An Engaging Narrator Takes You to Liam's Wake While Shrouding the Past in Mystery, 11. Juni 2008

When a book has won a prestigious prize like the Man Booker, readers feel a double challenge: Appreciate the book for what it is and try to figure out what attracted the award panel's approval. I think the former was easier to do than the latter in this case.Ultimately, The Gathering's subject is the difficulty with trying to pin down the truth of anything, especially things that happened long ago for which there is little or no contemporary evidence. If you've never thought much about that issue, you'll enjoy the subtle philosophical bent of the novel.That subject is explored in the context of a sister contemplating her brother's death. Veronica Hegerty is a very vivid and appealing character: Much of the book's charm comes from seeing her family through her eyes and memories. In the process, she reveals the kind of "within the family" opinions that all family members express in whispers with one another. Beneath her grief, Veronica also feels a need to share a secret with us . . . but she feels at a loss for how to do so. Her rambling reflections gradually spiral closer and closer to that secret until you realize its full shocking lesson: People may not be who they seem to be, and you need to be careful even where there seems to be no risk.There's an unedited quality at times in the book that captures what will remind you of the sorts of soliloquies that we've all conducted in our minds. That exposition method is very effective for making Veronica's feelings come across more strongly.Why did the book win the award? I'm not really sure. I found that the secret wasn't so very interesting as to make the philosophical question and the writing style worth the effort. The book felt like a well decorated cake where the appearance of the icing was a lot better than the taste and freshness of the cake.But anyone who enjoys good writing will find this book rewarding. We can all learn from a stylist like Anne Enright.

      einfach langweilig , 12. Mai 2008

Es mag sein, dass man das Buch mehrfach lesen muss, um es schätzen zu lernen. Ich habe es einmal gelesen und das hat mich schon viel Mühe gekostet! Ich fand es einfach langweilig und unstrukturiert. Ich lese seit Jahren die Gewinnerbücher des Booker Prize und dieses war meiner Meinung nach mit Abstand das schlechteste Buch.

      deservedly received the Man Booker Prize 2007, 15. Januar 2008

breaking w/ conventions; exposing plenty of family secrets & taboos; writing irreverently; full of suspense; this page turner book guarantees entertainment until the end.

       This is a complicated book, 24. Dezember 2007

one that requires more than one reading with which to fully come to grips. There's a lot going on here, about family, about the ties that bind, about the fact we can never escape the past. Everyone will not like this book, it's too grim and rambling and unfocussed for that, but I did. The story, which is set in Dublin, revolves around Veronica Hegarty, a 30-something wife and mother, who has escaped the clutches of her huge Irish Catholic family She has eight siblings and suffers hardships when her brother, Liam, kills himself. Closest to him in age, Veronica is the one who must pick up the pieces and bring back his body from England, where he drowned himself off Brighton Beach. The first-person narrative is told in a stream-of-consciousness manner from Veronica's perspective. She flits backwards and forwards in time, exploring her family's dark history. She goes as far back as her grandparent's generation as she tries to unravel the story. During the course of the book, which spans Liam's death through to his funeral, Veronica traces the history of the family. But through this we glimpse Veronica's obsessions and see how her personality has been slightly damaged by her rough-and-tumble crowded childhood. Her pain and her anguish is never expressed to the outside world (she cannot even communicate with her husband), but is buried deep inside where it finds expression in Veronica's self-loathing. If nothing else, The Gathering is a portrait of a lost woman coming to grips with her past, her present and her future!!! I'd also recommend reading Tino Georgiou's bestselling novel--The Fates--if you haven't yet!!Dank!

      Schlecht, 16. November 2007

Obwohl mich die Handlung und die Kritiken sehr neugierig gemacht haben, haben sich meine Erwartungen nicht erfüllt. Im Gegenteil, ich musste mich zwingen es zu Ende zu lesen. Enright hat mich einfach nicht in ihre Geschichte ziehen können, ich fühlte mich von keiner der Personen, am wenigsten der Erzählerin selbst, persönlich angesprochen oder habe gar mit ihnen gefühlt. Dabei geht es doch um die Aufarbeitung des Tods des Bruders, der ganzen Familienverhältnisse sowie der beobachteten Misshandlung. Aber der harsche und direkte Stil sowie die ständigen Zeitwechsel liessen mich keine Verbindung zu den beteiligten Charakteren aufbauen, so dass ich auch eigentlich kein Interesse daran hatte zu sehen, inwieweit die Hauptfigur ihre Trauer verarbeiten kann. Kurz, ich fand den Roman ganz im Gegensatz zu anderen Rezensenten und Kritikern nicht packend sondern langweilig und stumpf.