Customer Reviews

The Gift

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was drawn to Patrick O'Leary's second novel by Tom Canty's always wonderful cover art. I brought it home from the bookstore and thought I'd read a chapter or two. The Gift drew me in and before I knew it, it was nearing 2 am and I had read it all the way through.

The Gift is one of those novels that you cannot put down. O'Leary paints a picture every bit as vivid as that on the cover. Writing as emotionally evocative as O'Leary's has in my experience been almost entirely the domain of women authors.

I have already read this book twice in less than a year and I know I'll read it again and again.

This is the first novel I have read by this author but will not be the last. It seems some of the negative reviews came from readers who took the structure of the story too seriously. The book is a brilliant meditation on the joys, pains, power, and responsibility of storytelling in all its forms. Whether it serves to strengthen a bond between friends, help a listener to understand and forgive, to expand the listener's breadth of experience, or to indict the guilty for secret crimes; storytelling is a part of what makes us human as well as an effective means of communication.
I read this book over two nights and in the days after became so aware of how often in conversation we are telling tales- not meaning that people are being dishonest- just that people paint a picture of "what really happened" based on what they feel is the message of the story. And it is in telling our own particular and unique stories that others come to know us.
I loved the characters, the story, the stories-within-the-story, and yes, the ending. I can see how one would think it contrived or too neat, but I felt as if O'Leary meant it that way as a perfectly fitting lid to this decorative box filled only with more boxes.

How delightful to find a book that surprised and pulled me into another world and reality! I had come to believe that I had grown too old and had lost the ability to exercise this pleasure. I am greatful that I did not discover Patrick O'Leary until now and only wish there were more like him.

This is probably the oddest book there is in this genre. Oleary is a new uprising writer, who has a real talent in storytelling. Now, SciFi Fantasy is one thing, but what this guy's doing is a whole lot of a different art. And you'll love every minute of it. This story is actually an excuse for Oleary to do his best - Storytell. The layout is some kind of an Earth-like world, only technologically retarded. It tells the story of the ancient Wind Wizards, who crashed to the planet, and made it their own; it tells the tale of a young deaf King, Simon, who's healed by the dark Usher of the Night, only to become a Sentinel. He then starts on an adventure with only one thing set on his mind - Revenge; it tells the story of a little orphan, Tim, who's destined to more then he's ready to bargain for; it tells the sad story of a lost species of magic, the Watermen, who are at the point of extinction. Science-fiction, Fantasy and Story-telling meet in an exquisite mixture of high-tense adventures, humor, bizzare and night-marish sequences of the S.King kind. If any, this book's worth the reading. You'll LOVE it - every one of its 287 pages.

I found this book as enjoyable as Door Number Three. It is a fairy tale, with modern overtones, rich in description, and almost surrealistic. This book is more than a fantasy novel; it is a work of literature, beautiful and fearsome. I eagerly await any forthcoming books by Mr. O'Leary.

Myths are told and retold, generation after generation, not because people think that they are true (most are too fantastical even for a small child to take seriously), or because they are well told (most of the ancient Greek myths that I have read have been disappointedly bare bones). They are shared because they tap into something primeval within us. I think this story is a good example of a modern myth.

The book is self-consciously improbable. Early on the author tells us that the book is about "monsters." Most of the book is a tale within a tale, woven by a bard-type character on board a ship, so it seemed natural to me that he used character types rather than fully fleshed-out characters. Yet the story of courage, success, failure, loss, sacrifice, and friendship is one that can stir the heart and speak to all.

This story could also be looked at as a modern fairy tale, although it is closer to the Grimm's end of the Disney-Grimm spectrum (with Disney being the light, often saccharine version and Grimm being the dark, unnecessarily gruesome version).

Patrick O'Leary weaves a masterful tapestry of magic and wonder in 'The Gift'.

He is clearly a master of the English language. Every sentence evokes wonderful imagery. This is one of those books where I was on the edge of my chair throughout.

There's not much more I can add that hasn't already been mentioned in previous reviews. It's a fantastic book. I disagree with the previous reviewer, it can please people coming from different viewpoints. A Robert Jordan fan will enjoy the magic and the evil crows and the magnificent quest..whereas more sophisticated readers can appreciate the subtler nuances.

Those of us who enjoy all kinds of fiction can sit back and bask in a wonderful experience.

This was one of the most incredible books I have ever read, not only because of the twisting, manipulating plot, but because of the immensely detailed description and creation of the characters, the species, the time and place of the story, and the magic that occurs, especially within each character. It required the patience of a ham and the reading ability of a 2nd-grader, not difficult at all, and very easy to enjoy, understand, and get into. I think the depiction of females from the outside was a very clever and humorous method, especially considering all the extremist feminist clods out there today who voice their opinion non-stop and never allow men to do the same. Patrick O'Leary incorporates his special gift of story- telling beautifully in The Gift, and it is definitely a gift to anyone who has the good fortune to stumble across it.

This incredible fantasy takes us soaring to a different time, mindsets and terrains. Encompasing all of the important parts of a fantasy, it also shares many new ways to look at life. A story to read over and over and take something new from it everytime!

This is storytelling at its best! The layering of story upon story keeps the reader engrossed in the book. The writing is so well done that the change from one story to the other and back is easy to follow. I reccomend this book to any one who likes to read a good, well, story!