Fools of Fortune

Rating:
Summary: a sorrowful and poignant story, yet maintains to thrill me
Review: A few years have passed since I last read Trevor's novels and hardly could I remember how great he is and his fictions are. I have just finished reading this novel and have come to conclude that all of Trevor's novels should not be missed. Setting against the historical Anglo-Irish complex relationships, the novel tells a sorrowful and poignant love story that spans three generations. Trevor's use of language is subtle, delicate, and controlled and is a first-rate writing. The fact that I'm unfamiliar with the Anglo-Irish history might have undermined my appreciation and comprehension (in a certain way) of this novel, nonetheless, this is a great book and should be recommended to those who love reading.

Rating:
Summary: The Anglo-Irish Fatality
Review: Murder begets murder begets murder begets . . . madness. Enacting personally the larger Anglo-Irish tragedy, a family experiences, and inflicts, murder, leading ultimately to the insanity of the latest-born of the clan. Aeschylus would have understood, though his Orestes ultimately escaped the demons of his past. A gripping piece of fiction that is at the same time a history of Irish-English relations "writ small."

Rating:
Summary: The Anglo-Irish Fatality
Review: Murder begets murder begets murder begets . . . madness. Enacting personally the larger Anglo-Irish tragedy, a family experiences, and inflicts, murder, leading ultimately to the insanity of the latest-born of the clan. Aeschylus would have understood, though his Orestes ultimately escaped the demons of his past. A gripping piece of fiction that is at the same time a history of Irish-English relations "writ small."

Rating:
Summary: A moving tale of love, hatred and political turmoil.
Review: This an intensely moving story of young love set in 1918 Ireland. We see how three generations of the same family are shattered by the Anglo-Irish fighting. Trevor weaves a tale of political intrique, love and self exile. Anyone interested in Ireland's political past and future will find this worth reading. ( The movie version of this book stays very true to Trevor's tale.

Rating:
Summary: Another Beautiful Trevor Novel
Review: What can I say? It's William Trevor's prose about love, politics and patriotism. I recommend this book to everyone with a heart beating in their chest. In comparison to his other novels, I find that this book captures the innocence of youth and the loss of innocence that war and times of trouble can bring.