Review Summaries

• The novel is valued for its single-sentence form and for the breadth with which local daily life gathers the anxieties of contemporary society. Its quiet voice layers family affection, public responsibility, and the presence of death, leaving a dense aftereffect.

Reviews

• A brilliant book. A 21st century re take on Joyce's Ulysses. Marcus Conway s a middle aged engineer who in a couple of hours of stream of consciousness reflects on his life, his marriage, his children, politics, economy, science, the meaning of life. This book lacks the complexity of Joyce but it does cover similar grounds, and is a much easier read. I loved it.

• For people who like to immerse in a continuous flow of words /thoughts. An amazing reflection on ordinary family life.

• I have no access to the printed version of the book, but the Kindle version looks wrongly paged, and as a reader I find its look very disturbing, almost to make it unreadable.

• This book... where do I even begin... my heart is ACHING after reading 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦 by Mike McCormack. - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 - First of all, I want to highlight that the style of this book is not for everyone. It is written in poetic prose and is essentially a book written in one sentence. But I think once you get familiar with the voice, you do settle into the flow of it. And when I got to the end of the book I understood why it was written in this way, and it was so much more impactful BECAUSE of how it is written. It was almost like a reward for the faithful who stick with the writing, even if it's challenging at first. I did see some reviews where readers had a blurb that revealed the full story, which I think would totally spoil it. Luckily for me I went in quite blind and didn't have any spoilers. - 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲, 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗱𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 - The novel relays the thoughts of an Irish man named Marcus Conway, a father, husband and civil engineer, who is reminded in the present of many key points of his life from the past. At times this stream of consciousness feels almost meandering, but it reiterates how even the seemingly small and mundane moments in life have untold value. - 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀, 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘂𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 - One key theme throughout the book is that of family. Not just family, but of caregiving, love, and obligation. Marcus remembers his childhood - all scabby knees, short trousers, and being in awe at his father's knowledge of the world that was beyond his own reach. This is paralleled with his remembrance of his father's death, and the way that his father declined significantly after the death of Marcus' mother. Marcus did his best to take care of his father, but many of us know firsthand that our elderly relatives can be stubborn and unmoving, and as they decline they see threat everywhere, even when it doesn't truly exist. It is so hard to see those we looked up to and love deteriorate before us, even if we know we all must eventually go through this cycle. - 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲-𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳*𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 - Another element of the story that I loved was Marcus as a character. He is an older man, from humble beginnings, and outwardly he does not always express the depth of his feelings. But inside, he feels it all, and he is a deep soul. The reader gets to know Marcus gradually, and it feels like a privilege to see the world through his eyes. Being an engineer, he appreciates things done well, and neatly, even when they are small scale things in life. As I was reading I couldn't help seeing my grandad in Marcus; he too was an older gentleman, from a small village, who couldn't outwardly say he loved you but would show you that love in so many other ways. - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗱, 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 - Being set in Ireland (Mayo), religion is also a key theme throughout the book, but it is met with dark humour, and isn't overly serious. Having been raised by a strict Catholic stepmother for a portion of my childhood, this really resonated with me. Especially Marcus' struggle with the desire to feel a sense of awe and destiny, balancing that against the realities of the world, and ultimately letting go of the indoctrination from his childhood. There are a number of very funny exchanges between Marcus and his son in particular on this topic, and there is still a sense of religion being very much a part of the underlying culture for the people who surround Marcus. When we live in particular communities, the shared values of that community bleed through to us, whether we want them to or not. - 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻, 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗯*𝗰𝗵, 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮*, 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗜 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸 - But, the sense of losing one's belief in a God or man made religion does not detract from the impact of a life well-lived, even if it is a 'small' life. McCormack does a phenomenal job of reflecting the microcosm and the macrocosm all within one perspective, and not just the broader sense of space and time on Earth, but into the universe, and across time and existence itself. Even in its mundanity, life has beauty and purpose, and we own our place in the wide beyond, even if we can't see or understand it fully. - 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘆, 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 - 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 - I love how sound was used in the book, both to recall memories, and also to round out and bookend Marcus' story. It's funny what senses can trigger a memory and take us back into a moment from our past, and sound definitely does that for Marcus. Between the ringing of the Angelus Bell, the pips on the radio that were a soundtrack to the pattern of his life, and even the scraping of a metal bucket from his childhood, these sounds root him in certain moments. And more than anything else, they give him a sense of place. And when all else seems to be out of his control, it is the sounds he clings to in order to desperately try to stay rooted. - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀, 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹, 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹, 𝘃𝗲𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 - There is SO much more I could say about Solar Bones, but I've written enough of an essay as it is. The book, for me, was reminiscent of James Joyce, and Samuel Beckett's trilogy (Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable), and it made me want to revisit some of these books as it has been a long time since I read them. Even while writing this review and revisiting some quotes I started crying again at the beauty of this book, and I will definitely be seeking out some more of McCormack's books to read. - 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂

• Dado que decía "nuevo" lo esperaba sellado y envuelto en una especie de plástico.

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