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On Canaan's Side

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About this listen

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2011

At once epic and intimate, the story of Lilly Bere unfurls as she tries to make sense of the sorrows and troubles of her life and of the people whose lives she has touched. Spanning nearly seven decades, from Dublin at the end of the First World War to Lilly's life in the new world of America, it is a novel of memory, war, family ties, and love.

©2011 Sebastian Barry (P)2011 W F Howes Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt
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Sebastian Barry really is one of the great authors of our age, coming that fine tradition of Anglo Irish writing his wordcraft is simply beautiful. This book is well deserving of it's Booker nomination and must be a potential winner.

As with his previous book, The Secret Scripture, this book deals with memories of an elderly Irish woman looking back over her life.. including acts of terrorism, murder, explosions, deceit, multiple wars, racism, emigration and more.. the book spreads the story across Ireland and America and sheds a light on the oft forgotten side of Irish history, the "loyal Irish".

This historical novel wraps several real events (eg the Cleveland Gas Explosion of 1944) into the story which really captures the interest. It reminds me somewhat of Dennis Lehane's A Given Day, although it is more personal and less epic in it's sweep..and significantly shorter!

The story is read well by an Irish American actress who sucessfully captures the voice of the young and old characters alike.

If you are fan of Sebastian Barry's books this is definitely for you, if you a new to him it is a great introduction, familiarity with US or Irish history is not a prerequisite.. just jump in and enjoy!

Beautifully written story

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This book is exceptional
The authors gift for telling is wonderful
Beautifully narrated
Recommend most highly

Superb

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Where does On Canaan's Side rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best. The narration is superb; relaxed and lilting.

What did you like best about this story?

It's full of surprises and so well written. It starts as a rather rambling account of disparate events, as recalled by Lily who's mourning the death of her grandson. The tale covers some 80 years of family history and I particularly enjoyed the way in which the listener is left to join the dots, but by bit. It's a story of total delight, beautifully crafted and well told.

What does Grainne Gillis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Calm, measured narration; she is the voice at the heart of the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many.

Any additional comments?

First book I've listened to by this author; it's powerful and I was totally engrossed so will happily look for more. Covers so many universal themes; love, loss, racism, redemption.

Eloquent, lyrical narrative

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........... in every way. This writer is so gifted; memorable characters, clever plot, recognisable emotions and brilliant story telling. I was captivated from start to finish.

Outstanding ....

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What a wonderful listen tjanks to a superb performance. Excellent story and spanned decades but did from point of view of remembering rather than the dull and overused device of telling a parallel past and present story. Excellent writing and I loved the main character especially in her latter years. I was surprised by the ending

Quality of the performance

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