The Year of the French

Rating:
Summary: Finest historical novel written in English
Review: Anyone has a right to be suspicious of claims that appear extravagant, but, upon reflection, I genuinely believe this is the finest historical novel written in English, at least in the twentieth century (I suppose we should count "Vanity Fair" and "A Tale of Two Cities" as historicals, but none of poor, old Walter Scott's works compete). Its foreign language competition is limited to a handful of books, From "War and Peace," "The Leopard," and "The Forty Days of Musa Dagh," to "Am Himmel wie auf Erden," "Vor dem Sturm," and "I Promessi Sposi." Thomas Flanagan is simply a brilliant writer--lucid, thoroughly-engaging, controlled and masterful. His prose is flawless. Except for "The Leopard," I know of no historical novel that so richly and convincingly captures the ambience of a bygone world. The weather and the feel of chilled mud, the prejudice of blood, the nuances of the social order and the confusion of military operations, the errors and casual oversights that shape lives, and the interplay of great events and individual tragedies are all so perfectly interwoven and gracefully presented that the reader forgets this is only a novel and enters another reality. Of course, all this will sound like hyperbole to those who have not yet read this book--but once you have read it, you will find it haunts you for a long time. I've given several copies to cherished friends, as I also have done with Penelope Fitzgerald's "The Blue Flower" (which might have been a competitor for "best historical," were it not such a transcendent book that it won't be characterized by any genre). This is a wonderful book--please read it and help keep it in print.

Rating:
Summary: Breathtakingly beautiful telling of a heartbreaking story
Review: Fiction expertly wrought can capture the myriad dimensions of war with greater efficiency than a history and can impart in great nuance the varieties of human drama and motivation, cutting quickly to why and how men fight. Some historians and journalists, like John Keegan or Cornelius Ryan, get inside this frame to write wholly satisfying accounts of battle, but in my view, nothing succeeds quite like Thomas Flanagan in his astonishing debut as a novelist. Next month in fact marks the 200 anniversary of that fateful year, which Flanagan has salvaged from history's footnotes to render as a perfect work of historical fiction. In his hands, Humbert's "invasion" of Ireland, the United Irish army, its men, their stories, and their destiny at the hands of Cornwallis--yes, that Cornwallis, beautifully brought to life--and Lake make the most compelling reading.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic-essential reading for anyone interested in 1798
Review: G.K. Chesterton once wrote, "For the great Gaels of Ireland/Are the men that God made mad,/For all their wars are merry/And all their songs are sad." This book captures that spirit admirably. The author has a sure grasp of historical fact, both of political events and of the texture of daily life (the smell of seaweed, the color of whisky). And he writes beautifully, with an ear for dialogue and an eye for the telling detail. But the real power of the book lies in the characters he creates, vividly realized and memorable (and this is true of both major and minor characters); the reader grows to care about them and feels genuine sorrow at their misfortunes. In the process, too, one learns a surprising amount of history. By the end of the book, I felt I understood the complex relationship between the British and the Irish far better than ever before -- and I'm part Irish, from a County Mayo family, and thought I knew it all already. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Lyrical, wise and alive -- a sweeping triumph
Review: I was compelled to write this review mostly because of the previous commentary. A lullaby? Hardly. Vivid and stirring, and not at all a textbook tome. As for the supposedly "homogenized" characterizations, I disagree completely. Owen McCarthy, as befitting of a poet, is a poetical character. His reflections on his people and his land are some of the most moving I have read in any novel in ages. The book brings to life not only events -- ugly battles between cannons and pikemen, in all their gore and horror -- but also the tenor of the times, the motivations of all sides in this epic confrontation. And while Flanagan does tend to belabor some of his points and themes in the latter third (which a keener editing eye should have taken care of; this was a debut novel), a reader emerges feeling that every side in this fight had good and bad sides, high motives and base motives. And, having seen firsthand the way that modern wars of revolt and insurrection quickly turn into butchery on all sides, Flanagan's illustration of the conduct and motivations of the warring parties in 1798 Ireland seems as dead-on an explanation of such events as you'll find anywhere.
A superb read, astonishing in its breadth and depth and its lyrical skill.

Rating:
Summary: Lyrical, wise and alive -- a sweeping triumph
Review: I was compelled to write this review mostly because of the previous commentary. A lullaby? Hardly. Vivid and stirring, and not at all a textbook tome. As for the supposedly "homogenized" characterizations, I disagree completely. Owen McCarthy, as befitting of a poet, is a poetical character. His reflections on his people and his land are some of the most moving I have read in any novel in ages. The book brings to life not only events -- ugly battles between cannons and pikemen, in all their gore and horror -- but also the tenor of the times, the motivations of all sides in this epic confrontation. And while Flanagan does tend to belabor some of his points and themes in the latter third (which a keener editing eye should have taken care of; this was a debut novel), a reader emerges feeling that every side in this fight had good and bad sides, high motives and base motives. And, having seen firsthand the way that modern wars of revolt and insurrection quickly turn into butchery on all sides, Flanagan's illustration of the conduct and motivations of the warring parties in 1798 Ireland seems as dead-on an explanation of such events as you'll find anywhere.
A superb read, astonishing in its breadth and depth and its lyrical skill.

Rating:
Summary: Poetic Lullaby
Review: One of the greatest folk memories of Ireland from the nineteenth century was the mournful anticipation of the arrival of the French army. Until Napolean's defeat at Waterloo at the hands of an Irishman himself, Wellington, the people of Ireland hoped for and expected an ivasion force of the Republican French. A force to liberate Ireland from Englands fuedal and religiously based laws.

General Hoche, Napolean's rival, almost succeeded in 1796. Attempting to enter Ireland at Bantry Bay, thus avoiding the British Navy in the Irish sea, his fleet was blown off course by a freak Atlantic storm with much loss of life and ships. Wolfetone, the United Irish Mastermind who went to France and garnered so much enthusiasm and support for Irelands revolution, sat in Bantry Bay in a damaged ship, no back up French soldiers and no enthused Peasantry on Christmas day that year. "A very Merry Christmas it is." he dejectedly recorded in his journal.

The second French attempt at landing is the subject of Flannagans book. Led by General Humbert, the magic that Tone must have wrought to bring about this second attempt is woefully ignored. Instead we have the rather dull interpretaion of various characters in a town of Mayo and how their lives are affected by this landing.

It must have been incredible to see the French ships dock and the liberating force so often rumoured to be on it's way. But instead of setting the story alight and giving it life and blood, Flannagans story lulls the reader. It is exquisitely dull, though well written. Various facts, homogenized personality types ( most notably the hedgeschool master, McCarthy) and historical events are woven together to create a view of Ireland right out of the text book. The dialogue lacks all the humour and interest of the Irish, and the motivating factors for the characters are simply not compelling enough.

Historical fiction should take an event and bring it to life for the reader who knows nothing of the event. Instead of this , Flannagas novel overburdens us with meaningless "research" facts and strings them together with characters who don't breathe.
Irish history is fascinating, rivetting and vastly entertaining stuff. I would suggest readers go to the source, rather than reading this lacklustre account.

Wolfetones "Life" has been re-edited by Thomas Bartlett and is available on Amazon. Here's the words out of the horses mouth, and it is fascinating stuff. Wolfetone's prose breathes, whereas Flannagans suffocates.