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patmcmanamon's review against another edition
3.0
Some amazingly sad details about the Great Hunger in Ireland and the town of Skibbereen, which was one of the first places it started. The book mixes sad and tragic -- in heartbreaking ways -- with stories of people trying to help while the British government let almost an entire nation starve. One major criticism: The book apparently was the author's first attempt at an adult novel after writing books for teens. There are too many times the writing sounds like it's for junior high schoolers, which holds things back.
If you want to read the definitive novel on this subject, read Liam O'Flaherty's Famine, which is five stars (link below):
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/760326.Famine?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=fwUcKZ46cK&rank=1
If you want to read the definitive novel on this subject, read Liam O'Flaherty's Famine, which is five stars (link below):
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/760326.Famine?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=fwUcKZ46cK&rank=1
reticulatingsplines's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
angie1306's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
thatbookgal's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lisatierney's review against another edition
3.0
Great historical account and important read, but I would’ve liked more depths to the characters.
sammy_salmon's review against another edition
3.0
This was good and I did enjoy it and found myself wanting to read on. However, the writing style was quite basic and the characters lacked depth, being either absolutely pure of thought, or plainly bad.
I mostly enjoyed the educational aspect of it. It effectively painted a picture of the hell that was the potato famine and how it progressed. This would be a good book to teach people about the very real horrors those poor Irish went through, and the politics of the time, whilst making it easier to follow through following characters.
I mostly enjoyed the educational aspect of it. It effectively painted a picture of the hell that was the potato famine and how it progressed. This would be a good book to teach people about the very real horrors those poor Irish went through, and the politics of the time, whilst making it easier to follow through following characters.
hannahrice's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.75
dylan_mp's review against another edition
I'm surprised this was marketed as adult fiction. The writing is so simplistic and the characters so one dimensional that labelling it as YA seems much more appropriate. But even judging it as YA, it's still a poor excuse for a historical novel.
theshiftyshadow's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Marita Conlon-McKenna's book, Under The Hawthorn Tree, is a much loved children's classic and is probably how multiple generations of Irish children first learned about the famine. So when I saw she'd written another famine set book for adults, I was curious to see how much more she could do without the restrictions of writing for kids.
Unfortunately The Hungry Road just didn't do much for me. While reading it I kept wondering who exactly it was written for, and came to the conclusion it's for people who know very little, if anything, about the famine. So not really for an Irish reader. For me it read like an endless list of all the worst things I've already seen, read, and heard about the famine. There's multiple characters that she tells the story through, and it jumps around between them all, and through time, but I never felt a connection to any of them.
All that is not to say this is a bad book. If all you know about the famine is that there was no potatoes and everyone died, then this book would probably widen your understanding a little. The problem for me was that it tries to cover too much, and as a result doesn't cover anything with any real depth.
Unfortunately The Hungry Road just didn't do much for me. While reading it I kept wondering who exactly it was written for, and came to the conclusion it's for people who know very little, if anything, about the famine. So not really for an Irish reader. For me it read like an endless list of all the worst things I've already seen, read, and heard about the famine. There's multiple characters that she tells the story through, and it jumps around between them all, and through time, but I never felt a connection to any of them.
All that is not to say this is a bad book. If all you know about the famine is that there was no potatoes and everyone died, then this book would probably widen your understanding a little. The problem for me was that it tries to cover too much, and as a result doesn't cover anything with any real depth.
andream0885's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25