Himself Book Reviews

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A wonderful debut that brings a mix of elements. A curious story here, we have Himself, or Mahony, in the 1970’s heading to the town of his birth, Mulderrig from his home in Dublin, to seek out the story of his birth mother, and just why the sister at the orphanage left him a letter stating his mother was the “curse of the town” and that is why he was “taken” from her. Told in two interconnected parts, we have the current musings and discoveries from Mahoney in the 70’s, and his mother Orla’s story from the 50’s: both provide a wonderful mix of old and ‘new’, although New in a town like Mulderrig is far less advanced than the metropolis of Dublin of the time. It’s interesting to see the depictions of the town as a place where you are born, live and die, never to leave for everywhere else is an uphill trek. Little moments that bring the differences and lives into perspective through Mahony’s eyes, as he is, if not utterly reliable, possessed of that native Irish skill for storytelling and turning a phrase. Alternating between humor, sentiment and intrigue, the two stories reveal the changes in attitudes, or lack of them. With characters arriving clearly defined by good or bad intent, and an interesting series of musings about Mahony himself, from the townspeople and women, drawn to his charm and inexplicable allure. From Mahoney and Orla, the characters are fully developed and breathe life into the story: complex people who demonstrate their humanity in often surprising ways from understandable given circumstances and what we are told to that point, with few choices that become more settled and clear as the story progresses. Other characters that arrive and are most easily characterized as “good” are well-thought out and fully realized, while those trending to the ‘bad’ side of the equation are less complex and closer to stereotype, leaving a bit of impact on the table as unfinished. When you add in Mahony’s ability to talk to ghosts, and a bit of intrigue from those long gone in the present, but able to add their two cents to the story, it is truly a magical read, giving a sense of the otherness so often enmeshed in Irish tales. A wonderful debut that brings a mix of elements that share the growth of a place and a people, as well as a trek of self-discovery for the title character. Lovely prose with only a few moments that seem to be dropped in and take the feel of a more hard-bitten crime novel, the feel and scenery of Ireland is both present and clearly represented here. Certainly an author to watch, Jess Kidd has made her debut a wonderful experience, sure to find readers looking for that little bit of different and hard to quantify read. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

HIMSELF by Jess Kidd: A Three-Word Review. I found this book to be GRIPPING, EERIE, and ARTISTIC. 4.5 STARS

Different. Himself is the first book by Jess Kidd so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a book that is hard to quantify. This is a standalone with no cliffhanger. There is violence and magical influences including a lot of ghosts. The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat all of that info here. The author did a good job of explaining Mahony's background, why he came to the village, and eventually the story of his mother. There is a lot of history and secrets between characters in the storyline that keep you guessing what twists and turns will be revealed next. While overall the storyline was okay, I found it difficult to follow. The chapters kept going back and forth between the 1950s and 1970s. I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters in the village, and which ones were alive and which ones were the ghosts. I don't usually judge an author by just one book, and I won't with Jess Kidd. I just hope the next book is easier for me to follow the storyline. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and chose to review it for other readers.

Magical. A modern Irish tale - so very good!

Highly recommend. Enjoyed every bit of this book. Authors poetic writing style kept me transfixed. Characters range from lovable to despicable.

STRANGE. While the writing was beautiful, the story was dull as it progressed. A worthy start but went nowhere.

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