In this Irish novel by an Irish writer, a small backward coastal town gradually learns to welcome the advent of electricity. The narrator is an insecure teen at the time, doubtful about the all-pervasive control of the Church, but unsure of his future. There is the dramatic story of a lady deserted at the altar, and a man who seeks her forgiveness more than 50 years later. And the equally all-consuming infatuation of the narrator with the beautiful daughter of the town doctor. Neither romance ends up in the way one would expect in such a novel.
The quirky characters and the universal insights into human nature are what make this novel enjoyable. The plot, such as there is, is of lesser importance. The writing is lyrical in the exteme with some sudden contrived similes and metaphors that make no real sense: « She herself had been unwell all her life, she’d say out loud she could die at any moment; it was a gambit that worked until she was 104,and God caught on. »
I quite enjoyed most of this book, but it’s language is a bit too flowery for my liking in places.
4.0/5
Thanks, June.
The Passionate Reader 
I have actually read this book but only have the vaguest recollection of it! Maybe if I blogged about the books I read I’d remember them better;)
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