Customer Reviews

Fools of Fortune

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Allright, I admit that as a Yank writer who has taught writing myself, I did at first find William Trevor's constant use of the passive voice somewhat disturbing! That was upon reading "Felicia's Journey," my first, unforgettable exposure to this genius. Since then, I have come to believe that one grand reason to remain alive is to read the rest of his novels: they are that brilliant and awe-inspiring. I do not believe that his 'Big House' novels, this one and "The Story of Lucy Gault," can be excelled for the strength of their immortal tragedy. His use of irony in human endeavor and fate creates masterpieces that illuminate man's virtue and folly as inseparable. Since the loss of Hubert Selby, Jr. last year, Trevor may very well stand alone now as the foremost tragedian in the Western world. Do read these two novels for the sense of finality, futility and hopelessness that Trevor is so masterful at extracting from the both the the barest and the most complicated lives, while spinning stories that carry more momentum than a beach-trash thriller.

This an intensely moving story of young love set in 1918 Ireland. We see how three generations of the same family are shattered by the Anglo-Irish fighting. Trevor weaves a tale of political intrique, love and self exile. Anyone interested in Ireland's political past and future will find this worth reading. ( The movie version of this book stays very true to Trevor's tale.

A few years have passed since I last read Trevor's novels and hardly could I remember how great he is and his fictions are. I have just finished reading this novel and have come to conclude that all of Trevor's novels should not be missed. Setting against the historical Anglo-Irish complex relationships, the novel tells a sorrowful and poignant love story that spans three generations. Trevor's use of language is subtle, delicate, and controlled and is a first-rate writing. The fact that I'm unfamiliar with the Anglo-Irish history might have undermined my appreciation and comprehension (in a certain way) of this novel, nonetheless, this is a great book and should be recommended to those who love reading.

What can I say? It's William Trevor's prose about love, politics and patriotism. I recommend this book to everyone with a heart beating in their chest. In comparison to his other novels, I find that this book captures the innocence of youth and the loss of innocence that war and times of trouble can bring.

It's hard to add to what the other reviewers have already said. A breathtaking achievement, with not a single false note in the entire book (although there were a couple of typos--the editors' fault, not Trevor's). I plan to read everything this man has ever written.

William Trevor's "Fools of Fortune" is perfection incarnate with elegance, spare yet richly satisfying. A miniature history of the struggles in Ireland rendered on a personal scale.

Murder begets murder begets murder begets . . . madness. Enacting personally the larger Anglo-Irish tragedy, a family experiences, and inflicts, murder, leading ultimately to the insanity of the latest-born of the clan. Aeschylus would have understood, though his Orestes ultimately escaped the demons of his past. A gripping piece of fiction that is at the same time a history of Irish-English relations "writ small."

I'm writing this review because there are not enough raves about this book on the Amazon site yet. There should be hundreds. I ordered and read this book because of Francine Prose's recommendation of it in her recent book about reading like a writer. Fools of Fortune is a rich blend of qualities rarely found together. The style is simple, but the book is seriously literary. It is poetic. It is tense. It is a love story. It is a tale of revenge. The plot hinges on cruelty. The core of its message is humane. We become intimately familiar with its characters in a relatively short number of pages, but we grow to know them on a scale of unhurried decades and generations. I ordered it because I hoped that I would discover the work of a genius whom I had somehow overlooked in my previous education and reading. I did.

This is a lesson on how construct a novel, how to lead the reader through it, and touch the reader with its story and its people. A superb work of art and craftmanship.

William Trevor paints the Irish landscape and its inhabitants so skillfully in this heartbreaking, beautiful novel. As in the story of Lucy Gault, The "troubles" in Ireland set in motion a series of events that result in personal and family catastrophe, made worse by missed and miscommunication. Don't be put off by the heartbreak. This is a very rewarding read.