Description
The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama; and yet its inhabitants are troubled. Sergeant PJ Collins hasn’t always been this overweight; mother-of-two Brid Riordan hasn’t always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn’t always felt that her life was a total waste.
So when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke – a former love of both Brid and Evelyn – the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated PJ struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret.
Darkly comic, touching and at times profoundly sad, Holding is a masterful debut. Graham Norton employs his acerbic wit to breathe life into a host of loveable characters, and explore – with searing honesty – the complexities and contradictions that make us human.
So when human remains are discovered on an old farm, suspected to be that of Tommy Burke – a former love of both Brid and Evelyn – the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As the frustrated PJ struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regret.
Darkly comic, touching and at times profoundly sad, Holding is a masterful debut. Graham Norton employs his acerbic wit to breathe life into a host of loveable characters, and explore – with searing honesty – the complexities and contradictions that make us human.
Review
I was intrigued that Graham Norton had written a novel and couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately for me the first half of the book I could not get into this novel. This is described as darkly comic and I could hear Graham's voice in my head, just like on the radio, narrating, and the two just didn't go together. I also did not at first find the characters loveable as described at all.
When I got to Part 2 of the book something just clicked - I began to enjoy the book more and certainly by the last third I was so intrigued to find out what had happened all those years ago and whose body had been found. Even the characters took on a different level and I warmed to the Garda PJ and his housekeeper Mrs Meany and also to Brid.
There is some very insightful writing here and at times it reminded me a little of a Maeve Binchy novel -where everyone knows everyone and has an opinion on them, but they all rally round for each other. The plot is a clever one and Graham has also used his knowledge of Ireland to give an authentic feel to the characters.
I did enjoy the book in the end - once I had a neutral voice in my head with no wicked nuances of Graham. I would be interested to read his next novel - I'm sure there will be one.
I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks go to Netgalley for a copy of the book to review.
Comments
Post a Comment
Those leaving a comment on any post on this blog do so in the knowledge that their name and blog link are visible to all who visit this blog and by providing their comment they have published their own personal details on this blog and also consented to our use of that personal information for that specific purpose.