PositiveRTE (IRE)Slow-burning, menacing and lush ... Much of what will have drawn readers to O’Farrell thrives in this novel: the fullness of her world-building, which plumbs the corners of images and creates tangible space through words; the inventive and often whimsical metaphors ... The novel somewhat loses steam, however, in its breadth and timidity in reaching to the depths of human experience that O’Farrell achieved in Hamnet ... O’Farrell’s novel is a lush and evocative work, shedding light on an intriguing young woman and trying to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of her life and experience, thwarted in more ways than one by the patriarchal society that held her captive ... In an effort to paint an entire portrait, however, she may have neglected the devastating details of her subject.
Louise Nealon
RaveRTE (IRE)... subtly debunks the misconceptions around what it’s like to come of age today ... The title of the eagerly anticipated debut already time stamps it into a specific millennial experience. But its playful and considered handling of themes of selfhood, loss, class and mental health illuminates just how fractious that experience is ... She captures with gallows humour the ordeal of seeking help for depression when you barely have the words for it ... Nealon’s portrayal of college life hits close to home in its searing and simple honesty. Although set around Trinity College, it feels less like a Trinity novel à la Normal People. Nealon strips much of the glamour from it ... Enchantment rings through the book and is found in the self-mythologising of the characters, the classical references and the focus on the self and identity ... doesn’t try to be a modern classic, it’s far too focused on being real. At the end, it’s a wholly unique take on what has practically become a sub-genre unto itself – the Trinity novel – like the motif it takes its title from.
