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megwootang's review against another edition
1.0
not as good as what I thought it would be. Sort of whiney...
penandpencil's review against another edition
4.0
The bleak tone and lack of redemption in this novel makes it hard for me to say that I really liked it, but it is extremely well-crafted and gets more compelling as it progresses. I went from considering not finishing it, to not being able to put it down.
This is mostly a character study as I see it, Enright shows the devastation caused by a pointless extra marital affair. It captures so well that generation of narcissists and a particular type of person, so self-obsessed and shallow that they are unable to comprehend the concept of ‘other’. The story is set during the recent economic crash in Ireland, and because life is hard and monotonous and disappointing a lot of the time, these characters are compelled to seek out diversions and momentary thrills, anything to make them feel alive. This is how I interpreted it anyway, so many of these character’s actions just seem so pointless. Gina lies to herself constantly, and the saddest thing about this book is how she keeps telling herself she loves Sean, obviously trying to convince herself, because otherwise what was all the loss for? She is also hyper critical and cruel, I wonder if she is actually capable of loving anyone?
This is mostly a character study as I see it, Enright shows the devastation caused by a pointless extra marital affair. It captures so well that generation of narcissists and a particular type of person, so self-obsessed and shallow that they are unable to comprehend the concept of ‘other’. The story is set during the recent economic crash in Ireland, and because life is hard and monotonous and disappointing a lot of the time, these characters are compelled to seek out diversions and momentary thrills, anything to make them feel alive. This is how I interpreted it anyway, so many of these character’s actions just seem so pointless. Gina lies to herself constantly, and the saddest thing about this book is how she keeps telling herself she loves Sean, obviously trying to convince herself, because otherwise what was all the loss for? She is also hyper critical and cruel, I wonder if she is actually capable of loving anyone?
riaryan's review against another edition
1.0
An impulse library borrow, without having read what it was about. Just not for me this one.
stevienlcf's review against another edition
3.0
Gina Moynihan, the first person narrator in Anne Enright's tale of an unapologetic affair is no Anna, Emma or Hester. She embarks on an off-handed affair with Sean Vallely, a man who initially repulsed her, without regard to the pain she may cause her husband, Conor Shiels, of a "steady heart and body solid and warm," Sean's wife, Aileen "whose fat sits in sad, middle-aged pouches about her boy's body," or Sean's child, Evie, who suffers from some mysterious seizure malady and looms over the relationship.
Gina seems without a heart or conscience, rejoicing that the end of her marriage rescues her from having to visit Conor's family during holidays. Worse, Gina walks away from a life that seems to be coming together to one that will always be on the brink of falling apart. Gina seems to recognize the irony of her situation when she reflects, "I thought it would be a different life, but sometimes it is like the same life in a dream: a different man coming in the door, a different man hanging his coat on the hook. He comes home late, he goes out to the gym, he gets stuck on the internet: we don't spend our evenings in resturants, or dine by candlelight anymore, we don't even eat together, most of the time. I don't know what I expected."
Enright's observations are cold and her insight razor-sharp. But Gina is an unappealing character, and her obsession with Sean is not fleshed out. Enright does an admirable job of expressing how lust and passion and give way to resignation, but she never explains what prompted Gina to leave a perfectly good marriage or why she found Sean, a serial philanderer, to be a good choice.
Gina seems without a heart or conscience, rejoicing that the end of her marriage rescues her from having to visit Conor's family during holidays. Worse, Gina walks away from a life that seems to be coming together to one that will always be on the brink of falling apart. Gina seems to recognize the irony of her situation when she reflects, "I thought it would be a different life, but sometimes it is like the same life in a dream: a different man coming in the door, a different man hanging his coat on the hook. He comes home late, he goes out to the gym, he gets stuck on the internet: we don't spend our evenings in resturants, or dine by candlelight anymore, we don't even eat together, most of the time. I don't know what I expected."
Enright's observations are cold and her insight razor-sharp. But Gina is an unappealing character, and her obsession with Sean is not fleshed out. Enright does an admirable job of expressing how lust and passion and give way to resignation, but she never explains what prompted Gina to leave a perfectly good marriage or why she found Sean, a serial philanderer, to be a good choice.
dcmr's review against another edition
2.0
Not a single likable character, but the writing style compels.
eleganthedgehogs's review against another edition
We liked the way this was written, lots of description of small things in scene setting.
internationalkris's review against another edition
3.0
I was expecting to love "The Forgotten Waltz" - winner of the 1st annual Andrew Carnegie Medal for fiction, but my experience was a little more hit and miss. First the subject - adultery: What does Gina really expect? This is a man who cheats on his wife repeatedly, he's no prize. Second the language: Anne Enright pens some beautiful prose; she hits some perfect notes. Third the daughter Evie: she's just creepy and needy. I'm sorry her parents screwed her up but I don't really want to read about her. Hopefully ALA will pick more of a winner this time around.
docpacey's review against another edition
1.0
Lovely writing, but a story i just did not enjoy enough to continue with.
Q: 4
E: 0
I: 0
QxE + I = 4
Q: 4
E: 0
I: 0
QxE + I = 4
obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition
5.0
It is surprising how close you can get to someone, by staying very still.
4.5 stars
I read Anne Enright's "The Gathering" almost a decade ago and remember loving it, so when I saw "The Forgotten Waltz" in a charity shop I bought it on a whim.
When I love a novel, despite there being obvious flaws, I tend to find it really difficult to articulate why. I don't like the characters, not because they're cheating on their partners without feeling too bad about it, no, I just don't think I'd like any of them if I met them. The fat shaming in the stream of consciousness narrative, the way aging skin is described, how fucking depressing these lives are... I didn't like any of that.
And still I loved the first page and didn't want to stop reading. As the blurb on the back says, it's really a "literary page-turner", something that doesn't happen very often. However, it's not a poetic kind of prose, it's just a woman telling us about the married man she fell in love with, their affair (but not in that order) about his daughter, about meeting her husband, about her family, too. It feels very very true to life.
I should not wait another decade to read Enright's other novels.
4.5 stars
I read Anne Enright's "The Gathering" almost a decade ago and remember loving it, so when I saw "The Forgotten Waltz" in a charity shop I bought it on a whim.
When I love a novel, despite there being obvious flaws, I tend to find it really difficult to articulate why. I don't like the characters, not because they're cheating on their partners without feeling too bad about it, no, I just don't think I'd like any of them if I met them. The fat shaming in the stream of consciousness narrative, the way aging skin is described, how fucking depressing these lives are... I didn't like any of that.
And still I loved the first page and didn't want to stop reading. As the blurb on the back says, it's really a "literary page-turner", something that doesn't happen very often. However, it's not a poetic kind of prose, it's just a woman telling us about the married man she fell in love with, their affair (but not in that order) about his daughter, about meeting her husband, about her family, too. It feels very very true to life.
I should not wait another decade to read Enright's other novels.