The Bitter Glass
Eilis Dillon
1958
Around 220 pages
And we are back in Ireland once again! This an obscure book that doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. I wasn't aware the author was a woman, Eilis not being a name you commonly hear in the States. Anyway, this was decent, even if I wasn't digging her choice of point of view.
The story takes place in 1922 Connemara, Ireland, which is smack dab in the middle of the Civil War. A group of young rich people take the train to an isolated farmhouse for vacay, right before the IRA destroy the bridge, making the return trip home rather difficult. I think this is a great set up for a slasher movie, but unfortunately, Dillon didn't choose to go in that direction with the story. Instead, a group of IRA soldiers arrive, and the people doing their best to ignore the war are forced to confront it head on.
I admired the premise of this novel more than the execution. I didn't find myself caring about the characters very much. She switches point of views often, which stopped me from becoming too invested in anybody in particular.
Still, it depicted an intriguing time in Irish history and the pacing was good.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
Dillon's work has been translated into 14 languages.
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