Troubles (Abridged) Audiobook

" This was book that got better as I read it. Loved the descriptions of the old hotel the Majestic filled with such eccentric characters as only the British seem to have. The owner Edward Spencer's descent into madness, the cranky Sarah, the delightful old ladies, the tree roots, the pesky revolting cats, the derelict building, the afternoon teas, the British superiority. The list goes on. The main character Major Archer was unlikeable in his priggishness, but as time went on I semi sympathized with him. A metaphor for the ailing British Empire....yes...but a good read. "

" I would give this book another half star for the writing. My problem was that the entire book seemed like one long metaphor for the 2 main characters' pain at the decompostition of the Ireland that they knew. The character whose point of view you read is, like all the other characterscompletely inexplicable as to his motives for anything at all. It seemed Farrell was trying to be objective, but I thought he went too far. I felt there was no driving force, just endless disintegration: of physical things, of personalities. I did not find it as funny as the blurbs did. I found it, in small ways horrific--from the proliferation of cats to Edward's preference for animals over people...It's an interesting book to have read, but I did not learn anything from it, and I didn't feel anything about it. I prefer to get at least one of those things from the books I read. "

" I didn't like "The Siege At Krishnapur" at all so I didn't expect much from this book but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of humour and drama, very well written and kept my interest, nice "historical" novel set in post WWI Ireland... "

" Reading it was only marginally less of a stodgy, monotonous slog than eating it would have been. The Siege of Krishnapur is great though. "

" Got about half way through this and just couldn't find the motivation to continue. I was seriously bored to tears. Maybe it's because I know nothing of the history surrounding the setting... I don't know. But I won't ever finish it. "

" This is a fantastic book. It deserved to win the Lost Booker. It is so clever, so funny and so enlightening. Oh, and quite chilling too....... "

" Don't look into the chamber pot!!! "

" Perhaps I just don't get Irish books. "

" What a delight! Funny, sad, and with some real weight to it. Highly recommended. "

" I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started with this book. Maybe I was expecting a novel about the troubles. Even though I didn't get that I did get a decent and memorable story which is perhaps all Farrell actually intended. Not a great work but decent enough. "