What Was Your Favorite Moment or Feature of this Novel? What Was the Worst?

Use this forum to discuss the March 2020 Book of the month, "House of Eire" by June Gillam.
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cpru68
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Re: What Was Your Favorite Moment or Feature of this Novel? What Was the Worst?

Post by cpru68 »

Ogoskino wrote: 08 Mar 2020, 15:19 I loved how explicitly the author described Ireland. I feel like i have a clear picture of what the country looks and it's funny because i have never been there.
That is exactly how I felt as well. It was quite surprising to have such vivid descriptions of a place I have never been but the author put me right there! Thank you for commenting. I appreciate it! :)
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Post by Jocelyn Eastman »

cpru68 wrote: 08 Mar 2020, 15:46
Jocelyn Eastman wrote: 07 Mar 2020, 16:44 I think the parts I liked most about this book were the way she described Ireland so it wasn’t too boring and the lead up to Bridget’s murder. You just didn’t know when it was going to happen but you knew it was coming. I did not like the ending. It was too abrupt for me.
There was quite a bit of foreshadowing regarding Bridget’s demise, but I was slightly hoping it wouldn’t happen at all. I thought the end wrapped up what was presented in the book except I felt a little numb from the death of Sarah. That seemed rather quickly done and over. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me! :)
No problem, I go into some things a little mor in my review, but I just felt the end was not as well done as the rest. I would have liked them to go to the council meeting with the information that was found and for the book to know that there’s a thing called extradition orders. Maybe a showdown with Hillary since they mentioned several times that she had training in defending herself (a failed Chekhov’s gun situation there).

I just felt a little meh about the ending.
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Post by Sam Ibeh »

I like how descriptive the author was in her narrative. There was so much to learn about Ireland from this book.
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Post by Kanda_theGreat »

The only knowledge I have about Ireland was from maps, well, of course before I came across this book. The descriptions of the country aroused my interests more.
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Sam Ibeh wrote: 08 Mar 2020, 23:11 I like how descriptive the author was in her narrative. There was so much to learn about Ireland from this book.
That was my absolute favorite part as well. It was a nice surprise in a murder mystery book. Sometimes the plot overshadows the setting. Not in this one. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! :)
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Kanda_theGreat wrote: 09 Mar 2020, 00:01 The only knowledge I have about Ireland was from maps, well, of course before I came across this book. The descriptions of the country aroused my interests more.
I’m with you on how much I didn’t know about Ireland and now I would love to go see it..minus the ghosts and murder, of course! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me. :)
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Post by Aan Granados »

I also liked the description of Ireland. It seems magical to me, especially with their beliefs and folklore. What I didn't like and it surprised me was the death of their companion, I didn't think she had to die in this story.
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Mmg8464 wrote: 09 Mar 2020, 09:12 I also liked the description of Ireland. It seems magical to me, especially with their beliefs and folklore. What I didn't like and it surprised me was the death of their companion, I didn't think she had to die in this story.
I was so happy with how this author described the setting. I found myself seeing it in my mind so easily. I am in agreement with you on the death part of the book. I felt like something was going to happen because when they hadn't left for the trip yet, this character said she wanted to be buried specifically next to her husband if she died while traveling. I thought...uh oh! And, sure enough. I was hoping it wouldn't happen. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it. :)
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Post by tanner87cbs »

My favorite part of the book was the plot twist with Seamus in the end. My least favorite part was Ed leaving his wife at Briggets house to go to the convention. Really? Two people died, he could have sat that out.
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tanner87cbs wrote: 09 Mar 2020, 22:21 My favorite part of the book was the plot twist with Seamus in the end. My least favorite part was Ed leaving his wife at Briggets house to go to the convention. Really? Two people died, he could have sat that out.
Yes, I thought the Seamus situation was handled quite nicely at the end. There seemed to be a disconnect with Ed and Hilary on that account. Work was more important than protecting your spouse? Hmm. Now that you mention it, the abandonment theme of the book went beyond Hilary and her mother. I didn’t see that before now. Thank you for sharing your observations with me. :)
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Post by ciecheesemeister »

I liked Hillary and thought that she did her best to have positive relationships with the other characters. My least favorite part of the book was her bemoaning her physique. As someone who spent 33 years yo-yo dieting and trying to hate myself thin and who still struggles with restricting food even though that does nothing to help my diabetes, I wish that women could get away from seeing our worth as people tied into having a "perfect" body. It's so destructive.
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Post by IchbineinBerliner »

My favorite part of the novel was the descriptions of Ireland, too!
I think the worst part of the novel was the court record's description of cannibalism near the end of the book, but Claire's kidnapping was awful, too.
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Post by Herbstlicht »

cpru68 wrote: 08 Mar 2020, 15:49
Herbstlicht wrote: 07 Mar 2020, 17:34 This book brings out fascinating memories on Ireland's past. I love the cultural insight of it. I felt like the murder mystery was a bit superfluous.
I have to say, I was really surprised by who died in the book. I thought maybe it would be secondary characters like threats to stop Bridgett, but it totally caught me off guard, and it didn’t feel totally real to me. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me! :)
I agree, I could've gone without the sensationalism, I would've liked the book anyhow :-)
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ciecheesemeister wrote: 10 Mar 2020, 09:23 I liked Hillary and thought that she did her best to have positive relationships with the other characters. My least favorite part of the book was her bemoaning her physique. As someone who spent 33 years yo-yo dieting and trying to hate myself thin and who still struggles with restricting food even though that does nothing to help my diabetes, I wish that women could get away from seeing our worth as people tied into having a "perfect" body. It's so destructive.
Wow! I absolutely think you are pointing out a fact that many women just take as “normal”. We see this self hatred portrayed in books and movies over and over to the point where it almost becomes a natural thing to do. I have felt the same way as you for my whole life as well, and as I think about Hillary’s self deprecating thoughts, I skipped right on by that as if that is “okay”. Both ends of the spectrum aren’t okay..either a self absorbed ego driven character or a self demeaning one. Your comment reflects such great insight. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me. :)
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Post by cpru68 »

IchbineinBerliner wrote: 10 Mar 2020, 10:35 My favorite part of the novel was the descriptions of Ireland, too!
I think the worst part of the novel was the court record's description of cannibalism near the end of the book, but Claire's kidnapping was awful, too.
The cannibalism was tough to get through, and I was worried about Claire the entire time in Ireland. I wasn’t sure who this author was going to murder in the story, and the two that were surprised me. But, the description of Ireland was done so great! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with me. :)
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