The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan - Book Review

The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan

Publication Date: 18th August 2022

Genre: Family Drama, Literary Fiction 

3.5 Stars 

One Liner: Mixed feelings 

*****

The Aylward women of Nenagh, Tipperary, will always support each other. Their conversations might seem otherwise, but their house is a safe haven from the brutal outside world. 

Mary Nana, Eileen, and Saoirse lead a happy life despite everything. Who cares for troubles when you can laugh them off after a dose of drama? The story starts with Saoirse’s birth and takes us through her life’s journey as a child, teen, and woman of the Aylward family. 

Set in the rural estate of Tipperary in Ireland, the book comes in a disjointed stream of consciousness from the limited third-person POV of Saoirse. 

My Observations: 

I didn’t know what to expect, but this book sure was different. The writing style is raw, disjointed, and semi-stream of consciousness narrative. There are no quotes for dialogues. Everything is lumped into the same paragraph. I got used to the style soon enough. It suited the characters. 

The character arcs revealed themselves as the story progressed. The main ladies had distinct personalities yet were similar in many ways. 

Being literary fiction, the pacing was slow and determined to stay that way. The writing was evocative without being lyrical or heavy. 

The heaviness came from the storyline and the characters. Still, it didn’t get overwhelming at any point. 

The chapter titles were a treat. They gave clear hints about what would happen in just a word. I began guessing the plot would go based on the chapter titles (and, no, this is not a mystery book). 

What didn’t work for me was the shift in focus in the second half and the lack of focus on the title. Sure, the title was used multiple times in the book, but the impact wasn’t there. 

There was liberal use of the F-word. While I don’t mind it, I did skim through them when it got too much. 

The book belonged to Saoirse mostly, and the title belonged to her mother, Eileen. It seemed as if the book shifted focus at one point, though it came back towards the end. 

The story takes place from 1982 to the late 1990s or early 2000s. Yet, it has a strong historical feel throughout (even when mobile phones were used). Since I like historical fiction, it worked well for me. 

The ending was rather intriguing and cool. I loved it. It’s not until then that I realized what the phrase, ‘their story begins at an end and ends at a beginning,’ in the blurb meant. 

To summarize, The Queen of Dirt Island is the story of three strong women who decided to live their lives on their terms and love each other no matter what. 

Thank you, NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, and Doubleday, for the eARC. 

#TheQueenofDirtIsland #NetGalley

*****

TW: Violence, Suicide, Hints of Sexual Assault, Infidelity