By the Lake

Rating:
Summary: A NECESSARILY UNHURRIED STORY
Review: I found this novel by John McGahern to be much more satisfying than his collected short stories, which I also read recently - and I can see two reasons for that. Finding no fault at all with his writing - he's amazingly talented - I felt that the characters depicted here were much better developed and fuller, all-around, than the ones in his stories. The `space' of the novel also allowed the author to take his time and delve into the story at it's own pace, rather than his own. The result is a beautiful book that quite literally picks the reader up and places him/her into the setting (rural Ireland, relatively modern, with the time never specified) and amongst a group of most wonderful characters. The novel is peopled with much more likeable - and acceptable - characters than the stories. Even the scalliwags herein are not without their redeeming qualities.

Rather than setting out to tell a story about a specific event or person, McGahern has chosen instead to allow the reader access to the daily lives of his characters, following them gently over the course of a year. We see them deal with their farms, their jobs, their personal relationships, with the changing times, and with life and death. This book enveloped me so entirely and so comfortably that I was very sorry to see it end - all the while knowing that it couldn't go on forever (rather like life itself).

This is a very enjoyable, worthwhile read - I can give it my highest recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: A NECESSARILY UNHURRIED STORY
Review: I found this novel by John McGahern to be much more satisfying than his collected short stories, which I also read recently - and I can see two reasons for that. Finding no fault at all with his writing - he's amazingly talented - I felt that the characters depicted here were much better developed and fuller, all-around, than the ones in his stories. The 'space' of the novel also allowed the author to take his time and delve into the story at it's own pace, rather than his own. The result is a beautiful book that quite literally picks the reader up and places him/her into the setting (rural Ireland, relatively modern, with the time never specified) and amongst a group of most wonderful characters. The novel is peopled with much more likeable - and acceptable - characters than the stories. Even the scalliwags herein are not without their redeeming qualities.

Rather than setting out to tell a story about a specific event or person, McGahern has chosen instead to allow the reader access to the daily lives of his characters, following them gently over the course of a year. We see them deal with their farms, their jobs, their personal relationships, with the changing times, and with life and death. This book enveloped me so entirely and so comfortably that I was very sorry to see it end - all the while knowing that it couldn't go on forever (rather like life itself).

This is a very enjoyable, worthwhile read - I can give it my highest recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Simple Character Piece
Review: I had been told about this book at separate times by two older women who are avid readers, and both talked enthusiastically about its quiet charms. It took me nearly a year to finally pick it up, and after turning the last page, I was sorry to see it end. A wonderful virtually plotless novel that follows the simple lives of Joe and Kate Rutledge, a couple who have left their busy lives in London to lead simpler ones in the Irish countryside. What propels the book through a year is their relationships with various "characters" who live near and around them. The book is lyrical in its simplicity with restrained but honest emotion pulsing through its veins. I loved the way these people interacted with one another, and by the end felt I was leaving a group of old friends. In a way it reminded me somewhat of Wallace Stegner's,"Crossing to Safety" and like that book left me totally satisfied upon finishing.

Rating:
Summary: Demands a slow pace, an unhurried reader, and meditation.
Review: I just heard McG read from this novel (the gold watch scene) in Galway, and perhaps I can add a bit of his comments that may help potential or veteran readers. (Amazon deleted my original review from this sentence forward--I can't figure out why.) Briefly, everything in this novel happens twice: thus the circularity and repetition. Also, the fixity of place and time comes from McG's belief that starting in one place and time remains essential for a writer's craft. If you like this novel, read his collected stories and look for his earlier five novels.

He celebrates rural life, while never romanticizing it: a difficult task. While this narrative may lack action, it offers drama to the patient listener to his prose, which demands to be read aloud. McG's attention to his vocation shows in the decade he spent on this latest work. Next, he will provide his memoirs!

Rating:
Summary: The most Fabulous book I've read in years
Review: I think this is a nice book but not outstanding in my opinion. That clearly goes against many reviewers, several have said that it is one of the top books they have ever read! I will not suggest that you skip it because it may be special to you...

Rating:
Summary: pleasant but dull
Review: I'm not an action junkie, so I thought I could certainly appreciate the portrait of an area, its inhabitants and their lifestyles, as in one of my absolute favorites: That Old Ace in the Hole. I forced myself to finish this one, though. I was just never invested in any of the characters, didn't care about the outcome. Makes me wonder how I differ from all those rave reviewers on the jacket.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging, Colorful, Rich
Review: This is the first work I've read of McGahern's and I was deeply moved by the lyrical writing, the poetic descriptions of the countryside and its wildlife, the lake, which looms like a living character around the lives of the village in northwest Ireland, and the precise character descriptions that bring subtle, nuanced portraits of the inhabitants to life. The work centers on a childless married couple who have escaped London to live in their cosy cottage by the lake, their farming routines, and the lives of their neighbors and an uncle named the Shah, who is the richest man in the area. All these characters are portrayed sympathetically and with great empathy. They speak richly and colorfully, and the rhythms of their speech ceaselessly entertain throughout the novel.
I have to admit, however, that I did grow restless with the structure of the work, and the impressionistic techniques of the narrative that repeated a bit too much for me, which is why I've withheld the fifth star in my rating. However, this work is well worth reading, and I'm very happy that I did.

Rating:
Summary: Same book, different title
Review: This wonderful book is the same as "That They May Face The Rising Sun". I suppose different titles for different markets (US/UK).

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful portrayal of rural Irish life
Review: What a wonderful, peaceful, flowing book. It is written so poetically and seamlessly you think nothing much is happening in this bucolic Irish village by the lake. And as time goes on, you fall into the ebb and flow of life and the questions raised are the very same ones throughout the world and just as poignant. It is the most beautiful, peaceful book I have read in years. A gem and a keeper. I hope he writes many more.