The Good People
Ratings7
Average rating3.1
15
Ratings7
Average rating3.1
From the multi-award-winning author of Burial Rites with new novel Devotion out now In 1825, in a remote valley in Ireland, three women are brought together by troubling events. Nóra cares for her orphaned four-year-old grandson, who can neither walk nor speak. She hires a servant girl, Mary, to help her. Soon, Mary hears rumours in the valley about the dark powers of this strange little boy. In desperation, Nóra and Mary turn to Nance Roche, a woman who locals say has the knowledge. That she consorts with the Good People, and only Nance can return those whom they have taken ... PRAISE FOR THE GOOD PEOPLE 'A thoroughly engrossing entrée into the macabre nature of a vanished society' Tom Keneally 'Dark, poetic and intense' Kate Forsyth 'A serious and compelling novel about how those in desperate circumstances cling to ritual as a bulwark against their own powerlessness' THE GUARDIAN 'A gripping, adept and intelligent reconstruction of the past' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
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Interesting and chilling glimpse into faerie superstition and the dire consequences that follow.
2.5 stars
This review can also be found on my blog.
This novel follows Nóra as she grapples with the grief of losing both her daughter and her husband. Left alone to care for her grandson, Micheál, who at four years old is no longer able to walk or talk, she takes in a maid named Mary to help her around the house. The book focuses quite closely on Irish superstition with particular attention paid to changeling lore. While the townspeople as a whole are quite superstitious, Nóra experiences a psychotic break of sorts that leads her to believe her grandson has been changed and is a fairy. She funnels her rage toward the boy, desperate for a cure.
What this book suffers from most, in my opinion, is it's length. I felt like it took far too long to pick up its pace and was far too drawn out near the end. The content is difficult and this should have been a much more difficult read than it was, but I struggled to connect emotionally to any of the characters. There were a few parts where I felt some anxiety and really wanted to know what happened next, but for the most part I was just trying to get through it.
