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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 21 customer reviews )
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13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
The Next Great Novel of Ireland May 14, 2009
By A Reader
A book populated by, among many colorful characters, a homicidal priest, a progressive prime minister with a gun-running past, and a hard-drinking pooka, or faery spirit, must be unique. And D. P. Costello's long-awaited novel, The Rag Tree, is indeed that. It's a novel of Ireland, after all, and filled with all the magic, sorrow, beauty, and contradictions of that great land.
The Rag Tree is set at a time when the nation is preparing to vote on a referendum that will transform Ireland's traditional place in the world, and all the action centers around this pivotal decision by the people. Though the referendum, known as Eire Nua (New Ireland) is poised to pass, powerful forces are arrayed against it. For them, Eire Nua represents a repudiation of the past and of all the heroic struggles for freedom. These shadowy forces will stop at nothing to derail the referendum; manipulation and murder are their weapons.
Costello's deep understanding of the Irish soul gives his novel grace, and his writing is magnificent as he evokes the many shades and nuances of deep-seated sorrow, fierce Celtic pride, lyrical dreams, and God-given humor. The Rag Tree is destined to be the next great novel of Ireland.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
An Enchanting Read Jul 29, 2009
By Peter J. Andrews
"consultantsedge"
The Rag Tree is mysterious, but not just because we want to find the answers to the questions Costello has artfully filled his novel with. A deeper sense of mystery swirls through the work, testing your sense of what is real and what is myth. Our hard-edge world of laptops, crime scene investigations and realpolitik coexists with pookas and curses and fairies. How do you combine these fictional sensibilities?
It certainly doesn't hurt that the novel is set in Ireland. Castles, bogs and peat fires all stretch the limits of storytelling. But beyond the setting, Costello, an accomplished musician, uses the rhythms and tones of the Irish language to charm the reader into willing acceptance. In fact, I found myself reading passages aloud for the physical experience of rolling the words around in my mouth.
But while the mix of poetry and emotion is unmistakably Celtic, this story is not just for the Irish. Costello weaves together a complex and satisfying puzzle, deftly placing the clues throughout in a way that engages the reader without slowing the flow of the narrative. And, without tipping his hand, he challenges the reader to recognize the tradeoffs between peace and culture, loyalty and honor and prosperity and loss of self. Costello may beguile us into walking difficult paths, but he plays fair with the important bits they make up our lives.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
First rate! Jul 10, 2009
By paula
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. If you know all about the Irish culture or want to, this is a must read...but it's also a complicated mystery with a great sense of humor. Can't wait for the movie!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A Keeper May 28, 2009
By James K. Flanagan
"Séamas Ó Flannagáin"
D.P. Costello's "The Rag Tree" isn't everyone's book about Ireland, thank God. With a deftness and depth unusual in a genre too often marked by sentiment or sectarianism, it sweeps us into a compelling world of moral complexity and political dislocation. From the first page, we realize that Costello knows Ireland from within. No easy caricatures, no poetically futile characters here. Instead, we meet a believable and intertwined group of characters whose conflicts and discoveries surprise and enlighten us as the novel develops. It's that kind of book you'd like to loan to a friend but hesitate because you want to read it again.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
You'd Better Clear . . . May 26, 2009
By W. Cannon
"high school English teacher"
You'd better clear your schedule before cracking the cover of
DP Costello's THE RAG TREE. I opened it for a little look-see
and ended up missing dinner, a movie, and a meeting the next
morning. Ireland in transition is the topic, and the story's
as intriguing a political puzzle as one could find; but as with
all fine work, it's the immediacy of moment and character that
make it such a delight. It's got 'movie' written all over it.
See all 21 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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