By page twelve, I was hooked, and horrified. This book is sad.
Very, very sad.
When I told Patrick that, he responded, "Of course it's sad. It's IRISH!"
Yes. One very sad, but somehow uplifting historical novel about 16th century Ireland is what I'm talking about.
Coincidentally, I saw that someone shared this article on Facebook, right when I was in the middle of the book. The article (from CNN.com) is about the little known Irish slavery that was common in Barbados, Jamaica, and throughout the Caribbean as well as other atrocities inflicted by Cromwell and the British on the Irish.
I googled the name of the tiny town in Seek the Fair Land that gets razed, and ohmygosh, it's a real place! Over three days in 1642, every.single.person in Drogheda was slaughtered. History estimates that maybe 30 escaped to be sold into slavery in Barbados.
Every single person, except the four who are the main characters of this book.
Seek the Fair Land is about a young man who escapes the massacre with his two young children and an injured priest. They spend the next several years avoiding mankind and living in the wild, eventually making their way back into civilization. That doesn't last too long though and they find themselves on the run again.
SPOILER: This book has a happy(ish) ending. If I had known that when I began reading it, it wouldn't have been nearly as terrifying.
WARNINGS: This book has rape, infanticide, murder, brutality, nudity, and I'm certain I'm forgetting more. None of these things is described in a glorified or particularly detailed way.
On The Other Hand, this book has great courage, great love in the face of great evil, saintliness, martyrdom, and miracles.
Seek the Fair Land is a great book, for adults, or nearly adults. Great for Catholics, great for people of Irish descent, great for young men, or anyone who likes well-written historical fiction.
It's very sad though. So I'm taking a break before I read the next title in the trilogy.
Unfortunately, for my next book I happened to choose a young adult novel about a Jack the Ripper copycat serial killer in London, set in modern times.
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson is about Rory, a young native of Louisiana who ends up attending boarding school in London's East End when she is seventeen. The day she arrives is also the first day the "new" Jack strikes.
Killing on the same dates, in the same fashion, and in nearly the same locations, this Jack the Ripper's territory is all around Rory's new school.
The book has loads of fun and fluffy stuff about Rory adjusting to boarding school, her light romance, snogging, field hockey, classwork etc. About halfway in, we learn something very interesting about Rory.
Due to a near death experience she had on her first day of class, she can see ghosts. And talk to them. And they can see her.
Enter the Ghostbusters, or the Shades of London rather. The Shades are a division of the police force with the ability to see and if necessary, destroy ghosts. Their target: New Jack. New Jack's target: Rory.
For a YA book about a serial killer, it wasn't that bad. I'll let my high school girls read it. If they dare...
Don't forget the big What We're Reading Wednesday Come Back Link Up Party Next Wednesday, February 4th! I cannot wait to read all of the e-book-reports.
Oh my. That book does sound sad. But good?! As soon as you said rape and infanticide, though, I shuddered. May have to wait for the postpartum hormones to settle before braving that one.
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by that book, Seek the Fair Land. (Anything about the Irish always gets to me--I can't help it!) I will probably read it.
ReplyDeleteYay! Thanks for bringing back WWRW. :-D
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