Snapshots of memory are displayed by the Northern Irish narrator between his childhood from 1945 into adulthood in 1971 as he explores a family tension of secrets, closed and open, against the backdrop of the ever present Troubles. In often luminous writing, the tender despair of human frailties in a world without heroes or villains is gently presented. The story meanders at times, like all family stories, and the reveal is not particularly revealing. At the heart of the story is the idea of conflicted loyalties and the collateral damages they can generate: the truth can set one person free but sometimes only after it has driven another person into a permanent cage. ( )

This is a fine Northern Irish novel that was a real grower. Set in Nationalist Derry during the 40s and 50s, at first this book reads like a series of vignettes in a young Irish Catholic boy's life, but as the novel gathers pace a connection begins to emerge between what had initially seemed like disconnected snapshots of growing up and the truth behind a series of family tragedies relating back to the the divided politics of a new Northern Ireland beginning to emerge.

There are a number of recommendations on LT linking this to some of Frank McCourt's books, but beyond them both being set in Ireland during a certain era the similarities stop there for me. Whilst McCourt's Angela's Ashes is firmly in the misery lit territory of impoverished Ireland, Reading in the Dark is a window to Catholic Nationalist sentiment before The Troubles and dark family secrets born out of loyalty to 'the cause'.

This novel really evoked a sense of a forgotten rural Northern Ireland for me. Whether it would touch readers outside of Northern Ireland as much I can't say, but for me this is a work of tragic loss conveyed through pitch perfect prose.

4 stars - devastating yet so deftly sewn together. ( )

Could not get into this book for some reason. With so many other ones waiting on the shelves, I reluctantly put this one aside to try again later. ( )

'Reading In The Dark' is a childhood story, and in many ways a coming-of-age story of an unnamed Irish boy. The main narrative features a family secret, of which everyone thinks they know the truth. Much of the secret remains obscured though, because of a wild variety of reasons. The most fascinating aspect of this book, however, was how it uses old family legend and regional folklore together with a more serious approach of issues like the Irish struggle for independence of thought. I especially enjoyed the family stories, which did not really serve a purpose in se, but were quite fascinating nonetheless.

It didn't take me long to finish the book, as it is rather short. I can't say I'd recommend it over other magnificent books of the world, but it was a rather pleasant and fairly rewarding read. ( )

An extraordinary book... see review under that name on Michalsuz's blog
http://awayofwriting.blogspot.co.nz/ ( )