Customer Reviews

Shannon: A Novel of Ireland

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Shannon is another great novel from Frank Delaney, with all the good qualities you'd expect: it's quiet, dark, funny, thoughtful, violent, intelligent, literate, complex, and very elegant. It's a story about an American in Ireland, and the Irish in America, and the fragile survivor of one war thrust directly into another; and, of course, it's about a river in Ireland.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy of this book, and I enjoyed it a great deal. Delaney is great at weaving multiple stories together into a single whole; he takes the story of his hero, Robert Shannon, and threads it through the lives of the villains and other characters of the tale - a cast of bishops, murderers, soldiers, and extraordinary ordinary people. I was unexpectedly caught up in the action: the book begins as a sort of spiritual pilgrimage, and evolves into a completely gripping and suspenseful drama.

Definitely check this out if you're interested in Ireland, Irish history, Irish folklore, WWI French battlefields, post-traumatic stress disorder, genealogy, scandals in the Catholic church, damaged heroes, and really good novels in general.

Frank Delaney has written one of those rare books that you will remember reading for the rest of your life. If you love Ireland, this book will make you feel like you walked the length of the River Shannon with a lovely broken man, meeting a rich variety of Irish people, all the way to a most satisfying ending. Highly reccomended.

Delaney fans will delight in the audiobook version of Shannon since the author himself narrates. Delaney does a superb job and his intimacy with the words adds an extra dimension to this gripping, touching, historical novel. I've read his other works, and it was a real treat to hear the author's own voice reading Shannon. Delaney provides touching insights into the ravages of war on a soldier's psyche. Shannon finds humor and poignancy within difficult topics. Don't miss this gripping work of historical fiction.

I am a psychiatrist. Those who have read or will read this book need to know that the presentation of PTSD is
near to perfect. To interpose this with the quest to find "Ireland" a land with a history of loss,violence and persecution and the Shannon River its soul, is beyond art and genius. This is a Bards most perfect story!

Frank Delaney is a splendid writer. In all three of his recent books (the others being Ireland and Tipperary), I have found it is difficult to get into the story. But if the reader keeps turning pages, the whole picture begins to develop and it is hard to put the book down. This is what happened in Shannon. It is like taking a trip to the Emerald Isle with beautiful descriptions and nostalgic scenes.
The horrors of the results of war are clearly defined in the character of Robert Shannon who returns to Ireland to try and restore his mental health by walking the River Shannon and looking for his family history. Those whom he meets along the way add to the interest and the development of both Robert's recovery and the story line.
This is not a quick read nor a beach book, but one that is very rewarding if read and digested and enjoyed.

I very much enjoyed this book. The story is interesting. The prose is good. I am always skeptical when a writer tries to teach the reader about the language of a country. It usually comes across as condescending and distracting to the story. Here Delaney's interpretations of Irish english are useful and sometimes quite funny. I also appreciated his delicate balance of church issues and weaving in of the struggles of Ireland at that time and his descriptions of poverty. I appreciate a book that makes me even more curious about the subject which this has definitely done. I would have given this 4 or 5 stars if the ending were better. The challenging characters are wrapped up a little too conveniently. But overall, I don't feel like I wasted my time and was happy to have had it recommended to me.

Another great historical novel by Mr. Delaney. I had enjoyed two of his previous works and automatically picked this up at my local library.
This is a great story of a personal journey of self-forgiveness and redemption, some Irish history, the tension between the Catholic church in Ireland and America in the 1920's, and a bit of geography as well. The thread of a lovely love story runs throughout. Most satisfying and entertaining. Please give us more!

Delaney is so good at weaving two or more stories into one! This journey of discovery - of Ireland, of self, of love - is heartwarming and sometimes heartrending with the backdrop of WWI as a setting. It was an entirely enjoyable read and will send me back for more of Delaney. It may be particularly poignant for those of us with Catholic upbringing or Irish ancestry, but I think the book holds its own no matter what your background. Delaney's prose is also a delight. Much of his description, especially of nature scenes, could be categorized as prose poetry. His vocabulary and images are rich and satisfying. Thoroughly pleasant read. I found myself caring enormously for some of the characters and wanting to think I would be welcomed in Ireland in the same way as the protagonist.

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I am only halfway thru this book, but it iw WONDERFUL! The characters are warm and endearing as this shell shocked priest travels his family homeland in search of his roots. The author gives you a real sense of the Irish countryside as well as he folks you might meet as you cross Ireland. Cannot wait to finish this to see how it all turns out!

Frank Delaney is one my favorate authors as I love authentic Irish novels. Yet, this book was certainly not what I was expecting in the story of Robert Shannon who has experience severe shell shock from WW I. To mend himself, he travels back to Ireland to explore his roots/heritage. I found the book engaging and interesting although the subject matter in his book is a bit different than his other works. Never-the-less, it is a recommended read.