Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan
Published on 16th March 2021
Strange Flowers was chosen by Eason’s as their book of the year for 2020 and it is available on Borrowbox. I haven’t read all of Donal Ryan’s books but of those I have read, this is my favourite.
This novel is set in 1970s rural Tipperary. Paddy and Kit Gladney are tenant farmers, living in a hillside cottage belonging to their wealthy landlords where Paddy is groundsman on the estate. Paddy displays a quiet dignity and a total acceptance of what he has, happy in his quiet life.
In 1973 Moll Gladney, an only child aged 20, a good girl, takes a bus and a train from her rural home and disappears. It can only mean one of two things, she was either pregnant or dead.
Her parents are distraught and eventually accept that she is gone forever. This quiet and unassuming couple find themselves thrown into the limelight by local gossips and wagging tongues. However, five years later she returns as abruptly as she left, remaining tight-lipped but nothing is the same again for the Gladney family.
Slowly the mystery unravels about where she has been.
Soon after, we are informed of the arrival of Alexander, a black Englishman. He settles in the rural countryside of Tipperary which is as completely alien to him as he is to the local people.
Paddy develops a genuine relationship with Alex, sharing his skills and understanding of the land with him. We learn how Alex finds a place for himself in that small local community by learning to play hurling and developing a career in landscape gardening.
I am very conscious about not saying any more about the book. This was a deeply moving novel covering the subjects of love and loss, race, religion, and sexuality. It’s a book full of unexpected twists and turns.
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Submitted by Teresa in Inchicore Library.