Her family had warned her that things would be different in the city, an Patricia Teeling had laughed at their caution. She had come for the excitement: the new job, the strange new people, the pubs and the dance halls, the men who followed her with their eyes. Even the stabbing death of her neighbor didn't shake her-until a dark handsome man with a crippled walk, the 'Goosefoot', appeared the next day. She would see him on the street, in a pub, stalking her day after day, but there was something about him she wanted-something that drew her to him...like a moth to a flame.
Not sure what I think on this one. Very mixed feelings. I want to finish it to see what happens, but I can't really say I'm 'enjoying' it. Really stupid characters. It's a sort of coming of age story with a murder thrown in. Set in Dublin Ireland. Very smart girl graduates college and is informed by her uncle that she is to inherit his very large, successful farm. She has worked with him on it all her life and graduated with a degree in agriculture science. She has a beau and is set for a successful life. But...she decides she needs to move to the city to 'experience' life first. Her uncle gives her one year to get it out of her system and the farm is hers, if she decides at the end of the year she wants to stay in the city she loses the farm. So off she goes, not really knowing what it is she is looking for. She acquires a room mate that is obsessed with sex and the male 'membrum virile', (although she hasn't experienced them yet) and makes friends with one of her fellow teachers at the school where she teaches science. He takes her for a pint everyday after school and gives her a balloon to blow up when they part company, explaining it will make her feel better. But it's the couple downstairs that are the strangest and her life really takes a bizarre turn after getting involved with them. She makes some really dumb choices for such a smart gal. I don't know how to describe it besides bizarre! I'm not finished yet, but almost so the jury is still out on this one. So I might talk more about it after I chew on it awhile. I think this book is one that needs chewing on. I also have 'Bogmail' by the same author and I will definitely be reading it too.
Not sure what I think on this one. Very mixed feelings. I want to finish it to see what happens, but I can't really say I'm 'enjoying' it. Really stupid characters. It's a sort of coming of age story with a murder thrown in. Set in Dublin Ireland. Very smart girl graduates college and is informed by her uncle that she is to inherit his very large, successful farm. She has worked with him on it all her life and graduated with a degree in agriculture science. She has a beau and is set for a successful life. But...she decides she needs to move to the city to 'experience' life first. Her uncle gives her one year to get it out of her system and the farm is hers, if she decides at the end of the year she wants to stay in the city she loses the farm. So off she goes, not really knowing what it is she is looking for. She acquires a room mate that is obsessed with sex and the male 'membrum virile', (although she hasn't experienced them yet) and makes friends with one of her fellow teachers at the school where she teaches science. He takes her for a pint everyday after school and gives her a balloon to blow up when they part company, explaining it will make her feel better. But it's the couple downstairs that are the strangest and her life really takes a bizarre turn after getting involved with them. She makes some really dumb choices for such a smart gal. I don't know how to describe it besides bizarre! I'm not finished yet, but almost so the jury is still out on this one. So I might talk more about it after I chew on it awhile. I think this book is one that needs chewing on. I also have 'Bogmail' by the same author and I will definitely be reading it too.
McGinley is one of those great writers that no one has really heard about. He just quietly and marvelously writes great fiction. There is always a little bit of a mystery in every story, just to keep the plot moving. But the strength of his works, including the wonderful Goosefoot, are the characters. All the main characters are three-dimensional, with very identifiable strengths and foibles. We can all at least understand their motivations, even if we don't agree with them. McGinley's writing style subtle, packed with humor and the Irish wink. Goosefoot is a great novel to start your exploration of this author.
