Customer Reviews

Gaff Topsails

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Gaff Topsails announces the arrival of a major new talent, Patrick Kavanagh. The verbal richness of the novel is breathtaking; Kavanagh takes you on flights of literary fancy that will make your heart soar. Yes, there are moments when Kavanagh overdoes the verbal pyrotechnics (see the Kirkus Review), but give him credit for shooting for the stars. At a time when most novelists try to be safe and pander to their reader's mediocrity, Kavanagh's epic ambitions should be trumpeted. I loved the book for its Joycean devotion to language and its deep understanding of the lives of average people. It's not an easy read by any means, but it brims with treasure. A must for lovers of serious fiction.

This book tells a story that sounds specific to a niche population in a remote place, but reverberates with all of life's important issues: birth, maturity, sex, relationships, honesty, morality, spirituality, death. It focuses on a single day of life, yet explores the origins of a community over the prior twenty five generations. The writing style is unlike anything I've read before: lucid and rich in riveting imagery of both the beauty and squalor of subarctic living. Imagine an afternoon of teen recreations on a dangerously melting iceberg! Anyone with an interest in Newfoundland life will find this book essential reading. But I think this is also true for anyone with an interest in Irish emigration and new world settlement, or just Maritime humanity.

I purchased this book on the strong recommendations of Amazon readers and I was completely fooled. There is no story in this "story"; the book is a constant description of a small Irish town with some sparse dialog thrown in. Entire chapters of this book are completely irrevelant and should have been edited out. Save your time, read something else. Of the fifty books I have read this year, I would rate this one the worst by far.