Raw, beautiful and human.

Donal Ryan is definitely one of my new favourite authors because the writing, OH MY GOD, the writing in this book was absolutely brilliant!! The emotions encapsulated in every word effectively delivered and throughout my reading experience, there were so many instances where I literally just stopped for a moment to contemplate on how beautiful some sentences were. At times like poetry and at times the most compelling stream of consciousness, the writing in this book was nothing short of, excuse me, absolute mindfuckery, it was 6/5 stars!!

The plot and premise managed to grasp my attention from the very start, I think this is the only book I've read set in a small Irish town with scandal brewing everywhere! The incorporation of Traveller culture was really intriguing and definitely one of the things which compelled me to read this book in the first place. The plot twists (I call them "The incidents") left me completely stunned and I loved how the author subtly included them in the plot instead of making the whole story surrounding them. Furthermore, I feel the organisation of the chapters in terms of Melody's pregnancy weeks was really clever too and added to the book as a whole.

Moving on to the characters, they were realistically flawed and perfectly developed with a voice literally and figuratively of their own! The progression of Melody from lifting her head from her past to embracing the future although slow, was absolutely beautiful and as someone on goodreads said "The "delivery" was really of herself, not of a child.", which is a perfectly accurate description of how I felt! I applaud Ryan for having the ability to have me completely invested in all the characters, the protagonist and the secondary characters; I experienced shock, excitement, melancholy and human-ness with all of them!

Recommend this to everyone and anyone who enjoys adult fiction!

WOW. I had a hard time getting into this book but once it hit its stride, I couldn't stop reading. I felt so emotionally involved in Melody's story that I felt like I was learning about a friend rather than a fictional character. This is definitely not a light read, but the spare and almost clinical writing gave just enough distance that the reader feels like an observer rather than a part of the story which is, arguably, the best way to experience this heartbreaking book.

Donal Ryan writes beautiful sentences and books that transport me.

I was amazed that a man could write the internal monologue of a woman so convincingly. Even though Melody's stream of consciousness is not always a comfortable place to be, the voice felt authentic even when it was disturbing.

Few people in a bad relationship see themselves or their actions clearly, but Melody recognized her faults even if she made no effort to correct or change them. " I'd sit and think and my mind would light on something or other he'd said and I'd start to heat up a bit, and start to bubble and boil, and by the time he came back I'd have twisted all the calm logic of hours into a new and ferocious weapon to use on him." Even though it is difficult to find many likeable qualities in Melody, I love that Donal Ryan never presents her as a victim or a helpless woman. Her husband cheats on her, but she drove him to it. She made her bed and she lies in it. "I don't know why I'm the way I am, or even why I am. I can't see purpose to myself, nor could I ever."



There are many beautiful sections I highlighted as I read this book, and most of these sections have to do with Melody's recollection of her past with Pat. I would have like more of their history and more of how/why her seduction of Martin came about. The sections with Mary were less interesting to me, but they were necessary for Melody to serve her penance, if that is even possible.