A review by ingridostby
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore

5.0

This book is at times darkly humorous, and other times so damn sad I could hardly believe I was interested. Depressing books that are depressing for no good reason, I hate. But this, this book presented a character with whom I had nearly nothing in common and, despite that, I felt for her, I loved her, even though I knew she was hopeless. Even when I found her mishaps excruciatingly sad and humiliating. It's hard to put into words how this book immerses you without completely draining you. It has something to do with the richness of each character (especially Ms. Hearne, of course) and the depth and detail and personality of the story telling. You definitely become part of Judith Hearne's world, every bit of it. You practically feel like a gossipy citizen of the small Irish town by the time you're through.

With that said, I'm going to quote the best damn review of this book that ever existed (by Goodreads member Hannah Messler):

"Oh sweet lord if there is a more excruciatingly, exquisitely, exactingly, deliriously wretched little book out there, I don't think I could even handle it.

What an absolute motherfucking masterpiece."