Civil and Strange

By Cláir Ní Aonghusa

Book Overview

Finely observed and utterly transporting, Cl?ir N? Aonghusa's debut takes us inside a vibrant rural Ireland -- and three interconnected lives -- on the cusp of change. Eager to escape her failed... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618829369
• ISBN13: 9780618829361
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Not exactly a page turner, but.......

thoughtful and interesting. I'm still chewing over Matt's tirade against the Catholic Church--how it deprived many from his older generation of happiness, the secrets, and ridicule, "the confessionals doing the work of spies", a hold that wasn't weakened until the child abuse scandal broke.

From S. Krishna's Books

Civil and Strange is a novel that is extremely appealing, both for its well-written characters and its Irish countryside setting. These days, the Irish countryside seems to be a picture perfect setting; a place where life is gentler and simpler, and where (at the risk of sounding cliche), everyone knows your name. Aonghusa both dispels and perpetuates that myth. One on hand, the village of Ballindoon is quaint and relaxed; it is Ellen's escape from the fast pace of Dublin. However, it also has its downsides; its small size ensures that everyone is in everyone else's business, and life is anything but simple. Still, the picture she paints is appealing and it's one I wouldn't mind reading more about. The characters of Civil and Strange are also extremely well fleshed out. I really loved the way that Ellen was written. She is awkward and entirely unsure of herself; she has a lot of self-doubt, especially after the failure of her marriage. It's nice to read about a character that has the same insecurities that we all hide within ourselves. The fact that she doesn't always know what to say or do in a situation makes her more real, more believable. I loved her relationship with Beatrice, as well as Beatrice as her own character. She is incredibly strong and faces a lot through the novel. I haven't read any Maeve Binchy (I'm planning on reading Tara Road at some point), but I'd imagine that these two are similar. They both tell compelling tales about life in the Irish countryside. However, one of the aspects I enjoyed most about Civil and Strange was Ellen's attempts to fit in. I liked reading about the city girl who just needs an escape; after all, isn't that what many of us dream of being able to do when life gets too rough?

Great new Irish Fiction

It is easy to forget, when all the media coverage of modern Ireland tends to concentrate on the skyline of cranes over Dublin, that the countryside still exists, and that it too is modernising in its own way - perhaps not with cranes, but with a more accepting attitude to things which are different or new. This new novel concentrates on that point - Ellen is escaping the city and a failed marriage, making a new life in the countryside where she spent happy childhood holidays and her arrival in Ballydoon creates a new ripple in that very small pond. Ellen's progress is observed by her uncle Matt and by local woman Beatrice, two beautifully drawn characters who are dealing with tragedies and unhappiness in their own lives. I won't give away the ending, but the resolution is skillfully achieved without any mawkishness or unnecessary sentimentality. It is a satisfying book, both in terms of the characters drawn and the resolution achieved.