Ned Halloran has experienced extreme loss in his short life. His sister moved from their home in Ireland to America and chose to marry and stay there. On the way to her wedding with his parents, their ship sank killing both older Hallorans and a friend he made on board. That tragedy led Ned to unique opportunities that changed the course of his future, starting with an education his family never could have afforded without the generosity of a local benefactor. It was on his way to the new school where he met a journalist that would introduce Ned to the world of the Irish fight for independence from the British Empire, and his downfall.
Morgan Llywelyn’s historical fiction 1916: A novel of the Irish rebellion follows events from the 1912 Titanic sinking through to the 1916 Easter Rising through the eyes of one young Irish man. This is the first novel in Llywelyn’s Irish Century series detailing some of the most important moments in Irish history. Llywelyn is an award-winning Irish-American author and well known for historical fiction like 1916. This book focuses on the human side of history many of us in America never learned in history class – one of the final rebellions against the United Kingdom. 1916 is the story of love, respect, and a desire to control your own future during tragedy.
I give 1916 3 out of 5 stars. This novel was not exactly what I was expecting. I was looking for a book that focused on the Easter weekend rebellion, but this book focused more on the Irish mentality and struggle leading up to the rebellion than the weekend itself. I did notice a few discrepancies in the writing in terms of arms and firefighting. I also struggled to connect with the characters, even Ned later in the book. I also found the story a bit forced – the juxtaposition of the Titanic story against the rebellion felt out of place. While it did provide a unique opportunity to showcase how the Irish were treated by the British, it felt gratuitous and like the story would have been better without it.
This book would be best directed towards audiences over 13 due to the subject matter. The novel should also come with a trigger warning about domestic and gun violence. I was caught off guard by the domestic violence storyline – it is another gratuitous inclusion I could have done without. This would be a great book for someone looking to learn more about the Irish Rising, but should be taken as fiction – there is so much here that borders on untruths.
I chose 1916: A novel of Irish rebellion for the Read With Lindsey Reading Challenge prompt “Easter or Bunny themed”. This one is a bit of a stretch for the prompt – it’s not technically Easter themed, but the events of the rising did happen around the holiday. There are many other Easter or bunny themed books you might like – check out the agenda posted Sunday for some great ideas. Also, we’ll be talking about a full list of Easter-themed books on Wednesday if you are looking for more!
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