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Amazon.co.uk Review
Tragedy is a word too often used. Nevertheless, in Star of the Sea Joseph O'Connor manages to achieve a real sense of the tragic, as personal dramas of the most distressing kind play themselves out against the background of the Irish potato famine and the almost equal nightmare of the mass emigration that it caused. As passengers die of starvation and disease in steerage, a drama of adultery, inadvertent incest and inherited disease plays itself out in first class. O'Connor raises, and does not attempt definitively to answer, real questions about responsibility and choice.
Bankrupt aristocrat Meredith is emigrating, pursued by the hatred of his tenants and the memory of his mad-hero father. His children's nurse, Mary, has memories of lost love to torment her, as well as of the husband and child who died of hunger. And the ballad singer Mulvey has both his monstrous past and the certain promise that he will be tortured to death by the Liable Men should he not kill Meredith. This is a kaleidoscopic novel, whose events are seen in many idioms, from many points of view--it is a rich novel that knows that there are limits to the sense that can be made of history. --Roz Kaveney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'A thrilling tale...O'Connor's prose - unfailingly gripping - keeps the story moving furiously' The Times 'His most substantial and impressive novel to date. Sad and funny, Star of the Sea tacks and veers in surprising directions, but follows a subtly plotted course to its final satisfying landfall' Irish Times 'There is so much that is memorable in the Star of the Sea - grounded upon well researched, vivid, unprejudiced empathy' Sunday Telegraph 'Sensitive, thoughtful and rich with the spoils of its author's plunder of the past' Irish Independent
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 64 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I devoured this novel on a recent vacation to Florida, making a nice counterpoint to traipsing around DisneyWorld with the kids. It is undoubtedly one of the finest novels I've read in the last couple of years.
O'Connor's characters are astonishingly well drawn. Set firmly in the historical context, one could quite easily believe they existed, though the nearest thing to a narrator – Grantley Dixon - is perhaps the least believable figure and potentially the novel's only weak point.
All the key POV characters - Merredith, Mulvey, Mary Duane - are drawn in shades of grey. Indeed, Pius Mulvey is an extremely sympathetic protagonist until events and his own dark urges take him beyond the point of no return on the road to Leeds. It’s at this point that all sympathy is lost. Even the secondary characters – Captain Lockwood, Rev Deedes, Nicholas Mulvey, Laura Merredith – are nicely delineated. O’Connor has a genuine gift for characterisation.
The novel’s structure is likewise fascinating. In many ways it resembles Stoker’s Dracula in its use of diary accounts, letters and recollections from multiple viewpoints. By wrapping the whole story up in authentic trappings, the novel has the air of a historical document. Even if these stylistic flourishes are disregarded, you’re left with a truly compelling plot and a nice final twist.
Star of the Sea is polemical without being naïve. It’s heart wrenching without becoming soapy (far from it). It’s understandably downbeat without being depressing. Above all, it’s a great tale derived from a dark chapter in the history of these Isles and the author is a massive talent.
O'Connor's characters are astonishingly well drawn. Set firmly in the historical context, one could quite easily believe they existed, though the nearest thing to a narrator – Grantley Dixon - is perhaps the least believable figure and potentially the novel's only weak point.
All the key POV characters - Merredith, Mulvey, Mary Duane - are drawn in shades of grey. Indeed, Pius Mulvey is an extremely sympathetic protagonist until events and his own dark urges take him beyond the point of no return on the road to Leeds. It’s at this point that all sympathy is lost. Even the secondary characters – Captain Lockwood, Rev Deedes, Nicholas Mulvey, Laura Merredith – are nicely delineated. O’Connor has a genuine gift for characterisation.
The novel’s structure is likewise fascinating. In many ways it resembles Stoker’s Dracula in its use of diary accounts, letters and recollections from multiple viewpoints. By wrapping the whole story up in authentic trappings, the novel has the air of a historical document. Even if these stylistic flourishes are disregarded, you’re left with a truly compelling plot and a nice final twist.
Star of the Sea is polemical without being naïve. It’s heart wrenching without becoming soapy (far from it). It’s understandably downbeat without being depressing. Above all, it’s a great tale derived from a dark chapter in the history of these Isles and the author is a massive talent.
46 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When the "potato famine" of 1847 was over, two million residents of Ireland had died agonizing deaths, most of them from starvation. The events which led to the famine, the people who were directly affected by it, and the steps taken to ameliorate or escape it are the subjects of Joseph O’Connor’s intense and heartfelt novel, Star of the Sea, named for the British-owned "famine ship" which is the center of the action here.
O’Connor presents four main characters who recall the pivotal experiences of their lives which lead them to make this fateful, 27-day journey. The reader becomes emotionally involved with their stories, acquiring a broad background in Irish social history--and its tragedies--in the process. Thomas David Nelson Merridith, Lord Kingscourt, is the ninth generation of his Protestant family to govern Kingscourt, with hundreds of workers dependent upon him. Now bankrupt, he and his family are going to America, first-class. Their nanny, Mary Duane, has recently joined the family, and her stories of her past loves, her marriage, and her loss of her own children illuminate the bleak prospects available to this warm and intelligent, but desperately poor, woman.
O’Connor presents four main characters who recall the pivotal experiences of their lives which lead them to make this fateful, 27-day journey. The reader becomes emotionally involved with their stories, acquiring a broad background in Irish social history--and its tragedies--in the process. Thomas David Nelson Merridith, Lord Kingscourt, is the ninth generation of his Protestant family to govern Kingscourt, with hundreds of workers dependent upon him. Now bankrupt, he and his family are going to America, first-class. Their nanny, Mary Duane, has recently joined the family, and her stories of her past loves, her marriage, and her loss of her own children illuminate the bleak prospects available to this warm and intelligent, but desperately poor, woman.
G. Grantley Dixon is a caricature of the liberal American do-gooder, whose reports about the plight of the Irish poor are influenced by his own socialism and by the reform-minded traditions of his family. Self-centered in his attitudes and limited in his social graces, he is detested by Merridith. Pius Mulvey is a mysterious ex-convict who comes from the same town as Merridith and Mary Duane, directly connected to both of them. One of over 400 passengers who have paid $8 per person for passage, he is crammed into the fetid and dangerous quarters known as "steerage," expected to stay alive on one quart of water a day and half a pound of hardtack.
O’Connor pulls out all the stops here in this big, broad melodrama, but an honesty of emotion and a fidelity to the facts here saves the novel from bathos and gives the reader cause for thought. Moments of both ineffable sadness and high drama arise, and O’Connor’s imagery, especially his sense imagery, is arresting. Occasionally, his compression of time, for the sake of story, leads to anachronisms--several mentions of evolution, with parallels between monkeys and Irishmen, ignore the fact that Darwin’s Evolution of the Species was not published until twelve years after this famine. Still, O’Connor presents a compelling story with many unforgettable details of Irish history. The ending is preachy, but the author does provide a follow-up on the characters after their arrival in America. The fact that at least one character becomes a politician (later accused of misappropriation of funds) will surprise no one accustomed to politics. Mary Whipple
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
'Star of the Sea'is one of the few novels that I have sat and read in one go. Not only is this a sound and clever story with twists, intrigue and all the page turning attributes you want from a book, but O'Connor's use of language is breathtaking.
This book is as much about language as it is about the story and, because the language is so good, so the characters are brilliantly drawn.
If you aspire to write books then you should look to this as a standard text. It is a wonderful read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A little plodding until half way through
It wasn't the easiest book to get into, I know some have criticised his style as being difficult to tune into, you certainly need a quiet place and time to tune into his narrative... Read more
Published 22 days ago by Charlie&Molly
Very enjoyable read......once you get past the first few chapters
I had to restart this book about 3 or 4 times as the beginning is a bit chaotic and difficult to know if you've misunderstood some of the story. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Henry's Mum
A masterpiece.
I loved this book. It is everything one could hope for in a novel; entirely absorbing, intelligent, well written, compassionate but unsparing of the truth, just wonderful in every... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Calpurniarose
A floating coffin
It is the time of the Irish Famine and we follow the stories of a whole string of characters as they make their way to the USA aboard the Star of the Sea. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Clive A. H. Still
Breathtaking achievement
This novel is without a doubt one of the finest I have read in the last year. The language cuts you like a knife and glows jewel-like from the pages, as it hooks you into the story... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Angelwings
Interesting look at a bad time in Irish history
I would describe this as "a good read".
It can be heavy going in places, (then so was that time in history for most Irish). Read more
It can be heavy going in places, (then so was that time in history for most Irish). Read more
Published 12 months ago by emerald
Toni
The book its self is brilliant, one of the most engrossing, beautifull written books I have read. I would highly reccommend it to anyone who enjoys a 'good thriller', it's a real... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Toni
Breathtaking
I recently picked this up in Smiths on my lunch break when looking for nautical themed books after enjoying a number of them recently. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Harley
Superb novel
Up to now I thought there could not be a better novelist in Eire than John Banville but maybe I am mistaken.This is a very powerful and well written novel. Read more
Published 16 months ago by brixtonite
mystery story
At times i wondered where this story was going.It's written during the time of the irish potato famine and was very informative but the story had lots of digressions and got... Read more
Published 17 months ago by priss
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