Trespasses
Ratings26
Average rating3.6
“Brilliant, beautiful, heartbreaking.”—J.Courtney Sullivan, New York Times Book Review “TRESPASSES vaults Kennedy into the ranks of such contemporary masters as McCann, Claire Keegan, Colin Barrett, and fellow Sligo resident, Kevin Barry.” —Oprah Daily Set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a shattering novel about a young woman caught between allegiance to community and a dangerous passion. Amid daily reports of violence, Cushla lives a quiet life with her mother in a small town near Belfast. By day she teaches at a parochial school; at night she fills in at her family’s pub. There she meets Michael Agnew, a barrister who’s made a name for himself defending IRA members. Against her better judgment – Michael is not only Protestant but older, and married – Cushla lets herself get drawn in by him and his sophisticated world, and an affair ignites. Then the father of a student is savagely beaten, setting in motion a chain reaction that will threaten everything, and everyone, Cushla most wants to protect. As tender as it is unflinching, Trespasses is a heart-pounding, heart-rending drama of thwarted love and irreconcilable loyalties, in a place what you come from seems to count more than what you do, or whom you cherish.
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I really did not like this book – the second star is because even with all the [in my opinion] shortcomings, the writing itself was simply beautiful.
I kept getting the feeling that I must have been missing out going into this read without much knowledge on the time period and place. Most historical fiction immerses the reader so thoroughly that I typically close a book feeling like I've just had a crash course on said culture, but I did not have that experience with this one. I wonder if it would have been more enjoyable if I went into it with more knowledge prior...
HOWEVER... I know that even with more prior knowledge, I wouldn't have been any more satisfied.
The majority of this book was about a pathetic affair fronting as some kind of steamy “relationship” that I grew woefully tired of as it progressed. I wish with all my heart that (1) a 50yr old, married-with-child man sleeping with a woman half his age wouldn't be painted as seductive or mysteriously complicated ((4 affairs? He's not a good dude??)) and (2) a young woman living in a complex environment wouldn't be painted as a damsel totally incapable of making positive decisions that may have actually reflected some level of self-respect or dignity. Instead of giving Cushla an opportunity to find a solution to this mess, Kennedy gave her a tragic yet remarkably easy way out [from a plot perspective] that had me rolling my eyes and ready to DNF.
Sadly, I do not recommend and don't really understand the positive experience other readers have had.
1970ies Northern Ireland, violence between Protestants and Catholics is everywhere. If you're existing between the lines, you need to be careful. While fathers are beaten up and children being radicalized, a young school teacher falls for the wrong man.
This was straightforward and atmospheric, giving a good feel for the times, but at the same time it never really made me care about Cushla's and Michael's relationship. Davy and Tommy though, yes.
Not my usual genre, but loved the story and flaws of the characters. I'm also just such a sucker for an Irish author 🍀
