing its journey, hopping across town.

Arrived yesterday. I am falling behind with bookrings, so I will make a big effort to get this moving again soon.

A bit slow I am afraid. I am so clagged with bookrings, and I have (mostly) stopped breastfeeding, so I get no time to read at the moment.

OK. Inappropriate admissions of too much information aside.

I really enjoyed the upward swing of this book - the travels with Michen as he grew into a cracked young man. I didn't really bond with Eily, which made it hard to keep reading as enthusiastically. Also, I found it very hard to pick Mattie's age, which meant he was very ghost-like for me. I don't think he was consistent as a character, which was a pity, as he is the third main character.

Overall I enjoyed reading this novel, although it was fairly dark in subject matter. I love that a book can be so emotionally disturbing, without being particularly graphic. O'Kane was not really shown crisply to be evil, but a sense of dread was built around him by the neighbours fear of him.

I will PM KLL for her address and hopefully get this going soon.

Received today! I've got a bit of a pile to read before this, but I'll get onto it ASAP.

Finally finished this a couple of days ago - my first book for the year! I know I've had this book a long time (sorry). I did actually start reading it in late 2008, but for whatever reason I didn't take to it, and it got set aside in the bustle leading up to Christmas/New Years. I started to start reading it again from scratch a couple of weeks ago (something I don't generally do) and I can't really work out why it was so difficult last year.

I'm not sure this is a book I really connected with, however I do think it's well written - I really liked the short chapters in multiple points of view. I think they were very effective in building up the dread felt by the whole community, as well as giving really excellent insight into O'Kane's mind.

I am also interested in how Edna O'Brien is describes by the NY times as one the greatest writers in the English speaking world because, seriously, I have never heard of her before! It seems she's got about 4 books on the original 1001 books list - not sure how many on the new list, but I'll be interested to see if this one made it though (am current;y sorting out my new/old lists atm).

I'll PM luckaye for her address now and get this moving ASAP... Thanks to jubby for setting the ring up!

This is now packed up and will be in the post to luckaye tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it!!

Arrived today, just as I was trying to decide what book to start next - seems my decision has been made!

What a disturbing, but very well written book.

PMing the next person for their address

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Onto the next reader in line - enjoy!

Thanks Jubby (lady of excellent reading tastes) and luckaye for posting it on to me. Will read soon. I just have People of the Book bookring to read first.

I'm afraid I signed up for this just because it was an Edna O'Brien. Now that I have discovered the subject matter and being well aware of how good a writer she is, I'm afraid I will just pass this on to the next reader. I am such a coward but knowing O'Brien's skills I just don't want to spend any time in the head of a killer like O'Kane. I can understand though why should would have wanted to write this book, growing up as she did near the woods. I just feel she shouldn't have been criticised for it. It is definitely a worthwhile subject matter. Off to Cat. Thanks anyway everyone.

Handed over by lakelady2282 last night. I've already started it - and I'm hooked!

Riveting - and tragic.

Thank you for sharing your books jubby. X

Waiting on an address for celticseahorse.
10/03/09 - celticseahorse asked to be skipped. So it's heading back home to jubby.

Yay! You've made it home little book.

Thank you very much everyone, especially you Cat207 for the last leg.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to Dolphin-Au after offering it in the 1001+ Books to Read Before You Die Virtual Book Box on www.bookobessed.com.

Comments to follow.

Looks like an intersting read. I've never read anything by Edna O'Brien before, and won't read any of the comments above before reading this, so will be relatively unprejudiced. Thanks jubby for sending this.

I'm not too sure about this book. It's not just the subject matter that creates this hesitation, though the acts and the madness of the main character certainly are disturbing, but the motivation for writing this book in this form does not sit comfortable with me. It is not just a factual presentation of what happened, but a fictionalisation of some terrible events.
The book does provide insight in the Kinderschreck's and his victims' mind, but only as fr as the athor's imagination goes.
I think I'd rather keep my fiction separated from real historical events.