Historical

Redemption Falls

Redemption Falls

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-23 11:55:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Joseph O'Connor
  • ISBN：1529112613
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Summary

'Broad and ambitious。。。beautifully written。。。at the heart of O'Connor's masterful epic lies a universal hope for something better' Observer

Discover the powerful sequel to international bestseller Star of the Sea


1865。 The American Civil War is ending， but for Eliza Duane Mooney her journey across a devastated America has only just begun。

Eliza is searching for her younger brother she has not seen in four years， one of the hundred thousand children drawn into the war。 His fate has been mysterious and will prove extraordinary。

It's a walk that will have consequences for many seemingly unconnected survivors: a love-struck cartographer， a haunted Latina poetess， rebel guerrilla Cole McLaurenson， runaway slave Elizabeth Longstreet and the mercurial revolutionary James Con O'Keeffe， who commanded a brigade of Irish immigrants in the Union Army and is now Governor of a western wilderness where nothing is as it seems。

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Reviews

Joey Kennaugh ，

I didn't enjoy this book。 Its all very clever with the speech and writings of various characters but at the end of the day it's tiresome。 One character speaks in overly flowery language and it takes a long time for something simple to be said。 Other characters have various dialects that are just hard work to plough through。 At the end of the day the narrative is not enthralling either。 Disappointing。 I didn't enjoy this book。 Its all very clever with the speech and writings of various characters but at the end of the day it's tiresome。 One character speaks in overly flowery language and it takes a long time for something simple to be said。 Other characters have various dialects that are just hard work to plough through。 At the end of the day the narrative is not enthralling either。 Disappointing。 。。。more

Wksteed ，

Somehow a Redemption Falls had a promising start， although even the initial chapters were extremely harsh and dark。 This unrelenting tone of disaster， with dismal events following each other continually， finally forced me to give up on this novel。 This extreme negativity， also combined with descriptions of events that seemed far-fetched in the time period in which the novel is set， were enough to stop me from reading further at the moment。There may certainly be literary merits I'm overlooking。 Somehow a Redemption Falls had a promising start， although even the initial chapters were extremely harsh and dark。 This unrelenting tone of disaster， with dismal events following each other continually， finally forced me to give up on this novel。 This extreme negativity， also combined with descriptions of events that seemed far-fetched in the time period in which the novel is set， were enough to stop me from reading further at the moment。There may certainly be literary merits I'm overlooking。 。。。more

Angelique Simonsen ，

Written weirdly and I couldn't get into it Written weirdly and I couldn't get into it 。。。more

s griffiths ，

a puzzling book ; not sure what category to put it in ; a love story/a historical fiction/a literary puzzle/a detective story/a history of the irish in the us/a civil war relicClearly he knows his subject and， after the first 50 pages the characters become clearer 。Finished it so thats a plus; listening to an audio of an earlier book shows that he uses this technique deliberately to infuse his prose with realism。

John Molloy ，

Finished this book， not a good read， jumbled up Irish and U。S。 history。 Disappointed as I expected an entertaining story， drab and lifeless。

Heidi ，

Incredibly beautifully written story， evocative and beguiling but so so bleak。 Too bleak for this winter of 2020 so I have put it down for this year， certain to come back to it in a brighter year。

Linda Mehus-Barber ，

I have to give this five stars just for the brilliance of the writing。 I'm glad that I read some reviews when I was in the first few pages， as I simply wasn't getting the story。 One review said that if you can get to page 50， you'll want to press on and finish the book。 That's what I did， and I'm glad that I did it。 I have to give this five stars just for the brilliance of the writing。 I'm glad that I read some reviews when I was in the first few pages， as I simply wasn't getting the story。 One review said that if you can get to page 50， you'll want to press on and finish the book。 That's what I did， and I'm glad that I did it。 。。。more

Melissa A Comer ，

In the right hands this book might be considered a literary delight--it was ponderous and challenging to read， consisting of seventy plus chapters of one or more pages written in poetry， italics or in language presumed illiterate。 There is a story there， centered in Redemption Falls， Montana Territory， in the wake of the Civil War--as retold by a variety of heroes and misfits。

James ，

It is both a celebration of language and a repudiation of war and nationalism。 Joseph O'Connor examines the cost of a person’s beliefs and the effect it takes on their psyche， how a love for an ideal can overwhelm a soul and cloud their judgement and affect their morality。 Told through a collection of firsthand accounts， wanted posters and ballads and poems the cant and patois of its narrators colours the story with a sense of a nation finding its sense of self。 Set in post-civil war America the It is both a celebration of language and a repudiation of war and nationalism。 Joseph O'Connor examines the cost of a person’s beliefs and the effect it takes on their psyche， how a love for an ideal can overwhelm a soul and cloud their judgement and affect their morality。 Told through a collection of firsthand accounts， wanted posters and ballads and poems the cant and patois of its narrators colours the story with a sense of a nation finding its sense of self。 Set in post-civil war America the characters in this book reflect the society in which they live， indeed the society they themselves are shaping。 James "Con" O'Keefe is a man to whom the love of Ireland and his desire to see it free of Imperialism shapes his entire persona。 His attachment to heroism sees him detached from reality， from physical comfort and any hope of having a family or a semblance of peace。 His struggles are perpetuated， left in an echo chamber of his own belief。 His life in a parable for the dichotomy of war。 For every winner， there is a loser and a belief no matter how strongly held can’t light a fire or comfort a soul。 The horrors of the Civil War and the silence which permeated the Nation in its aftermath are manifested in the characters。 Such as Jeddo Mooney， a forgotten drummer boy in the Confederate army left adrift and the sudden halting of the war。 His childhood shaped by trauma and violence。 He struggles to make sense of the vulgarity he has been exposed to and longs for a home he isn't sure exists。 The only salvation for anyone is language， song or poetry。 The brilliance of this book is in how it melds Gaelgie， English， Spanish， German et cetera and shows the common thread we all share， the ability to express ourselves through words and action and how often the words are pretty but the action is not。 The melting pot of America is a cluster of peoples opposed but similar and the maleffect of Nationalism still exists to this day。 The lessons of war are never learned and indeed repeated as was the case for the Irish people who endured their own Civil War， its foreshadowing shown in how Irish fought against Irish for their adopted homeland as was the case with people of many other nations。 The title of the book is prescient because redemption is sought by all who appear in this book， redemption for ills done on family， on strangers and on themselves。 In order to redeem oneself one must first excoriate their demons but if their demon is their faith in an ideal that drives them then how can the forsake everything which has driven them only when in hindsight， they've seen it was the very thing that lead to their fall。 。。。more

Arlete Tury ，

Definitivamente um livro que leria de novo。 Sim， ele é um pouco denso e exige atenção para ser lido。 E preciso ficar atenta às dadas e aos títulos dos capítulos para compreender。 Leve quase um mês para terminar， mas valeu cada minuto。 A história， apesar de ficcional， parece tão real que você precisa parar e refletir sobre ela a cada 10-15 páginas。 A escrita vem com tantas frases impactantes que fazem valer cada sentado e cada segundo gasto com ele

Mari ，

Not an easy read and maybe not for everyone - the story is told through a variety of written mediums: newspaper articles， reports， recollections recorded years after the facts， poems， some narrative。 There are a lot of characters and， with the exceptions of one or two， I had difficulty warming up to most of them。 But I did persevere and， like many of the commenters here， I found it worth the effort。 I have read Star of the Sea - and there is really no connection between the two books。

Susan ，

Took a while for me to get into this but exquitesely written， very brutal and harrowing 。 A masterpiece in it's own right superbly researched。 Took a while for me to get into this but exquitesely written， very brutal and harrowing 。 A masterpiece in it's own right superbly researched。 。。。more

Marlies Vaz ，

Prachtige historische roman die speelt rond en na het einde van de burgeroorlog in Amerika van 1985 tot 1987。

Mary Ann Ryan ，

An epic story full of poetic passages and poignant observations of humanity。 Such a gifted writer。

Sarah ，

Read to ch 44。Gruesome development turned me off。 Very heady too。

Elie ，

Une incroyable fresque historique de la guerre de Sécession， d'une finesse rare。 Une incroyable fresque historique de la guerre de Sécession， d'une finesse rare。 。。。more

James Prior ，

There are so many strands to this amazing stories about the Northern Territories and the American civil war fall out that remained for some time after。Action Governor James O'Keeffe has his work cut in Redemption Falls。9 out of 10 There are so many strands to this amazing stories about the Northern Territories and the American civil war fall out that remained for some time after。Action Governor James O'Keeffe has his work cut in Redemption Falls。9 out of 10 。。。more

Keith Currie ，

Excellent， but brutal， tale of the Irish in America in the years following the Civil War。 O'Connor paints a 'warts and all' picture of Irish men and women on the wild frontier lands: domestic violence， drunkenness， rape， murder， insurrection， betrayal abound， mixed with occasional mercy， generosity and forgiveness。 Constructed as a series of collected documents and memories of an Irish scholar researching his own family， this a thoroughly immersive experience which packs a number of shocks and s Excellent， but brutal， tale of the Irish in America in the years following the Civil War。 O'Connor paints a 'warts and all' picture of Irish men and women on the wild frontier lands: domestic violence， drunkenness， rape， murder， insurrection， betrayal abound， mixed with occasional mercy， generosity and forgiveness。 Constructed as a series of collected documents and memories of an Irish scholar researching his own family， this a thoroughly immersive experience which packs a number of shocks and surprising revelations in its more than 400 pages of compulsive narrative。 O'Connor's literary artistry and inventive prose never cease to enthral the reader。 。。。more

Tim ，

An epic American civil war novel with at its heart an Irish Republican James O'Keefe who ends up in America after escaping hanging and imprisonment in Australia。 The novel makes a mystery of the true identity of O'Keefe， idolised and hated in equal measure， by deploying a mosaic of forms - conventional third-person narrative interspersed with first-hand accounts， ballads， transcripts of documents， posters， poems， all of which provide the author with an opportunity to impress with his ventriloqui An epic American civil war novel with at its heart an Irish Republican James O'Keefe who ends up in America after escaping hanging and imprisonment in Australia。 The novel makes a mystery of the true identity of O'Keefe， idolised and hated in equal measure， by deploying a mosaic of forms - conventional third-person narrative interspersed with first-hand accounts， ballads， transcripts of documents， posters， poems， all of which provide the author with an opportunity to impress with his ventriloquist skills。 But you know at the dinner table when a guest does a very good impression of someone and then carried away by his success begins boring everyone with a whole string of impressions？ Well， this novel can feel like that at times。 The more conventional sections of narrative were for me the most successful when the author shows himself to be a better prose writer than most but many of the documents bored me a little。 I understood that he was telling us that any history cannot be understood by only one source but often these ruses to underline the fallacy of objective truth as possibility were long winded and repetitive。 I'm currently reading the predecessor to this novel which is more straightforward and more enjoyable。 Ultimately it feels like O'Keefe is at heart a sentimental man and it's his mania for feeding his sentimentality in the guise of nationalism， reminiscent at times of the Germans under Nazism， which is responsible for much that is awry and damaging in his character。 。。。more

Eva Kristin ，

Oh， I liked this one a lot！ The story is heartbreakingly realistic and believable， as are the characters， but what sets the book apart is the hugely enjoyable technique O’Connor uses to tell the story。 It came across at somewhat fragmented in the beginning， but after a short while I found it quite impossible to put the book down。The plot is dark， brutal and tragic， not at all anything for the squeamish， but there are also lighter episodes。 I hugely enjoyed the cartographer Allen Winterton’s conv Oh， I liked this one a lot！ The story is heartbreakingly realistic and believable， as are the characters， but what sets the book apart is the hugely enjoyable technique O’Connor uses to tell the story。 It came across at somewhat fragmented in the beginning， but after a short while I found it quite impossible to put the book down。The plot is dark， brutal and tragic， not at all anything for the squeamish， but there are also lighter episodes。 I hugely enjoyed the cartographer Allen Winterton’s conversation with the printer Trevanion！And the ending！ Mr McLelland brushing of the “puny Austrian thug Schickelgruber” as inconsequential sent chills down my back… We never learn。 。。。more

Christine Bonheure ，

De Amerikaanse Burgeroorlog tussen Noord en Zuid， het was een ellendige periode vol wreedheden en veel te veel verloren levens。 De eerste vijftig pagina’s moest ik even doorbijten， wennen aan de stijl én het geweld dat me om de oren sloeg。 Riep af en toe herinneringen op aan Meridiaan van bloed van Cormac MacCarthy， een boek over het vijandige， wantrouwige en gewelddadige pioniersleven。 Maar dan opent het historische verhaal zich in al zijn pracht。 Niet alleen de vertelling is de moeite waard， o De Amerikaanse Burgeroorlog tussen Noord en Zuid， het was een ellendige periode vol wreedheden en veel te veel verloren levens。 De eerste vijftig pagina’s moest ik even doorbijten， wennen aan de stijl én het geweld dat me om de oren sloeg。 Riep af en toe herinneringen op aan Meridiaan van bloed van Cormac MacCarthy， een boek over het vijandige， wantrouwige en gewelddadige pioniersleven。 Maar dan opent het historische verhaal zich in al zijn pracht。 Niet alleen de vertelling is de moeite waard， ook de verschillende schrijfstijlen maken het boek grandioos。 O’Connor baseerde zich op talloze oude documenten om deze geschiedenis te schrijven – geen documentaire， het blijft fictie – en hij past zijn schrijfstijl aan elk van zijn personages aan。 Daardoor ontstaat een gevarieerd boek dat een interessante inkijk biedt in een van de donkerste periodes uit de geschiedenis van Amerika。 Aanrader！ Zoals ook zijn Stella Maris er een is。 。。。more

Ruth ，

c2007 （6） FWFTB: 1865， Louisiana， convict， revolutionary， outlaw。 A story full of very strange characters， some will be unforgettable。 The time lines chop and change a bit and there are little mysteries all the way through the book。 Although， many （aka most） of the story lines are tragic and depressing， the book ends up being quite uplifting。 A very lyrical writer although at times this could get a little tedious。 But I enjoyed the book， will look for more by this author and so can recommend to c2007 （6） FWFTB: 1865， Louisiana， convict， revolutionary， outlaw。 A story full of very strange characters， some will be unforgettable。 The time lines chop and change a bit and there are little mysteries all the way through the book。 Although， many （aka most） of the story lines are tragic and depressing， the book ends up being quite uplifting。 A very lyrical writer although at times this could get a little tedious。 But I enjoyed the book， will look for more by this author and so can recommend to the normal crew。 "whose face looks as though it has been forced through a mangle before being sutured back on to her skull" 。。。more

gorecki ，

I've only read two other books by Joseph O'Connor so far: Star of the Sea and Ghostlight， and I can honestly say that just like them， Redemption Falls is full of ambition， masterful writing， and poetry-like prose。 The creativity and energy O'Connor invests in his writing have long earned my respect and admiration for him。 True to the style he uses in Star of the Sea， O'Connor creates many different "documents" and sources of information to build this story: letters and personal correspondence of I've only read two other books by Joseph O'Connor so far: Star of the Sea and Ghostlight， and I can honestly say that just like them， Redemption Falls is full of ambition， masterful writing， and poetry-like prose。 The creativity and energy O'Connor invests in his writing have long earned my respect and admiration for him。 True to the style he uses in Star of the Sea， O'Connor creates many different "documents" and sources of information to build this story: letters and personal correspondence of people involved， newspaper articles， announcements posted on the streets， witness testimonies and even songs and ballads "from the period"。 All of these documents add up to tell the story of a girl who crosses the United States barefoot， searching for her brother， said brother joining the army only to end up in the house of an alcoholic Irish patriot sentenced to death， then sent to Australia， then ran-away to the States， and the not so successful marriage of said patriot。 If this book isn't a page-turner， I don't know what is。But。 As much as I couldn't get enough of it and utterly enjoyed O'Connor's delightful writing， I was also a bit disappointed。 First of all， O'Connor used a bit too much "cowboy English" from the 19th century for my taste - with a vast array of different dialects， pronunciations， and jargon - this slowed me down quite a few times and at some point seemed a bit overdone。 I did get used to it eventually， and actually started enjoying it a bit after a while， but then another issue came up - around the last third of the book I started feeling that the main story， its culmination， was a bit too simple and flat compared to the complexity of the novel。 I didn't feel this book needs so many characters， so many sources of information， and so many complications to achieve what actually happens in the end。 I was wondering whether O'Connor got lost in his own over-complication of the events in this book and couldn't find his way out of it， or if he just had all these ideas he wanted to put on paper and decided to cram them all in one book。 Overall - spectacular writing from a really inspiring and creative author， but a tad over-complicated story。 。。。more

Susan Grimshaw ，

A strange book and I struggled to get through it， yet couldn't abandon it because I needed to know the end。 I did feel though that it was a waste of my time reading it and wished I had never begun it。 A strange book and I struggled to get through it， yet couldn't abandon it because I needed to know the end。 I did feel though that it was a waste of my time reading it and wished I had never begun it。 。。。more

Jane ，

Although an excellent writer， O'Connor has chosen both a brutal story and a cumbersome format for this （ and for its prequel Star of the Sea。 Told as the final report of an investigatory tribunal， the book is stitched together as a series of letters， witness testimony， purported first-hand accounts and journals。 Unfortunately none of characters have a shred of decency， the landscape is damp， cold and uninviting and the violence （ physical and psychological） is unending。 Took a long time to get t Although an excellent writer， O'Connor has chosen both a brutal story and a cumbersome format for this （ and for its prequel Star of the Sea。 Told as the final report of an investigatory tribunal， the book is stitched together as a series of letters， witness testimony， purported first-hand accounts and journals。 Unfortunately none of characters have a shred of decency， the landscape is damp， cold and uninviting and the violence （ physical and psychological） is unending。 Took a long time to get through it。 。。。more

Jean ，

Although it is evident that O’Connor is one of the most gifted contemporary writers and I most definitely plan to read some of his other works， I found， as others have noted， that in this one， his jumping from here to there， one narrator to another， left me lost and eventually without the desire to “ hang in there “ and wait until it all tied together in the end。

John M。 ，

For the most part， an engrossing story but， at times， it can become obscure and longwinded。

Joseph Ramsden ，

I read this book because I had read and loved 'Star of the Sea'。 I loved this novel too。 O'Connor's epistolary style， I've been told， can keep a reader at arms length， stopping them from truly engaging with the story but I didn't feel this。 The withholding of information that the style allows （for it is made up of limited journal entries， letters， poems and songs， as well as narrative） kept me going right until the last abrupt revelation。 I loved it all。 I hope you will too。 I read this book because I had read and loved 'Star of the Sea'。 I loved this novel too。 O'Connor's epistolary style， I've been told， can keep a reader at arms length， stopping them from truly engaging with the story but I didn't feel this。 The withholding of information that the style allows （for it is made up of limited journal entries， letters， poems and songs， as well as narrative） kept me going right until the last abrupt revelation。 I loved it all。 I hope you will too。 。。。more

Harmke ，

Fragmentarisch verhaal dat goed in elkaar zit。 Qua stijl vergelijkbaar met zijn eerdere boek 'Stella Maris'。 Ik moest mij wel door de eerste 45 a 50 bladzijden worstelen。 Enorm vaag， geen idee waar het over ging en geen verhaallijn of karakter te bekennen。 Doorlezen loonde gelukkig。 Fragmentarisch verhaal dat goed in elkaar zit。 Qua stijl vergelijkbaar met zijn eerdere boek 'Stella Maris'。 Ik moest mij wel door de eerste 45 a 50 bladzijden worstelen。 Enorm vaag， geen idee waar het over ging en geen verhaallijn of karakter te bekennen。 Doorlezen loonde gelukkig。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Redemption Falls

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Redemption Falls&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Redemption Falls&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0