Helpful Score: 1
I read THE YELLOW HOUSE for my local book club's September 2012 pick. I had high hopes for this book because I was drawn to the bright yellow on the cover, and it's gotten some encouraging reviews.
However...Eileen O'Neill was one of the most annoying characters I've ever read. While many horrible things happened to her in her young life, her anger and stubbornness felt extremely exaggerated and overwrought; which caused me to feel little to no sympathy for her trials and tribulations as a mill worker in revolution-era Northern Ireland.
I did greatly enjoy the setting, and the research seemed impeccable. I learned so much about the conflict between the Irish Catholics and the Protestants, and about Ireland's bid for independence from England. And Eileen's relationship with James and Owen mirrored this conflict fairly well. But the writing style was too predictable and the heroine too annoying and unsympathetic for me to enjoy this story. I finished only for book club.
The plot, centered around Eileen's dream to get back to the Yellow House of the title, was weak, it wore thin and the book ran on too long towards a neat, bow-tie ending.
The narrative assumes the reader will sympathize with all of Eileen's shouting, snapping, and yelling at the people who love her most. She was a horrid woman to them and I don't believe she deserved all the love and concern she got from her friend Theresa, from Owen, P.J., etc., because she was constantly being mean and harsh towards them. It's also amazing two men would fall so madly in love with a woman like her...she exhibited few redeeming qualities and was self-absorbed to a fault, though the narrative expects us to see her as self-less....Really?! Not.
This is a first novel, and clichéd plotting abounds. The entire romantic thread is written so predictably, with dozens of "chance" meetings between Eileen and her suitors. If you're someone who's well read, you've likely read it a thousand times before.
You know, I may have enjoyed this book more if I'd read it when I was 12. And only because of the rich and textured setting can I give it a C-.
However...Eileen O'Neill was one of the most annoying characters I've ever read. While many horrible things happened to her in her young life, her anger and stubbornness felt extremely exaggerated and overwrought; which caused me to feel little to no sympathy for her trials and tribulations as a mill worker in revolution-era Northern Ireland.
I did greatly enjoy the setting, and the research seemed impeccable. I learned so much about the conflict between the Irish Catholics and the Protestants, and about Ireland's bid for independence from England. And Eileen's relationship with James and Owen mirrored this conflict fairly well. But the writing style was too predictable and the heroine too annoying and unsympathetic for me to enjoy this story. I finished only for book club.
The plot, centered around Eileen's dream to get back to the Yellow House of the title, was weak, it wore thin and the book ran on too long towards a neat, bow-tie ending.
The narrative assumes the reader will sympathize with all of Eileen's shouting, snapping, and yelling at the people who love her most. She was a horrid woman to them and I don't believe she deserved all the love and concern she got from her friend Theresa, from Owen, P.J., etc., because she was constantly being mean and harsh towards them. It's also amazing two men would fall so madly in love with a woman like her...she exhibited few redeeming qualities and was self-absorbed to a fault, though the narrative expects us to see her as self-less....Really?! Not.
This is a first novel, and clichéd plotting abounds. The entire romantic thread is written so predictably, with dozens of "chance" meetings between Eileen and her suitors. If you're someone who's well read, you've likely read it a thousand times before.
You know, I may have enjoyed this book more if I'd read it when I was 12. And only because of the rich and textured setting can I give it a C-.
Helpful Score: 1
Very good story, including some Irish history during the revolutionary period. I enjoyed this book, even though the heroine yells a lot!
