Journal Entry 1 by Sujie from Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, November 05, 2009

Just bought for Fleebo's Booker Ring and got into a few pages as I waited at the bookshop checkout...and I'm hooked. What a lovely, lovely writer. 

Journal Entry 2 by Sujie from Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, November 05, 2009

Booker 2009 Ring participants (Please let me know if you wish to be shifted down the list):

goodthinkingmax
star-light
jubby
tqd
Fleebo
miss-jo - book is here

FreePages
livrecache
and back to me, Sujie


 

Journal Entry 3 by goodthinkingmax from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, November 12, 2009

Thanks Sujie. I will start reading it soon. It arrived just as I finished Wolf Creek so perfect timing. I'm sure this relaxed pace of Bookrings is going to change at any moment and I'll be overwhelmed! 

Journal Entry 4 by Sujie from Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales Australia on Friday, November 13, 2009

Possible SPOILERS:
Your entry reminded me that I didn't journal this one on finishing. I thought it elegiac, in fact, I find all his writing deeply sad. Even the ending felt like a failure here. The passage that resonates with me is the Christmas Dinner for lost souls in Brooklyn and the man who looks like her father but is nothing like him...and the gift he gives her of the song. Toibin has the great gift of universal compassion, writing of something personal to him that touches the reader as if it were written just for them. A wonderful, moving book. 

Journal Entry 5 by star-light from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Wednesday, December 02, 2009

This arrived yesterday. Thank you to Sujie and goodthinkingmax. 

Journal Entry 6 by star-light from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Wow, I really liked this book, and I almost didn’t bother to read it! Toibin managed to bring out the emotion in everything, even mundane events like going to work and evening classes. I agree with Sujie’s comment about how the book seemed like it was written just for you. There were so many lessons in it for me – especially the one about biting your tongue and saying just enough not to be rude, but at the same time not giving anything away! I'm not sure about Eilis' decision making though. She seemed too easily pushed into what others wanted her to do. I wanted her to stand up for herself.

On the way to jubby now. 

Journal Entry 7 by jubby from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, January 31, 2010

Oh my goodness! I get one Sujie bookring out the door, and another one turns up!

Received this in the post on Friday. I am reading two other bookrings at the moment, but hope to get to this one very soon.

Thank you very much. 

Journal Entry 8 by jubby at Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Monday, March 01, 2010

Released 2 yrs ago (3/1/2010 UTC) at Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Suije, I know you are going to kill me, but I will be back here to leave comments later (yes, I owe comments on two of your bookrings now...).

I just adored this book, and while I have not read 'Wolf Hall' just yet, I would not have been disappointed if this book had won the Booker last year.

It was just lovely.

Posted onto Fleebo yesterday to keep it moving - but need to add that TQD has already read this book, so her name needs to be moved up the bookring order list too.

Thank you very much for sharing this book with me Suije. 

Journal Entry 9 by Fleebo from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Received from jubby. Thank you. 

Journal Entry 10 by Fleebo from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, March 24, 2010

I have only just started this book, but something is irritating me:

What is it about the Irish in modern literature? Always so grim, and the "luck of the Irish" appears to refer to total bad luck. And at the same time, they give the impression of actually clinging to hardship and misery, regardless of what they say... as if, if things were good then they wouldn't really be Irish, as they would not have the opportunity to be brave and melancholy and tough it out.

May I also note that I have never, ever gotten any confirmation of this attitude from a real Irish person. Not even a hint... but from nth generation Americans who are so proud that they're Irish (uh huh), I have! 

Journal Entry 11 by Fleebo at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, May 27, 2010

I don't plan to finish this book, so I will pass it on soon. 

Journal Entry 12 by miss-jo at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, July 04, 2010

After fleebo's review of this one I was rather dreading it. Grim Irish stories can tend to blend in a bit. So I guess I can say I was pleasantly surprised - it wasn't a story of grinding poverty or horrible circumstances. It was actually quite interesting, and a different take on things, but Eilis was a really nothing character. She's so unable or unwilling to make a decision for herself, and I ended up pretty annoyed at her.

Overall, I'm not a fan, but for very different reasons to what I expected. I'll pm FreePages and try to send this off this week.
Just heard back from freepages so I'll send it along. 

Journal Entry 13 by FreePages at Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Caught Brooklyn today at my letterbox with one other from the 2009 Bookers Challenge!
Thanks Miss-Jo.
Although, I'm not sure what I'll make of this one.

 

Journal Entry 14 by FreePages at Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Sunday, September 19, 2010

Although, I didn't find the writing exceptional, I did think the writing was very good.
After reading "The Glass Room" this one didn't make a huge impression on me. I was another reader who found Eilis lack of input into her own destiny a bit of a drag.
Not a difficult book to read, but I did want something more to happen to these characters, not sure what :)
I ended up skimming the second half of the book.
Worth a read, tho'. Thanks for the opportunity Sujie.
I have an address in Tassy for Livrecache and I'll send this one along to her with "The Glass Room" next week. 

Journal Entry 15 by livrecache at Hobart, Tasmania Australia on Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Sorry. I've been slack in journalling this book. It arrived last week along with The Glass Room'. Thanks FreePages. I found it to be an easy to read and a well-written book. Even the mundane was interesting. I think Maeve Binchy has a lot to learn from Toibin. (Frivolous comment -- sorry.)

As I'm the last on the ring, I shall send it back to Sujie. 

Journal Entry 16 by livrecache at Hobart, Tasmania Australia on Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (10/13/2010 UTC) at Hobart, Tasmania Australia

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Thanks for organising the ring, Sue.