Customer Reviews

Stir-Fry: A Novel

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Maria is a small town Irish girl, who comes to Dublin to attend university. Not wanting to live with her aunt, she shares an apartment with two women, Ruth and Jael, who help introduce her to a grander scope of the world at large. Maria makes a few other friends, but it is Ruth and Jael who are her centerpiece, but when she discovers they're lesbian lovers, she's not sure what to think anymore. She adapts, and tries to follow her classmates and get interest in dating and clubbing, but it all seems flat and uninteresting. Ultimately, a single moment at New Year's clarifies Maria's feelings and helps her realize just who she wants. Donoghue's marvelous first novel is exquisitely rendered, and quite fulfilling. I found some of the middle passages a bit tepid, but this was a brief feeling, and Donoghue's writing captured me again soon after. I am a huge fan of her book "Hood", and it's wonderful this book has come back into print!

Donoghue writes simply and clearly, yet conveys so well the complexities of Maria becoming more aware of herself. There is so much going through her mind as she adjusts to life in the city, away from her family and village, and is exposed to new ideas of how to live. We can see Maria changing and yet are still surprised at the end. This book is more about relationships than events, so on the first read it seemed to drag, but the more I read it the more I notice how every insignificant event is designed to show some aspect of Maria that she is barely aware of herself.

Happened on this book perchance in my local library, and as another reviewer put it, read it, liked it, stole it.

This was my introduction to this author. Maria at 17 years, is written in as very mentally matured by the auhor. This is actually not an easy book to read. The writing style reminded me of Jane Rule. Mixes a lot of politically incorrect situationsThe Irish slang made it a bit confusing to read though.

But i liked the way the book is written though.

I was heading to Ireland 12 days ago for the first time, and took this book with me for the plane ride. I made a list of all the Irish-isms in the back of the book and was fortunate to be able to get definitions from a fellow traveler even before I finished the book.
It was good to revisit that time in the vocal feminist heyday from the perspective of a young Irish woman new to college in Dublin, discovering her roommates are lesbians. The narrative felt true, and was well-written. I highly recommend!

"Stir-fry" tells the coming of age story of, Maria, a college student in Dublin, Ireland. While I enjoyed the plot and characters, overall the ending was unfulfilling. Even with slight reservations I still recommend this book: Donoghue's writing is that good. I also highly recommend Donoghue's novel "Hood".

i got this from the library a year ago last february - just by listening to your reviews - convincing me how 'funny' and 'fun' it was. what a buch of lies. it's not. good thing i canceled my book order in waldenbooks... i didn't finish it, but only got to chapter six.