Crowley does a skillful job navigating the variety of English and Irish accents of different classes in this tragedy. Furthermore, the wistfulness that infuses Crowley's reading is so in keeping with Trevor's work. There are elements of comedy and whimsy here, but this novel is mostly about how hatred and revenge during the "Irish troubles" consume possibilities for happiness and familial satisfaction. The imperatives of that conflict all but appropriate the novel's gentle, young hero, Willy Quinton, giving him only a glimpse of the contentment that should have been his. It's an understated novel and reading, which is indelible, as well. M.O. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio Cassette
edition.
Product Description
When an informer's body is found shortly after the First World War on the estate of the Quintons, a wealthy Irish family, an appalling cycle of revenge is set in motion. Led by a zealous sergeant, the Black and Tans fire the family home, and only young Willie and his mother Evie escape alive. Fatherless, Willie grows into manhood while his alcoholic mother's bitter resentment festers. And though he finds love, Willie, too, seems unable to forget the terrible injuries of the past..."Fools of Fortune" won the Whitbread Novel of the Year award and was described in the "Washington Post" as, 'Arresting, powerful and indelible. A story of courage and love...as tender and wistful as an Irish lament'.
