Official Review: Brendan Kinneen by John Worth
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Official Review: Brendan Kinneen by John Worth
Brendan Kinneen by John Worth is a historical fiction novel that opens a window into the "Irish Rebellion" in 1798 against British rule in the land and the aftermath of this moment in history on the Irish.
The story primarily revolves around Brendan Kinneen, an Irish seminarian who is on his journey to spiritual enlightenment. However, he realizes that this is not his path and leaves the seminary. He spends his time working as a hedgerow teacher and wandering through Ireland with his friend, James Molloy. Unfortunately, they are both beaten up mercilessly by British soldiers, and Molloy is killed. Brendan is nursed to health by Tinkers and joins the rebels fighting against the soldiers that take the law into their hands by committing atrocities. Eventually, Brendan joins a patriotic uprising that failed, and he is captured and taken aboard a convict ship to a British colony in New South Wales, Australia, where most Irish prisoners are taken. The rest of the story details his harsh experiences and how he survives through this period.
The story is written from the third-person perspective, but the focus shifts from Brendan, occasionally, to other characters, like the ambitious Lieutenant George Johnston, who was in the British military and was saved by Brendan at some point. My favorite aspect of this book has to be the interesting characters included in the story. With their stories all connected in some way, the author does well to provide a quick backstory of these characters and help the readers see how the events affected them. From Brendan, who was forced to grow from a naive seminarian due to harsh experiences, to Esther, a Jewish prisoner willing to give her body for the safety of herself and her child, the book did not lack in intriguing characters that kept me engaged in the story throughout.
Love and loyalty are also explored in the story, and romantic relationships between some of the characters add another layer of uncertainty in the book. The book also explored the enmity between Catholic Irishmen and Protestant Irishmen in that time and how it reduced the chances of success in the uprising against the British. The story is a fairly slow-paced read, as John Worth takes his time to allow readers to fully immerse themselves into the characters and the setting of that period, which was perfectly executed. The author does not describe most of the fight scenes, however.
Also, Brendan Kinneen is a professionally edited book. I found a couple of minor errors while reading, and they had no bearing on my reading flow. I cannot think of anything that I disliked about this book. For this reason, Brendan Kinneen deserves the maximum rating of 4 out of 4. Readers who enjoy historical fiction novels will enjoy this book. The pace of the story and length of the book may make this a heavy read, but reading it will be worth your while.
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Brendan Kinneen
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Reason: Edited the date of the Irish rebellion
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Thanks for the review..
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