3.5 stars

Sometimes I read a book that I don't enjoy simply because it isn't a well-written book, other times I don't enjoy a book because I think I am not a reader suited to the particular book. I believe Rainsongs is the latter. To begin with, this book is beautifully written. The prose is lyrical to the point of almost being poetry at parts. The sense of place is breath-taking, as is the setting itself. In fact, it is my weakness as a reader who doesn't know enough about the history and atmosphere of Ireland in the economic transition of the formation of the EU that detracted from the book for me but isn't a weakness of the book itself.

Rainsongs is an exploration of four people in transition as observed through a macro lens. Martha's husband has recently died, so she returns to his family's ancestral home on the Irish coast. Eugene whose power and wealth have passed their prime and his life begins a downward spiral. Paddy whose simple, rustic life is challenged by the changing economy and culture and Colm whose is torn between a need to be artistically free and the responsibility he owes to his family. Over a period of only a few weeks, these lives intersect in ways that will change each person's trajectory forever.

However, the action of the book is quite muted. The plot is driven primarily by inner dialogue and flashbacks, except for Colm who delivers several lengthy diatribes about Irish culture both emerging and traditional. The tone is contemplative and occasionally a bit disjointed. There is little character development as the overarching theme is one of self-examination, rather than evolution.

Overall, I wanted very much to like this more than I did, and I feel as a different reader personality, I may have. However, the style and subject matter do limit the audience I will be able to whom I will recommend this book, and that may be it's biggest flaw.

4.5 Stars

“The years have made me bitter, the gargle dims me brain
Cause Dublin keeps on changing, & nothing seems the same
The Pillar & the Met have gone, the Royal long since pulled down
As the grey unyielding concrete, makes a city of my town

“Fare thee well, Sweet Anna Liffey, I can no longer stay
& watch the new glass cages, that spring along the quay
My mind’s too full of memories, too old to hear new chimes
I’m part of what was Dublin, in the rare ould times.”
-- The Rare Ould Times,Dublin City Ramblers, Songwriters: Pete St. John

”Is beag an rud is buaine na an duine” - Irish Proverb

The Irish proverb above translates as “The smallest of things outlives the human being.”
From the moment I read that, and with that proverb echoing in my mind, I felt the pain and grief behind those words in this story. A beautifully written meditation on grief, loss and love, this is also a lovely story of healing, which is all the more soothing in this rural scenic environment of this remote village on Ireland’s west coast.

In December 2007, Martha Cassidy’s husband has died, and she has returned to his cottage in West Kerry, trying to piece together everything, hoping, somehow, to make sense of it all.

She sorts through his papers, reading through his notes, his letters, slowly coming to terms with their past, their loss, his infidelities, and the present. His death. And the memories she has of them, all together, in this place. And through all of this she comes to realize that she isn’t sure she ever knew who he really was.

As she begins to need more supplies, she must head into the town, and sees the changes all around. This is the Celtic Tiger era of rapid economic growth which came from foreign investment, and in this land where the charm of the old seems almost sacred, suddenly new and bigger and better and more luxurious, hotels with spas and oversized luxury homes were envisioned to replace old cottages by the sea. And when it becomes known she is there, an “investor” with big ideas of building right along her property – if only she will agree. She does her best to avoid him. She welcomes a man, a poet and musician who befriends her, and she comes to rely on him.

This is a quiet, contemplative little book, and a gently handled look at a life of a woman struggling to understand not only what she thinks or feels, but struggling with the past, and some weighty decisions. This is filled with emotion, but at the same time, the writing is so lovely, and there is such a sense of reverence for the world around her that this never felt, to me, overly sad. This has become a place where she has found so much peace about the past, and in doing so, slowly she finds herself learning how to say goodbye to her uncertainties, and to embrace the future.


Pub Date: 04 SEP 2018

Many thanks for the ARC provided by The Overlook Press