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__sam__'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Dementia
Moderate: Fatphobia
neemzilla's review against another edition
4.0
A great book of heartfelt short stories. I wish it had wider US distribution because I feel that many people would enjoy Carson’s grim but playfully imaginative storytelling.
paulineg's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
debsd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
claire60's review against another edition
4.0
I don't usually like short stories but was drawn to read this as the author is from Northern Ireland too. I loved the way she writes and the stories, some are magic realism and create interesting worlds to describe complex emotions, others are more realistic and explore Northern Ireland view of life in an amusing and insightful way. The writing is very precise and carefully thought through and very evocative. Some stories will make you laugh (especially if you are form NI) and others will make you reflect or cry. Marvellous.
bgg616's review against another edition
4.0
This book of short stories was a mixed bag. Carson has a vivid and sometime bizarre imagination. I described it last night at my book club meeting as "magic realism" albeit the Northern Irish version. Something that most of her bios omit is that Carson grew up in Ballymena. Outside of Northern Ireland this doesn't mean a lot, but it is significant. Ballymena is known as the heart of the Northern Irish "Bible Belt". It is a stanchly conservative place, and Carson herself tells a story that when she first heard about "the Easter Rising" referring to the rebellion in the Irish Republic, she thought it referred to the resurrection of Jesus.
Magical realism is a literary form that is widely used in Latin America as well as by some American writers from the Southwest (Rudolfo Anaya). I have read many novels that use magical realism, and to me it seems strongly rooted in Catholicism. That makes me wonder what to make of Carson's brand of magical realism which features characters who are often grounded in the Northern Protestant tradition.
There are a number of stories in this volume that involve death. Some are sad and others are quite different. In one, an East Belfast widow hangs up sympathy cards like one would do with Christmas cards, and persists despite criticism. One of my favorite stories was 'Swept' where a husband rebels against his wives anal insistence on order by sweeping the sidewalk for blocks and blocks. At the center is the alienation of this retired couple who have nothing to talk about. The floating girl conceived in an airplane toilet is an example of Carson's most extreme magical realism. I preferred the stories which featured a contrast between magical realism and current reality. In the story "Large Ladies" women check into a weight loss clinic for months at a time where they sleep off their weight. The night nurse, a Polish immigrant and single mother, brings her child with her every night, where he sleeps near the sleeping weight losers. The contrast between the nurse's desperate circumstances - no one to care for her son- and these wealthy women who can afford months is a clinic to sleep off their extra weight, made this one of my favorite stories.
Jan Carson isn't everyone's cup of tea. There are not a large number of Northern Irish novelists in her generation. She studied English Lit at Queens and has a MA from St. Andrews. She works for the Arts Council in Northern Ireland. I think she gets more attention than she might in another place, and people may be more willing to read her unusual fiction because of her background.
Magical realism is a literary form that is widely used in Latin America as well as by some American writers from the Southwest (Rudolfo Anaya). I have read many novels that use magical realism, and to me it seems strongly rooted in Catholicism. That makes me wonder what to make of Carson's brand of magical realism which features characters who are often grounded in the Northern Protestant tradition.
There are a number of stories in this volume that involve death. Some are sad and others are quite different. In one, an East Belfast widow hangs up sympathy cards like one would do with Christmas cards, and persists despite criticism. One of my favorite stories was 'Swept' where a husband rebels against his wives anal insistence on order by sweeping the sidewalk for blocks and blocks. At the center is the alienation of this retired couple who have nothing to talk about. The floating girl conceived in an airplane toilet is an example of Carson's most extreme magical realism. I preferred the stories which featured a contrast between magical realism and current reality. In the story "Large Ladies" women check into a weight loss clinic for months at a time where they sleep off their weight. The night nurse, a Polish immigrant and single mother, brings her child with her every night, where he sleeps near the sleeping weight losers. The contrast between the nurse's desperate circumstances - no one to care for her son- and these wealthy women who can afford months is a clinic to sleep off their extra weight, made this one of my favorite stories.
Jan Carson isn't everyone's cup of tea. There are not a large number of Northern Irish novelists in her generation. She studied English Lit at Queens and has a MA from St. Andrews. She works for the Arts Council in Northern Ireland. I think she gets more attention than she might in another place, and people may be more willing to read her unusual fiction because of her background.
ailine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
jackielaw's review
5.0
Children’s Children, by Jan Carson, is a collection of fifteen short stories exploring the concept of legacy and the influence of one generation upon the next. Many are set in and around particular streets in Belfast. They capture the cut and concerns of the people of this city to perfection.
The author writes with a distinct and original voice. Her prose is rich and satisfying offering up the humour and poignancy of the folk she creates with heart-rending perceptiveness. She inhabits their troubles allowing the reader to get to know their true selves better than they would ever be comfortable with. Their cultural reticence and need to be seen in a certain way is as darkly comic as it is tragic, yet they are presented in a way that cannot help but create sympathy for the situations they must survive.
Each of the stories offer insight into typical family dilemmas: ageing, bereavement, guilt, resentment, the misunderstandings that exist between the sexes and the generations. Some of the tales are told in a straightforward style whilst others stray into allegory and surrealism. Always the prose is beautifully structured, the words invade the senses. These are snapshots of ordinary lives being lived in all their glorious, wretched humanity.
It was pure pleasure to read these tales. The author has an eye and a zest for what is behind the facades people present to others, and can capture these observations with turns of phrase that delight. I could quote again and again but out of context the acuity may be lost. Buy this book and enjoy for yourselves.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Liberties Press.
The author writes with a distinct and original voice. Her prose is rich and satisfying offering up the humour and poignancy of the folk she creates with heart-rending perceptiveness. She inhabits their troubles allowing the reader to get to know their true selves better than they would ever be comfortable with. Their cultural reticence and need to be seen in a certain way is as darkly comic as it is tragic, yet they are presented in a way that cannot help but create sympathy for the situations they must survive.
Each of the stories offer insight into typical family dilemmas: ageing, bereavement, guilt, resentment, the misunderstandings that exist between the sexes and the generations. Some of the tales are told in a straightforward style whilst others stray into allegory and surrealism. Always the prose is beautifully structured, the words invade the senses. These are snapshots of ordinary lives being lived in all their glorious, wretched humanity.
It was pure pleasure to read these tales. The author has an eye and a zest for what is behind the facades people present to others, and can capture these observations with turns of phrase that delight. I could quote again and again but out of context the acuity may be lost. Buy this book and enjoy for yourselves.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Liberties Press.
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