Comments (16)

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Oct 13, 2021maipenrai rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I found it difficult to empathize with any of the main characters in this novel. One, of course, is a mass murderer so that rules him out. Fidelma, however, is written as a sympathetic character while her obsession with motherhood blinds…
Oct 07, 2021vcondez rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The real tragic horror that justified the title of this book is only a small part in this story. It feels like it was titled that way just to attach the story to something greater but then it didn't really do it justice. Merely a reference…
Jun 16, 2019
I actually bought it long back, still have it, must have read it too.
Jul 26, 2017sheelah614 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
It hit me with not only a wow, but a WOW, WOW! A true masterpiece, high-lighting a war I only vaguely knew about but now find entombed in my brain by the very way she illuminated the flashes of the dark turns of that war I'm almost…
Jan 24, 2017njon38 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A reference to the 11,541 red chairs laid out in Sarajevo to commemorate those killed during the siege. I'm at loss for what to say about Ms. O'Brien's memorable novel. It is a difficult book to read written in sublime prose contemplating…
Jan 04, 2017Candaceb108 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
An incredible book at so many levels. I have such gratitude for having a book to read that illuminates refugee life with realism and as an integral part of the plot. I will always cherish this book. My first O'Brien. No wonder Phillip Roth…
Jan 04, 2017
This novel was inspired by the court case of Radovan Karadzic, a Serbian nationalist who also pretended to be a healer to avoid capture. He was eventually caught and delivered to The Hague. I enjoyed her short stories more than this…
Dec 07, 2016harrissusanc rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Fidelma spends one fated night with the stranger who appears as a natural healer in a restless Irish village, and she suffers a painful torture, when he is captured as the mastermind of the genocide in the war in Yugoslavia. The novel…
Aug 30, 2016santiano9 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Excellent read from a beloved author. Really enjoyed the character development and surprising interweave with history. Would heartily recommend.
Aug 17, 2016Eil_1 rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
A difficult read - as the author tends to move in many directions. I couldn't relate to any of the characters, including Fidelma - they were vague and remote.
Jul 27, 2016infobetsy rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Good storytelling about a small Irish town full of interesting characters and one mysterious stranger. It took me a while to suspect the story's connection to the chairs of the title and epigraph. Then came horror and unwilling fascination…
Jul 18, 2016JCLMELODYK rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is my first Edna O'Brien novel and it won't be my last. If you like Constellation of Vital Phenomena this is a great follow up.
Jun 06, 2016
Started very well, but got too odd for me, all those references to mythical gods, at least I guess that's what they were.
May 16, 2016uncommonreader rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The extravagant praise for O'Brien's latest novel is well-deserved. She explores the moral questions of to-day and the nature of evil in a new and relevant way. O'Brien discusses her novel in a recent interview with Eleanor Wachtel of…
Apr 17, 2016KateHillier rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
The prose is really really pretty. I will give it that. There are definitely lines and moments that stab you right in the heart as they are clearly meant to. That being said, I found it very hard to follow the plot and really get…
Feb 17, 2016gunta rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
the most powerful book i've read for decades - a testament to ultimate victory of good over evil