- Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: NYRB Classics; New edition edition (Oct 31 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 159017108X
- ISBN-13: 978-1590171080
- Product Dimensions: 13.4 x 3 x 20.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 590 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #279,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"A circumspect and grippingly authentic account that stands as a stark warning against the romanticisation of torrid times. The result is a classic of historical fiction." — The Times (London)
" . . . handsomely written . . . [a] splendid novel." — Denis Donogue, New York Review of Books
"I haven’t so enjoyed a historical novel since The Charterhouse of Parma and War and Peace."
— John Leonard, The New York Times
"Such a brutal and pathetic story would alone have sufficed to make this book absorbing, but Flanagan has much more on his mind. He means to create not only a plausible sense of place and character, and an accurate account of evens, but to recreate, from barroom to manor hall, the entire intellectual and emotional climate of the time. . . . not only a serious book. . . . but a distinguished one as well." — Peter S. Prescott, Newsweek
"A masterwork of historical fiction." — The Philadelphia Inquirer
" . . . handsomely written . . . [a] splendid novel." — Denis Donogue, New York Review of Books
"I haven’t so enjoyed a historical novel since The Charterhouse of Parma and War and Peace."
— John Leonard, The New York Times
"Such a brutal and pathetic story would alone have sufficed to make this book absorbing, but Flanagan has much more on his mind. He means to create not only a plausible sense of place and character, and an accurate account of evens, but to recreate, from barroom to manor hall, the entire intellectual and emotional climate of the time. . . . not only a serious book. . . . but a distinguished one as well." — Peter S. Prescott, Newsweek
"A masterwork of historical fiction." — The Philadelphia Inquirer
Product Description
In 1798, Irish patriots, committed to freeing their country from England, landed with a company of French troops in County Mayo, in westernmost Ireland. They were supposed to be an advance guard, followed by other French ships with the leader of the rebellion, Wolfe Tone. Briefly they triumphed, raising hopes among the impoverished local peasantry and gathering a group of supporters. But before long the insurgency collapsed in the face of a brutal English counterattack.
Very few books succeed in registering the sudden terrible impact of historical events; Thomas Flanagan's is one. Subtly conceived, masterfully paced, with a wide and memorable cast of characters, The Year of the French brings to life peasants and landlords, Protestants and Catholics, along with old and abiding questions of secular and religious commitments, empire, occupation, and rebellion. It is quite simply a great historical novel.
Very few books succeed in registering the sudden terrible impact of historical events; Thomas Flanagan's is one. Subtly conceived, masterfully paced, with a wide and memorable cast of characters, The Year of the French brings to life peasants and landlords, Protestants and Catholics, along with old and abiding questions of secular and religious commitments, empire, occupation, and rebellion. It is quite simply a great historical novel.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Some years ago, when I first took up the pastoral care of the wild and dismal region from which I write, I was prompted to begin a journal in which would be set forth, as I encountered them, the habits, customs, and manners of the several social classes, with the thought that it might someday furnish the substance of a book with some such title as Life in the West of Ireland. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Some years ago, when I first took up the pastoral care of the wild and dismal region from which I write, I was prompted to begin a journal in which would be set forth, as I encountered them, the habits, customs, and manners of the several social classes, with the thought that it might someday furnish the substance of a book with some such title as Life in the West of Ireland. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lyrical, wise and alive -- a sweeping triumph,
By Dan The Man (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Year Of The French (Paperback)
I was compelled to write this review mostly because of the previous commentary. A lullaby? Hardly. Vivid and stirring, and not at all a textbook tome. As for the supposedly "homogenized" characterizations, I disagree completely. Owen McCarthy, as befitting of a poet, is a poetical character. His reflections on his people and his land are some of the most moving I have read in any novel in ages. The book brings to life not only events -- ugly battles between cannons and pikemen, in all their gore and horror -- but also the tenor of the times, the motivations of all sides in this epic confrontation. And while Flanagan does tend to belabor some of his points and themes in the latter third (which a keener editing eye should have taken care of; this was a debut novel), a reader emerges feeling that every side in this fight had good and bad sides, high motives and base motives. And, having seen firsthand the way that modern wars of revolt and insurrection quickly turn into butchery on all sides, Flanagan's illustration of the conduct and motivations of the warring parties in 1798 Ireland seems as dead-on an explanation of such events as you'll find anywhere.A superb read, astonishing in its breadth and depth and its lyrical skill.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellant novel for background on Irish troubles,
By
This review is from: The Year of the French (Paperback)
A lengthy novel illustrating the reasons, attitudes and feelings of many of the classes of people caught up in Wolfe Tone's rebellion and its long term effects. The characters struck me as very real persons in their various thoughts, backgrounds and philosophies on life, war and idealism. This is not a book to be read from cover to cover quickly, it inspires much too much thought. Some reviewers have compared it to 'War and Peace', but I thought that book grander in its scale of action whereas Thomas Flanagan has drawn a very detailed portait of a small campaign and its protagonists. I presume it is reasonably factual with respect to the historical campaign as the book is seemingly dedicated to one of the characters. Recommended for anyone who wants to understand 18th to 20th Century Ireland.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews) 43 of 48 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finest historical novel written in English,
By Ralph H. Peters - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Year Of The French (Paperback)
Anyone has a right to be suspicious of claims that appear extravagant, but, upon reflection, I genuinely believe this is the finest historical novel written in English, at least in the twentieth century (I suppose we should count "Vanity Fair" and "A Tale of Two Cities" as historicals, but none of poor, old Walter Scott's works compete). Its foreign language competition is limited to a handful of books, From "War and Peace," "The Leopard," and "The Forty Days of Musa Dagh," to "Am Himmel wie auf Erden," "Vor dem Sturm," and "I Promessi Sposi." Thomas Flanagan is simply a brilliant writer--lucid, thoroughly-engaging, controlled and masterful. His prose is flawless. Except for "The Leopard," I know of no historical novel that so richly and convincingly captures the ambience of a bygone world. The weather and the feel of chilled mud, the prejudice of blood, the nuances of the social order and the confusion of military operations, the errors and casual oversights that shape lives, and the interplay of great events and individual tragedies are all so perfectly interwoven and gracefully presented that the reader forgets this is only a novel and enters another reality. Of course, all this will sound like hyperbole to those who have not yet read this book--but once you have read it, you will find it haunts you for a long time. I've given several copies to cherished friends, as I also have done with Penelope Fitzgerald's "The Blue Flower" (which might have been a competitor for "best historical," were it not such a transcendent book that it won't be characterized by any genre). This is a wonderful book--please read it and help keep it in print.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweeping And Poetic,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Year Of The French (Paperback)
The first book in Flanagan's panaromic sweep of Irish history. (see "Tenants of Time" & "The End of the Hunt")Well written with characters the reader cares about set against the historical back drop of Wolfe Tone's failed 1789 rebellion against the English. Compelling, a must read! Once you've read one of Flanagan's books you find yourself wishing he had written more, or started writing earlier. 13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breathtakingly beautiful telling of a heartbreaking story,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Year Of The French (Paperback)
This is writing at its finest, making the drama of history come alive through characters we relate to and care about. I was swept along from the first paragraph, held captive by beautiful language and vivid detail. As has been said of the Irish, "There's no cause like a lost cause". Writing like this makes one of history's saddest stories live on in the hearts of anyone lucky enough to come across it. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
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