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franfernandezarce's review
2.0
i originally picked this one up for castle rackrent . i had seen somewhere it was considered one of the first regional novels in english and somehow comical. having finished both stories here, i cannot agree with either statement. "novel" would be doing it this a bit of a favour although i understand the distinction with "novella" had not been considered (even though of) at the time of its publication. on the other hand, i don't mean to imply this is boring. being fair, it was too short for it to be either funny or not. it just went by before i even noticed it.
the absentee , on the other hand, came with no expectations. i'm glad i had none. it is quite a conventional novel in that it has some hardships but all ends well. i was expecting some critical and social commentary on the presence of english landlords over the irish countryside but this discussion was tame at best. it was more a coming-of-age story than a critique--which is fine, really. however, that was the problem: it was just fine.
the absentee , on the other hand, came with no expectations. i'm glad i had none. it is quite a conventional novel in that it has some hardships but all ends well. i was expecting some critical and social commentary on the presence of english landlords over the irish countryside but this discussion was tame at best. it was more a coming-of-age story than a critique--which is fine, really. however, that was the problem: it was just fine.
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