The Killing Snows by Charles Egan is a powerful and heartbreaking fictional account of life in the impoverished west of Ireland in the 1840's , during the Great Hunger. The author has based his story on archival documents and accounts and has built a story that is compelling in its scope. Centred on one family in a fictional village, it charts their struggles for survival in a brutal and desperate time, and describes the tragedy and suffering in stark terms that cannot fail to move the reader. As a native of that region I could so easily picture it from his descriptions and his ability to put a human face on familiar historical events made for gripping reading, from his account of workhouse life to the description of the gangs of desperate men who travelled to Liverpool and further afield in search of work so they could send money home, to the more domestic drama of the struggles of fathers and sons and the discovery of love amidst the suffering, there was so much to get my teeth into. I felt for the characters, even those I disliked, and I would definitely recommend this to any reader with an interest in Irish history.
I read a review copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This book that is based on the author’s own family set in Ireland in the 1840’s this is an emotional read that will give you glued to the very end.

This book is advertised as a 'story that needs to be told', and I fully agree with that. The history of Ireland is both intruiging and horrendous. Having a much bigger and abusive neighbour can result in problematic times. Sometimes it even creates famine and death. Sadly the story of Ireland is quite often brushed over or ignored, hence my agreement that the story needs to be told. However the way it is told didn't do it for me....

Rather than boring everyone with an explanation of personal taste, because that is clearly why the book didn't become one of my favourites, I would advice to ignore my opinion.

If you like Ireland read the book. If you want to learn more about some dark pages in European history read it. If you have an interest in how disunited the British isles are in all their unstable glory read it. If you want to read a story about proper misery go for it.

A lovely piece of historical fiction documenting the Irish famine. harrowing to read, at times, but well written with good insight to the lives and conditions suffered by so many of the Irish people. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy. reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Facebook.

I was excited to read The Killing Snows especially since it was based on his family’s documents. The reader could tell the vast amount of research that the author had done. For me, I felt like the author kept “telling” about the characters and at times, I could not connect emotionally to them. I would give this book 3.5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read Egan’s book.

Being Irish, we learn about the famine in school and it is a huge part of our history and heritage that resulted in the deaths of at least one million people and obviously the emigration of further hundreds of thousands from Ireland, resulting in the Irish diaspora we have today. I have never read a fictional book about the famine and I enjoyed this book. It brought the famine to life as I read it through the eyes of characters (based on real life people in the Author's own family) and felt their pain and suffering. It is a very interesting book. The telling of the starvation, the freezing weather, the workhouses, the employment for the poor on the roads in Ireland, the Irish working on the railways in England, and the destitute people living in an Ireland so far removed from what we know today, made the story vivid and real. There is a richness of detail in the story that brings it to life. My only criticism is that it is quite a long read at over 400 pages.

If you are Irish, this book will break your heart

If you are not Irish, this book will break your heart

This truly great novel, based on real characters in Charles Egan's family, is yet another example of man's inhumanity to man that we who didn't experience it firsthand will find absolutely unbelievable.

I read this EARC courtesy of NetGalley and Books Go Social. pub date 11/14/12

The Killing Snows by Charles Egan

A book of death and dying, this novel about the Great Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s tells of the horrors of poverty, hunger and disease.

It is relentless in describing the people affected by this horrible historic event. The few to escape were either educated in letters or numbers, and able to work for those in charge as long as they stayed healthy.

Where was the government to ease the suffering? Where it always is: too late in the game or led by the greedy.

Charles Egan is at the ready to describe the skeletal populous, child and adult alike, dying of fever; yellow or black, you pick, gangrene and other horrors. Eaten by rats, the dead were thrown into mass pits for a speedy burial to mitigate the spread of disease.

Our protagonist, Luke Ryan, from the town of Mayo, tries his best to help the masses, but his hands are tied by those in charge. There are workhouses available to the fortunate few, and later on, soup kitchens to feed all a bowl of thin gruel.

Many characters, mostly family and friends of Luke’s, are involved in this story with very little dialog, sometimes going a page or two without even mentioning a character by name. Hang on to that pronoun to remember who he’s talking about.

All in all, I recommend a strong stomach and a passion for constant repetition to get through this story. I’m supposing Egan used this writing style to emphasize the horrors of this period to the reader, but half the length of this saga would have sufficed in this reader’s opinion.

The author used information gathered from old family records to put together this story of the devastating Irish famine and a love which grew against all odds. The government solution to starvation and the high number of unemployed was to offer employment working on the roads or placing people in overcrowded workhouses. Often wages were less than the minimum and the work was back breaking with workers dropping dead on the job.
There are several memorable character eg Michael is a tough father who loves his children but lacks the words to express his feelings. Luke is the hardworking son set to inherit the family farm who lays with another man's wife. Pat is the brother who should be the one receive the farm. The baby who gives another woman purpose and a reason to live.
This is a terrible period in Irish history with long term repercussions for many of the families affected. Heartbreaking and at times heart warming this will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy books with a historical background and/or those who believe love conquers all.
I thought this book was a great read and one that I needed to read. At times I felt like I was reading a never ending cycle of human misery which let me with a heavy heart. Despite this feeling I felt there was a message to the story and reminded me how lucky we all are now.

I have rated this book as one of the best that I have ever read in this genre'.
I realize that it was fiction but the characters and the happenings in this book were so realistic,that I actually had to take a time out from time to time,to realize,that I really read,what I did.
There were just as many scoundrels in the mid 1840's as there are today.
The rich got richer and the poor starved and died.
Read this book by Charles Egan and trust me,you will remember it for a long time
I just discovered this author by chance and cannot wait to read his other books on the subject.
I could go on and on about this,book but don't want to spoil it for future readers.
Thank you to author,publisher,etc for al!owing me the privilege of reading it.

This is a heartbreaking read. This book will stay with me for a long time. The detail in it is incredible. The descriptions of fever and famine and the surroundings bring that harrowing part of Ireland's history to life. This book must have been so hard to write. The details of the dead and the dying were so hard to read about. I knew some of the details of the famine but not in detail. This is a must read for anyone interested in Irish history.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

5 stars

A box of old documents was found. They are over 100 years old and so begins our tale.

It’s the 1840’s in Ireland during the height of the potato famines. Thousands are out of work and many find work on a government scheme to build roads. They only get paid a pittance; certainly not enough to feed their families. It is also the worst and coldest winter on record. People are also freezing to death and dying of hunger.

This is a remarkable book that is based on the author’s own family. I wondered as I was reading it if the novel was as painful to write as it was to read. It was heartrending and at times I had to put it down for a bit. Mr. Egan used wonderful language to describe the conditions in 1840's Galway. He paints very vivid pictures of the people and the landscape. While I have had experience of living in a very cold environment (and hating every freezing second of it), I have not had to wear rags on my feet to work outside. While I have had minor frostbite, I have not had my limbs turn black. I have not starved. I knew about the famine, but in a more abstract way. I am not Irish, so had no relatives that suffered through that period of time in history. My heart goes out to those people.

This is such a sad tale and it will stay with me for a very long time.

I want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for forwarding to me a copy of this most enlightening and painful book for me to read and review.