Review of Heart, Be at Peace by Donal Ryan

Ryan builds a vivid small-town Irish setting with its gloomy, then alarming, descent into corruption. The twenty-one points of view were sometimes difficult for me to unravel, but I appreciated the strength of the characters' bonds and their reversion to deep, long-held loyalties.

That was always the way in Ireland, he said. You’d be hung for robbing an apple and made king if you robbed a castle.

In Heart, Be at Peace, Donal Ryan shares the story of a small town in Ireland. Everyone is linked, with shared youths and local experiences, conflicts new and old, and deep loyalties.

But an economic downturn has created opportunities for the entrance of drugs, violence, greed, and an undermining of the community's bonds, safety, and relationships. Someone will need to stand up to the ruthless thugs ruling the area with fear and corruption in order to preserve their town.

The story is told from 21 interconnected points of view, and I had trouble differentiating between the characters and their voices from time to time. I was glad to be able to flip back through the physical book to remind myself of who was who.

I could see so much of myself in her that it was frightening at first. I had to force myself to come around to living with the fear, that feeling of being overwhelmed by a terrible mixture of love and worry. The world is a more dangerous place now for a young girl than ever it was before, for all the so-called progress.

Ryan moves the reader through some of the simmering resentments borne of close-knit histories, professions, and personal lives, into powerful tests of friendship.

The growing, seeping control of bad men over the town seems unlikely to be checked, but a fire for revenge takes hold, and it becomes clear that something big is about to come to a head, and it might end badly for all involved.

There is redemption for some characters and their relationships, then a satisfying return to the thick bonds of loyalty for those who call the town home.

More Donal Ryan and Irish Stories

Donal Ryan is also the author of The Queen of Dirt Island, The Spinning Heart, Strange Flowers, From a Low and Quiet Sea, and other books.

For more Bossy reviews of books set in Ireland, please check out the titles at this link.