This is a book that is quite nostalgic for a slightly older reader, and for the younger ones may be a book that will make them question whether places and people like this actually existed. Set in a not very far off time of the 1960s Ballybucklebo (the name itself sounds quirky) seems to be idyllic place peopled by very fine upright characters with just the odd man out to throw a spanner in the works literally.
Set amidst for the great part in a doctor community both in a hospital and outside the hospital the story covers freshman during their internship and how they plan their futures and how best to integrate into the Irish community at large. The question of migration also looms because promotion is painfully slow in Ireland and those wanting to make their mark in the world seem to be looking elsewhere.
Add to the hospital background which even to a layman was not very technical and quite interesting was the vagaries of life and death which faced everyone in this small village.
Very well told, unfolding gradually, with its ups and downs this was a very pleasant read.
Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Macmillan Tor Forge.
I always enjoy these sort of old fashioned village stories. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteReading books like this always makes me want to live in a small town like that.
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