Old God's Time #

by Sebastian Barry
4.5 ⭐️

challenging; dark; emotional; reflective; sad; tense; slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I really enjoyed reading this one, a man haunted by a history he's tried to forget and leave it well alone in the past, until events mean that he can't. Very glad this made the Booker Prize 2023 long list, a bit sad it wasn't on the short list.

Women Talking #

by Miriam Toews
4.0 ⭐️

challenging; dark; emotional; hopeful; informative; inspiring; sad; tense; slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I have a connection of sorts to the Mennonite world, and understood the power of authoritarian and patriarchal religion in the world of this story. Glad it's been made into a film, though I haven't got to watch it yet.

Trust #

by Hernán Díaz
3.75 ⭐️

dark; emotional; informative; sad; medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I was rather disappointed by this story. I guess I had high hopes, as a 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that was also long-listed for the 2022 Booker. It's metafictional, referencing its own structure and the unreliability of the narrators. But I was less than convinced and was underwhelmed overall.

The Colony #

by Audrey Magee
4.0 ⭐️

challenging; dark; emotional; informative; sad; slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

The Colony was also long-listed for the 2022 Booker, but similarly didn't make it to the short list. I enjoyed this one, the story of two outsiders joining the life of a community on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland. The story is rather brilliantly intersected by startling accounts of some of the worst horrors of The Troubles, and the story slowly, inevitably closes on the final reckoning.