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Country
Country: A Novel | Michael Hughes
3 posts | 4 read | 7 to read
Published to ravishing acclaim in the UK, a fierce and suspenseful reimagining of Homer’s Iliad set in mid-1990s Northern Ireland—a heart pounding tale of honor and revenge that “explodes with verbal invention, rapid juxtaposition, brutality and fun” (Times Literary Supplement). Northern Ireland, 1996. After twenty-five years of vicious conflict, the IRA and the British have agreed to an uneasy ceasefire as a first step towards lasting peace. But, faced with the prospect that decades of savage violence and loss have led only to smiles and handshakes, those on the ground in the border country question whether it really is time to pull back—or quite the opposite. When an IRA man’s wife turns informer, he and his brother gather their comrades for an assault on the local army base. But old grudges boil over, and the squad's feared sniper, Achill, refuses to risk his life to defend another man’s pride. As the gang plots without him, the British SAS are sent to crush the rogue terror cell before it can wreck the fragile truce and drag the region back to the darkest days of the Troubles. Meanwhile, Achill’s young protégé grabs his chance to join the fray in his place… Inspired by the oldest war story of them all, Michael Hughes’s virtuoso novel explores the brutal glory of armed conflict, the cost of Ireland’s most uncivil war, and the bitter tragedy of those on both sides who offer their lives to defend the dream of country.
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bibliothecarivs
Country: A Novel | Michael Hughes
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Recent acquisitions:

📖 Country: A Novel by Michael Hughes
📖 Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (I collect editions of Tess and this is my 30th)

#fREADom #UniteAgainstBookBans

Centique Thats a great Tess collection you have! I have almost accidentally started collecting vintage Alice in Wonderlands but im only up to 6! 3mo
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suvata
Country: A Novel | Michael Hughes
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Pickpick

Excellent book about the struggle for a united Ireland. I listened to it on Audible while I was reading it. What a treat. So authentic.

andrew61 That was a highlight of my 2019 reading and not seen anyone else mention it since. 4y
suvata @andrew61 Well, more people should be reading it. It was so good. 4y
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review
andrew61
Country: A Novel | Michael Hughes
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Pickpick

The illiad reimagined in 1996 northern Ireland as a rogue ira troop seek to undermine the anticipated peace process. The prose is brutal as the author with skill draws comparison in the horror of war and the pride and vulnerability of men to human weaknesses to homers achilles and agamemnon . Lyrically written but gutteral in it's themes i was totally absorbed in the story and its close following of the original text. A stunning read.

Leftcoastzen Nice typewriter! 5y
andrew61 @Leftcoastzen yes it was a birthday present for daughter off ebay. 5y
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