Highly enjoyable because it is written simply and dispassionately, yet this novel delivers strong impressions of deeper insights into the life of Judge Redmond and his family connections. The story reminds us of the impact of life's accidents and how this man slowly comes to terms and makes peace with the historical, familial and professional bonds that have shaped his own life.
Well worth the read.

This was a random purchase from my local charity bookshop a few weeks ago, and was just the kind of fiction I was in the mood.

The Heather Blazing is one of those books were the chapters alternate between the past and the present. In the present day, the protagonist is a senior judge in the Dublin courts enjoying the escapism of weekends at his old family home at the coast with his wife. For a while, the jumps back to his boyhood frustrated me a little, as they seemed to be going nowhere and I tire easily of Ireland-of-yore fiction, but as the novel progressed the point of these chapters became clearer and they provided the back story of why Eamon Redmond had become the man he was, for good and for bad, politically and socially.

It took me a while to warm to this novel, but in the end I really enjoyed it. Toibin writes with warmth and compassion towards his characters, and although Redmond had his flaws by the end of the book I loved him because of his flaws, not despite them, understanding how his earlier years had shaped him.

With the historical backdrop of Enniscorthy in Wexford, a key location in the 1916 Easter Rising, Irish republican politics are woven into the story, past and present. I often struggle with the romanticising of terrorism in Ireland, but Toibin handles it delicately enough.

4 stars - probably not a book I'll remember too much about in the near future, but recommended when you're just in the mood for a decent page-turner. ( )

Every year at the end of the term, an Irish judge goes to his vacation house on the coast. Over the course of three such visits, the events of his life unfold, both in the present and in long flashbacks that take the reader from his childhood to the earlier part of his adult life. From growing up with a single father during World War Two to difficulties connecting with his own children years later, the reader gets an in-depth view of his life and the events that shaped his character.

This book is very slow in the beginning and depends on your interest in the setting and the characters and your taste for the writing style in order to keep you going. Personally, I didn't really get into the book until the second of its three parts, but once I did it kept me going to the end.

I don't want to spoil any of it, but I will say it helps to have a certain amount of familiarity with Irish history before you read, especially the events of the early twentieth century, the Irish Civil War, and the position of the country during World War Two. A basic understanding of the Irish judicial system and political parties would also make a good contribution. If you don't live in Ireland or otherwise have the background knowledge, you might want to do a bit of research upfront to save yourself from Googling as you go.

That being said, if you do have an interest in Irish history or if you love/love to picture the Irish coast, I think you'll find this book appealing in terms of those elements. You're also likely to enjoy it if you like reflecting on the development of characters such as this one over the course of their lives. It does have some explicit sexual content, so skip it if that's not your thing. Apart from that, it's a very quiet read. No violence, no particularly exciting plot developments, just scenes from a life. Feel free to pick it up, read a chapter or two, and decide if it appeals to you.

A quietly beautiful novel about family, intimacy and the passing of time, the slow rhythms of a life, the simple but moving stories. Little happens, but a picture builds up with Toibin skilfully using narratives from two periods of Eamon Redmond’s life as youth near Wexford and High Court judge in Dublin, including the significant silences. It then looks like it might all be washed away, but there is still life and life goes on. ( )

an Irish judge loses his wife and reflects on his boyhood