Customer Reviews

Irish Winter

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

 

 

This book is a really good read, I loved it. The characters are real and their love is touching and realistic for 1920 Ireland. I couldn't put it down and finished it in one night!

Yet another great story from John Simpson. The story had great pacing and did not rush into anything. The author puts alot of historical detail into the story bringing extra depth and emotion. The Ian and Devlin are both sympathetic characters who you root for. One has more experience (sexually) than the other, but there is no pressure put on the less experienced man. The editing was well done, no editing or grammer errors noticed. Can't wait for John Simpson's next novel.

If you have any interest in romance and Irish history I think you will like this book. It brings to life a time and a series of events that I did not know about in any great detail before reading this. It's clear that the author has done some research into the events of the time, and that made it all the more exciting. I was unable to stop reading it and finished all 240 pages in one sitting (I've never done that before!). I could not let these characters go. The two main characters absolutely ring true in terms of realism-never for a moment do I doubt that these are real people. It's not at all sappy, but full of true emotion and real situations in the most difficult times. I can't say enough good things about this book and if the general concept appeals to you at all you should definitely buy it and enjoy.

The book tells Ian and Devlin story from 1919 to 1924, the years during which Ireland fought for its independence from England. Ian is a apothecary apprentice of only 19 years old; he doesn't really care for war or kill, he wants to become an apothecary and make his own life in the world. Ian is a quite guy, probably even more quite since it's years that he realized that he prefers the company of men, but he has never acted upon his preferences. He tries to be as average as possible and to not be seen in the crowd. But when he witnesses to the assassination of a man and his old mother in the street to the hand of English soldier, he cannot hide no more. He offers his help to the IRA army and among the brotherhood he finds Devlin.

Devlin is only one years older than Ian, and they know each other enough to greet on street but not enough to be considered friend, they are on different level in life; Devlin's mother unofficially has a lot of "boyfriend" who visits her at night, and on hers track, Devlin started to find some "odd" work at night in the near cities, with married men in dark alley.

While Ian considers himself homosexual, Devlin at first approaches Ian more with a friends with benefits attitude: Devlin likes both women and men, and in this moment he likes Ian. But he knows that the lad, as he calls him, is way more inexperience than him, and even if they deepened their relationship to an intimate level, Devlin is reluctant to be fully involved, more for Ian's good than anything else. But more the years pass and the war worsen and more both men realize that they are now not only friends and fellow soldiers, but also lovers.

Despite passing through really nasty moments, Devlin and Ian are really young; they face the independence war with more heart than brain, they are not warriors, sometime I read them like children with adult dresses. Both of them follow something bigger than them, and they are really lucky to always come out alive; they are not hero characters, but more supporters.

The love story between them is nice, the more romantic minds should close the eyes in front of Devlin's side profession, something he is forced to bring on sometime more during his relationship with Ian, he really has no choice; but I think that it respects his character and the time, sincerely it's just enough of a pink glasses prospective for the two to be together, without being also too moralist. Maybe sometime I found the sex a bit too extreme (nothing fancy mind you): too much position other than the missionary and too much words in bed... I don't know, but sometime it felt forceful.

All in all a very nice and easy book to read, with enough historical details which prove that the author has more than a passing interest in the matter, and a medium long novel that allows plenty of time for the reader to enjoy the characters.

.........reasons. (Another "At Swim, Two Boys," a novel by Jamie O'Neill, this work is nowhere near being.)

((Here is my approach to obtaining/reading/reviewing Gay romance tales in book form. Simply, it's seeking the holy grail of that genre---or looking for the "Addictive Read"). Selection of read materials is based mainly on purchase of new stories by favorite authors or on comments/reviews by you in these online "Book" pages. Sometimes I feel correctly steered by you (the "Keepers" filling my shelves), other times mislead---occasionally badly (the "Throwaways"). Rarely, I come across the "Addictive," those I can reread at least monthly (see below starred *** area for a list......and for some "near-Addictive" as well). For some reads, I'll share comments with you, as follows. Thanks for sticking with me so far.))

This canNOT be the writer of "Condor One," for which I gave a top rating. If it is, he's in some way regressed to much earlier writing days, both in grammar and syntax. (Admittedly, having read only these two of his works, they are my only comparison and exposure to this author).

I realize that the two lead characters (particularly Devlin) are, basically, simple men of poor economic means and lacking higher education........growing up in simpler times, and that it's all right for their utterances and the descriptions of their thoughts and feelings to be simpler.........but that's no excuse for the overall tone of the writing to be so: "See Dick & Jane with dog, Spot (or Scottie, if you prefer it be that terrier type); see Dick throw a ball; see Scottie run to fetch the ball."

Particularly, the couple's talks with each other about sex are so simplistic it was almost embarrassing to this reader. But then, again, I'd find myself thinking, are these such simple men that that's the only plane on which they can express themselves? Is the author actually trying to fit the level of writing to their social and educational positions? Even if so, it doesn't make for that interesting or challenging a read----writing aspects that hold a reader's attention. Because of what I've just described, on more than one occasion I found myself "skimming through" this book----never a good sign. Again, what's happened to this novelist?

Notable grammatical problems or seeming inconsistencies in what was being expressed (in this reader's opinion):

- Bottom areas of both Pages 4, 17, 73 contain sentences missing commas, which can result in misreading and changed meaning, or sentences which are incorrectly structured.

- I won't detail personal bias over the use of the word, "ablutions," and the term "Promised Land," which seemed a little over the top / out of place for the level of these particular young men. And being able to get an erection and accomplish the "follow through," after suffering a "hurts like hell" skirmish wound? Wow, what a guy!

- And lastly there's this idiot's (me) fetish over the misuse / inconsistent use of pronouns, "that" and "who," and our English-using society's apparent crusade to eliminate "who" (Page 4 example: "Walsh's deep blue gaze contrasted with his coal black hair made him a very handsome man THAT all the girls chased after."-----missing commas, also). Please note, I am giving one extra rating Star for the little bit of history the author's work gives us----see the O'Neill work for much more.

Don't know what was happening with Dreamspinner Press's editing. The only thing they seem to have done well with this production is to give it a noteworthy cover. So, when all is said and done, I just don't see myself holding on to my copy at all.

PS--Oh, a tip: if you want to experience a top gay romance novel, written in a catching, straightforward manner and containing some of the best grammatical and editing work I've run across, give a look-see at Z. A. Maxfield's "Crossing Borders" (if you want near-pornography, don't look here).

[...]

As a voracious reader of both gay romance and historical fiction (and a particular fan of gay historical fiction), I was very excited to discover this title, as it deals with a very important time in Irish history.

Unfortunately, while the historical elements are clearly researched, the writing is amateurish at best. The main characters are one-dimensional and not particularly interesting; secondary characters aren't developed at all. The dialogue is flat, awkward, and lifeless, and often the exchanges between characters read like an elementary school primer rather than an mature novel. The prose is peppered with hackneyed phrases rather than unique description.

Many "info dumps" weigh down the pace with tedious exposition that could have been integrated into the action. Important facts about characters are dropped on us randomly throughout the story, but it doesn't come across to the reader as character development so much as it does the author telling us "Oh, wait-- I forgot to mention the character is a rent boy, and this next scene won't make sense unless I tell you that now."

The IRA members are presented as uniformly daring and heroic while the British are all evil, violent monsters; while this might be an accurate (if biased) representation from the perspective of the Irish, such a black-and-white representation ends up being facile and sensationalistic, and it certainly don't make for engaging reading. It merely turns characters into caricatures.

"Irish Winter" also suffers from the inevitable comparisons to "At Swim, Two Boys," which covered this same fictional territory with a level of heartbreaking facility few authors could hope to duplicate. If you're looking for a novel which deftly handles the complicated historical territory of Ireland in the early years of IRA resistance, and interweaves a poignant gay love story, "At Swim, Two Boys" is in a class by itself.

In any case, my time and money have been far better spent on other gay historicals, including those by Erastes, Alex Beecroft, and Julia Talbot. [...] The writing just isn't up to professional standards.

Reading the first review on this story it basically said everything I wanted to say. I am not very good with writing. I really enjoyed Ian and Devlin's story. It held my interest and basically it showed you what the Irish people went through because of the British government. I was happy when Ian and Devlin got out of Ireland.