There is no doubt that Maggie O'Farrell is a wonderful author! I loved Hamnet, and this one is also beautifully written with lengthy descriptions of life in rural Ireland in the 1860's. This is the story of a family of 6, Tomas, Phina, Liam, Enda, Rosa, & Eugene. And a sweet dog name Bran. Tomas is a mapmaker, and he is assigned to a peninsula on the western coast. The first half of the novel weaves in some Irish folklore and mystery, and also describes the devastation that occurred during the Great Hunger.
I confess I was getting a little restless about halfway through the novel. While it held my interest most of the time, nothing was really happening after the characters were developed. But that all changed in the second half when there seemed to be non-stop action, most of it tragic. The ending wasn't what I wanted but it showed the difficulty of communication and travel during that time. No Google Maps or cell phones!
I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
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