* The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

The Bee Sting is a family saga where each character has a difficult back story that unfolds slowly as secrets are revealed, sadly only to us readers and not to the other family members, who would likely benefit from knowing the truth.

Much like Skippy Dies by the same author, this is a very long book which, in my opinion, does not deserve its length, and long text exchanges between teenagers that are quite tedious. And please do use periods in every chapter, even stream-of-consciouness ones.

** The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright

The Wren, The Wren follows three generations in a dysfunctional Irish family, telling the story in chapters that alternate between them. The grandfather, a philandering poet, sows hurt and betrayal, which the two following generations have to contend with. I liked the book more as I went along, but the self-preoccupied grandaughter’s horrendous choices of sexual partners, which occupies the first half of he book, are tediously told.

** Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry

Old God’s Time starts slowly, with a retired police detective living in a quiet apartment by the sea. But as memories of his wife and children surface and as former colleagues come to question him, we suspect that there is more to his life than a successful marriage and there are well-kept secrets that our unreliable narrator will sprinkle through. Untangling the secrets from reality makes for a good read, even if it’s all a little slow and misty for me.

** The Lock-up by John Banville

The Lock-up takes place in post-WWII Dublin but reaches back to the murky end of WWII and stars a detective and pathologist who investigate an apparent suicide that turns out to be a lot more complicated. I thought that the author did a great job painting the literal and metaphorical atmosphere of the place, but the plot did not cohere properly.

** The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan

The Queen of Dirt Island chronicles the lives of four generations of Irish women who had a rough life (although the baby has a good chance for a better one, I think!). It’s told in very short chapters that make for breezy reading and the ending is a little too easy, but the story is touching and even inspiring, capturing the fierceness of mothers.

** Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Having loved Foster, by the same author, I was hoping that  Small Things Like These would deliver the same kind of sparingly-told wonder, and I was disappointed. This time, the story is about a small business man who happens upon a mistreated young woman during a coal delivery. His love for his children is told in the same luminous way as in Foster, but I would have wanted to see more of a path out of the singular incident.

*** Foster by Claire Keegan

What a gem of a story. Foster stars a young girl whose parents are struggling with a large family and limited financial means and who is entrusted for a summer to a childless couple. There, she discovers love, caring, and a different way to live, serene and orderly despite life’s travails. The story ends when she returns home, an entirely different girl. A lovely and heartwarming book.

*** When All Is Said by Ann Griffin

Much could go wrong is a novel told through the memories of an old man on a single evening, before he makes a grandiose gesture. But When All Is Said is just about perfect: the story meanders very satisfactorily back and forth through a century; his wild love for his wife never gets too sweet; and although the story bounces around, the author always makes it easy for the reader to orient themselves in time. No heroics, just a very satisfying life story.

*** This is Happiness by Niall Williams

This is Happiness unfolds in a small village in Western Ireland where electricity has not yet arrived (in the 1950s!), rain has stopped for several days, spooking the locals, and Noel arrives at his grandparents’ house after fleeing the seminary. But this is no linear story: there are asides on every page to capture a family history, a village custom, and decades of wandering the world. Be patient for the unfolding takes time. I loved the description of the closed community and especially the friendship between Noel and a much older man, amidst the grinding poverty that does not seem to vanquish the spirit of the place.

** Himself by Jess Kidd

Himself is a nicely twisted story of a young man seeking his long-lost mother and father, and finding that the small village he’s from is full of intrigue, abuses of various kinds, and even murders. Unfortunately, in my view, the author adds a large dose of supernatural ghosts that are not needed for the plot and seem to simply perpetuate the reputation of Irish people as superstitious. Without the ghosts, I would have loved the book.