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A Long Long Way (Thorndike Basic)
 
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A Long Long Way (Thorndike Basic) [Large Print] (Hardcover)

by Sebastian Barry (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 461 pages
  • Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (17 May 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0786275669
  • ISBN-13: 978-0786275663
  • Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)

Product Description

Independent

'Unsurpassed in First World War fiction, A Long Long Way is a small masterpiece with an exhilarating resoluteness and authority.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Sunday Times

'A beautifully written book with human value.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

39 Reviews
5 star:
 (24)
4 star:
 (11)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (39 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A superbly crafted novel, 17 July 2006
By A. Coyle "acoyle7" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: A Long Long Way (Paperback)
I'm not really one for war novels but was drawn to this because of its focus on Irish soldiers fighting in the Great War against the backdrop of the Easter Rising in their own country (I'm Irish myself) and because it was nominated for the Booker Prize. I whizzed through 'The Da Vinci Code' before this (well, I thought it was about time that I knew what people were going on about) and found it a blessed relief to savour the poetic prose of Sebastian Barry's novel after the dross of Dan Brown's. Barry describes interactions and interiority with poetic insight, so much so that I re-read many passages, just to taste properly all that they had to offer. However, some of his graphic descriptions of the field of battle are stomach-churning - and so they should be. In Willie Dunne, he creates a deeply empathic character whose growing sense of out-of-placeness and disillusionment with the discourses of war build incrementally across the novel. I found the end both shocking and deeply moving. This is a superbly crafted book that I would recommend unreservedly.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A book to read again , 11 Aug 2006
By Patricia (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Long Long Way (Paperback)
I read this book a few months ago and when I finished it I felt I had to read it again to capture some of the powerful descriptions of human feelings, love, fear, confusion, betrayal, disappointment, compradeship, etc., I picked it up again last week and have enjoyed reading every page of it a second time.
In this book Sebastian Barry has dealt with a subject rarely even talked about until recently in Ireland. That is, the dilemna of 1916 when Irishmen were fighting against Britain in Dublin while at the same time Irishmen were fighting in WW1.
This is the human side of that dilemna. As Colm Toibin says on the cover of the book "This is Sebastian Barry's song of innocence and experience composed with poetic grace and eye, both unflinching and tender, for savage detail and moments of pure beauty. It is also an astonishing display of Barry's gift for creating a memorable character, whome he has written, indelibly, back into a history which continues to haunt us".
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Evokes pain and sorrow, 23 Feb 2006
By B. Gudmundsson (Iceland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: A Long Long Way (Paperback)
I don't like using big words when describing books. But I think I will have to do it this time around. A Long Long Way is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. Let me explain.

I've long been interested in fiction that takes place in a war or is in someway related to a war situation. At first because of the action, but as I grew up I liked to read about how people react in a war situation. Following Willie Dunne's ordeals I felt so many pains, so many sorrows. Sebastian Barry shows great depth in describing both the conflicts of war but more importantly the agonies of war, the fear and hopes of the soldiers. I'm not a big fan of poetry. But in this case I think the fact that Sebastian Barry is a poet as well as a novelist and dramatist may explain why his style is so good, so capable of conveying emotion (mind you I haven't read any of his poetry).

A Long Long Way is perhaps the best novel I've read in a long time. If I try to categorize it as war fiction it tops all the books I´ve read recently (Doctorow's The March - good -, Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried - very good -) and war related fiction such as Gunther Grass's Crabwalk - very good - and Ismail Kadare's General of the Dead Army - somewhat disappointing.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Divided loyalties
Sebastian Barry's "A Long Long Way" not only describes the horrors of World War One, but also offers an insight into the political conflict in Ireland at that time. Read more
Published 29 days ago by E. N. Penfold

1.0 out of 5 stars A Long Long Way
As an ex soldier this book was spoilt for me by Mr Barry's lack of research, there are so many mistakes regarding military detail. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. L. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars A Long Way - Dublin to Flanders
This novel deserves all the encomiums quoted on the cover and fly-leaves of the paperback version. It made me better understand Irish feelings about the first world war and the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Adrian Buxton

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
This is a fantastic book, you should read it. The story of Irish soldiers in WW1 and their journey from Ireland as heroes off to fight a hellish war, only to find themselves... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dublinia

5.0 out of 5 stars a great book by a great writer
a book about the role of the irish in ww1 and the confusion the home rule legislztion with the british caused. sebastion barry is a superb writer - another roddy doyle.
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. S. C. Lamb

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully written, great story.
The book is very well put together. So much so you will often want to read a page a second time to savour the language, a true mark of a great book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by N. Caulfield

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully written book
Read this book as part of my book club and it wouldn't have been a book I would have normally choosen to read. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Dunning

5.0 out of 5 stars a brilliant moving story
this was beautifully written story which was set in the first world war. It really moved me and I felt a real tenderness towards the characters and their troubles. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Duncan Cairns

4.0 out of 5 stars Not yet read
This is the fourth book of Sebastian Barrys I have bought recently but I have yet to read any of them. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Roberts

5.0 out of 5 stars No man's land
At the heart of this remarkable novel is the dilemma which increasingly faced many Irishmen during the latter stages of World War 1 - divided loyalties. Read more
Published 10 months ago by David Roffe

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