Beautiful, thought-provoking

 

 ⭑⭑⭑⭑ I am a sucker for a beautiful book cover and this is what attracted me to this story. The fact that this novel is a dark, brooding Irish tale simply confirmed this was for me as it suited my mood.

Micheál/Mick lives in an isolated cottage on a cliff of the Irish coast, a favoured suicide spot for those seeking to end their lives. Mick, like his parents before him, take on the responsibility for these souls hoping to save them from their chosen fate by being there to listen, give support with food/lodgings and talk through their troubles. Some succeed, some don't, all leave a mark. This is the heavy burden Mick carries as we learn of his earlier years, as a boy, a younger man in love away from this place, and in parallel with the current day and his sisters' desire for him to agree to sell the property.

The reader cannot help but feel great sympathy for Mick who has an obsessive need to save these lost souls. It is exhausting and isolating for him. A beautiful story, packed full of emotional baggage that will stay with the reader. As the story progressed I worried for the direction it might take. I appreciate the decision of the author to leave the ending open in a way that can be interpreted a number of ways. A rich tale full of childhood and adult concerns, I am touched by the impression Though the Bodies Fall left on me.