I was sorely disappointed in this book. I'm not sure quite what I was expecting, but this didn't satisfy. The scenery of Ireland is described beautifully, but there are too many internal stories, not enough explanation, and not enough closure. There's just enough mystery to keep you wanting to read it, but not enough resolution.

May expand this review more later. ( )

I was disappointed in this. It felt very kitchen-sink-y what with the ghosts and the feuds and the alcohol and the bad parenting and the flirtation and the swimming and the mystical goat.

I think there's a very good book in there somewhere. ( )

The sense of place is so strong in this book that it is a character unto itself, perhaps the steadiest of the narrative. Regardless of the beautiful sentences, I found myself struggling to understand the events as they were described. What started as a very promising story left me confused by the end. ( )

When Elly Bulkington's husband Fred wins a contest that gives them a pub in Ireland, they move to the town of Baltimore in Cork County and try to make a go of running the Nightjar. What they don't know is that they're smack in the middle of small town politics and a small population that doesn't always take kindly to newcomers.

This sometimes poetically written book is much more about Elly, our narrator, and what she sees in the people and the unique geography and history of Baltimore, Clear Island, and the lighthouse on Fastnet than any kind of real plot. It's meandering and slow until you get kind of deep into it, and heaven help you if you don't particularly care for Elly or Fred. Elly is a long-distance open water swimmer and has a special condition - an added layer of fat in her skin that - allows her to brave colder water than most. Fred is wrapped up in the idea of writing a novel, though he doesn't particularly seem to get anything done. Though Elly describes their relationship in Vermont as a very close one (almost to the point of neediness), the cracks begin to show after their arrival in Ireland. They still seem somewhat stuck in party mode, getting drunk or high rather regularly, and expecting things to just fall into place for them or ignoring problems instead of working hard. The Prologue sets you up for something bad to happen, and I spent most of the book wondering what that was going to be; I'm still kind of confused about what happened. ( )

The title character Elly, a Vermonter who moves to Ireland after she and her husband win a pub in a contest. While her marriage slowly erodes, she spends most of her time swimming in the open water off the coast of southern Ireland. This story isn't heavy on plot: it's mostly about the characters of Elly and her husband Fred and the villagers they try to get to know.


Source: Publisher via NetGalley

For my longer review, see http://mswordopolis.blogspot.com/2012/01/night-swimmer-by-matt-bondurant.html. ( )