The Rebels of Ireland

Synopsis
Generational saga that traces Ireland's tumultuous history from the seventeenth century to the early twentieth century.

My thoughts
I knew that Ireland was a Catholic nation oppressed by its minority Protestant rulers, but this book made it more real. It follows generations of interconnected families. The Irish families followed become the movers and shakers who attempt to reform Ireland, sometimes through parliamentary channels and other times by fomenting rebellion. Their English foils are less well fleshed out as characters. They're more like mindless borgs whose only purpose is to annihilate the Irish. There is a lot of historical and political background to wade through, but Edward Rutherford explains everything clearly.

The problem with generational sagas is that just when you're getting attached to individual characters, they die and you have to get acquainted with the next generation. This was definitely an issue for me, but I was surprised at how skillfully Rutherford gave the families themselves personalities. And many of the individual stories were so compelling that I couldn't help but be drawn in. Rutherford's writing especially shone when he described the various rebellions and the Famine. The last chapter, which dealt with the Easter Rising, was the strongest. It had a love story (and my favorite female character in the entire book), but it also brought the story full circle in several different ways.

I've only been to Ireland once - seven years ago and only for a few days - and it made a strong enough impression on me that I was able to remember certain Dublin buildings and streets when they were mentioned in the book. The characters also visit the ancient monastic ruins at Glendalough, which is the one place outside of Dublin I was able to see. It's an incredible site and this book made me want to go back and explore Dublin and the surrounding countryside.

I didn't realize that this book was the sequel to The Princes of Ireland, which covers Irish history from the introduction of Christianity all the way up to the Reformation. I'd be interested in reading that as well as Rutherford's other historical works. But they're all very long. At 863 pages, The Rebels of Ireland evidently exhausted the copyeditor, who went AWOL for the last chapter. There are a number of typos, and a character named Rose inexplicably becomes Rosa for the last four pages.

Bottom line

A good read if you have Irish roots, if you're going to Ireland, or if you're interested in learning how Ireland got the way it is today.

Fine print

The Rebels of Ireland, by Edward Rutherford

Genre: historical fiction

Photo from Goodreads

I own this book.