I love these books, because they give me an idea of the life of my Irish ancestors.
However, the amount of biblical passages was too excessive. I understand, and respect, that religon played a significant role in peoples life back then, but the author has gotten himself too caught up in them. Please don't bash me for my opinion, I just felt this book had more passages than were needed. They took me out of the story.
With that said, I love the imagery, people, and story lines. Mostly because it talks of perserverance, harship, and love; without excessive violence and sex. It was simply the harsh truth that spanned the ocean from the "Great Famine" to the "American Dream".