Sinead, Dublin

 

I live near The Liberties here the story is set and I loved the detail that went into it. My father worked in Guinness's and I've walked in the Patrick's Park where Fionn goes with his grandfather.  The whole story felt so real to me and the characters so lifelike, it was like they were part of my family by the end.  A sad story with lots of laughs too and very uplifting.

 

Billy Clarke, Boston. 

 

This really brought back memories for me when I was a child growing up in Dublin, during the sixties. It was very true to life, great research.  I had a laugh when I read about the likes of Johnny Forty Coats and the rest of the characters in and around Dublin.  Yes, they really did exist! Great story very unusual, I was glad their was no hatchet job on the Kennedys.

 

Margaret Flannigan, London.

 

A lovely story, I remember the likes of Johnn Forty Coats too Billy!  To me the whole thing was like a fairy story, like the old tales I used to hear as a child.  It had that feel to it. It was very different from the usual stories about Ireland, I loved it.

 

Lily, New York.

 

I have no connection to Ireland but the title intrigued me, plus the cover, it reminded me of posters I have seen from the sixties, Easy Rider comes to mind.  I thought the characters and the dialogue were really great. I really felt I knew the whole family well by the end of it and when they talked it was just as if you were listening in on a conversation.  The difficult exchanges between the family were heartrending, all in all a fascinating read.

 

Gerard Routledge, Chicago

 

I agree with everything said above, I am not a great reader and I am only Irish decent, from Cork actually, not Dublin but my daughter thought I might enjoy this.  Thinking about it, it was a very easy read, well I read it! On the other hand it was a very thoughtful, complex story I thought, it made me think about a lot of things and it was like a story from a legend or a fairy story as Margaret has said, only for grown ups. 

 

Anna, Bristol

 

There was a lot to think about here.  The brutal treatment of children by some of the priests and I liked the fact that it was even handed. There were good and bad priests, as there are good and bad people everywhere.  The family had a complicated relationship with each other and this is something we can all relate to. I think this was done really well, the dialogue was superb. The journey Fionn made was fascinating and setting it in the year that President Kennedy visited Ireland was perfect, it would have been so easy to make this the centre of the book, ie focussing on Kennedy and probably the shortcomings we know he had now. To have it from solely from the point of view of Fionn was clever and imaginative. I read the book in a couple of days, as Gerard said, a great read. I believe there is another book on the way, I will be interested in how she follows President Fionn up. Her book The Lifewatcher looks very different too. I think I might take a shot at that while I wait for the new book. 

 

Aaran White, New York

 

Apart from family relationships and the cruelty of the schools at that time, did no-one think it was mostly a story about what is important in life? And about hope, not matter what has happened to you? That was what stuck with me after I finished it.