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Summary: Lyrically Beautiful Prose, O'Brien At Her Very Best
Review: WILD DECEMBERS is the book that caused me to fall in love with the prose of Edna O'Brien. People love to compare O'Brien with James Joyce (and she did write an outstanding biography of him) and, in truth, Joyce and O'Brien do share some similarities, but so do O'Brien and Dylan Thomas. Ultimately, Edna O'Brien's prose is Edna O'Brien's prose and hers alone. It's lyrical, it's lush, it's beautiful and it's distinctly Irish. Although O'Brien hasn't lived in Ireland since she was a very young woman, her heart definitely remains firmly rooted there.WILD DECEMBERS revolves around Joseph and Breege Brennan, a brother and sister who live in Cloontha, a desolate mountain village in western Ireland. Joseph, who is quite a bit older than Breege, is a farmer, as were his ancestors, and it is from them that he inherited his fierce, almost romantic, love of the land. In fact, Joseph is so in love with the land that he's sacrificed both his emotional health, his long ago love for a wonderful woman and his connection with other human beings to devote himself more fully to the family farm. Because of his sacrifices, Joseph has become bitter and reclusive and he's taken the docile and old-fashioned Breege down with him. His "closed world" has become her "closed world." Although not in love with the land, Breege can't see life beyond Cloontha; she lives to care for and support Joseph. Joseph, it must be pointed out, isn't an unsympathetic figure, despite his shortcomings. He is, above all, a man in pain and in love, and a man who is doing all he can to numb that pain and hold onto that love. O'Brien lets us know and understand Joseph and he's a marvelous figure. Breege and Joseph share a delicately balanced, but peaceful, existence...until the arrival of Mick Bugler. In a plot twist that owes more than a little to ROMEO AND JULIET, the Brennans and the Buglers have been longtime rivals. It was a rivalry that the Brennans thought had ended, however, when the Buglers emigrated to Australia. No one expected Mick to return to the home of his ancestors, but return he has and he's brought a lot of the modern world with him, a world Joseph tries to embrace but eventually finds no use for. Although this unlikely trio tries to form a friendship, they are, of course, just too different to make it work. Mick brings out Joseph's distrust and paranoia; at the same time Mick has fallen under the spell of ancient Cloontha and under the spell of Breege, despite the fact that he has a fiancée in Australia. O'Brien has set the stage for disaster and it's disaster she delivers. Joseph, Breege and Mick (and especially Jospeh) are beautifully drawn, highly complex characters, but the characters that populate the periphery of WILD DECEMBERS are just as beautifully drawn and just as real and they add rich texture and detail to the book. Although there are humorous touches in WILD DECEMBERS, this is a dark, almost tragic book, written with enormous beauty and grace. The prose in WILD DECEMBERS is, I think, O'Brien's best and this is an author widely known for her lush, lyrically beautiful narratives. It is Breege and Joseph, however, and their deep sense of family and their ties to the ancient land of Cloontha, that make WILD DECEMBERS a true masterpiece of modern fiction. WILD DECEMBERS is one of the best and most beautiful books I've ever read. Any lover of literary fiction or Irish fiction is only cheating himself if he passes this masterpiece up. It's definitely on my "all time top ten" list of favorites. I know I'll be haunted by both Joseph and Breege and the ancient land of Cloontha forever, and, even more, I want to be. I can't think of a higher recommendation for any book than that.
Rating: 
Summary: "...No villian need be! Passions spin the plot...."
Review: Wild Decembers is the story of three people and the Irish mountainside they reluctantly have to share. This is a classic tragedy, full of deep love, and heartbreaking drama. Love of people, love of the land, and love of family...and how far the limits will be pushed to possess these are the elements that weave this tale. A brother Joseph, and sister, Breege, live quietly until a man from Australia, Bugler, arrives to lay claim to his deceased Uncle's land. The men argue and go to battle over land boundaries, as Breege slowly falls in love with Bugler, leading to an obvious clash of loyalties for all. The descriptions of the land read like poetry. The people are complete and full of heart and soul. You know what they are going to do and you understand why, even if you wouldn't agree with their actions.The artistry of O'Brien is that you are able to maintain hope that somehow the outcome will be different. Among O'Brien memorable cast of players are the wild sisters Rita and Reena who are nothing that you would expect! The story is beautifully sad, and classically told.
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