It is the spring of 1968 in Belfast and James Kirkpatrick has just lost his father under suspicious circumstances, Casey Riordan is released from prison after five years and Pamela O'Flaherty has crossed an ocean and a lifetime of memories to find the man she fell in love with as a little girl. All three lives are on a collision course with each other against the backdrop of the burgeoning civil rights movement and a nation on the brink of revolution.
They come from disparate backgrounds-Jamie a wealthy aristocrat whose life is like an imperfect but multi-faceted jewel-brilliant, flawed and with a glitter that is designed to distract the observer. Casey, a card-carrying member of the Irish Republican Army, who must face the fact that five years away has left him a stranger, a misfit in his own neighborhood where not everyone is sympathetic to a convicted rebel. Pamela, who has come to Ireland in search of a memory and a man who may not have existed in the first place.
Through it all runs the ribbon of a love story: love of country, the beginnning love of two people unable to resist the pull of each other regardless of the cost to themselves and those around them, and the selfless love of one man who no longer believes himself capable of such emotion.
It is an electrifying tale of a people divided by religion and politics, a tale of love and danger, of triumph and tragedy. Ultimately it is the story of that 'terrible beauty' herself-Ireland-and how nation is bound to one's identity, woven into the weft of all we become.
RavenMP
Posted Mon Mar 12 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Can't believe I didn't do this sooner. I read it several years ago (for the first time). Exit Unicorns is one of those stories that you "live" for the duration of your read. It's such a loss when it's over and I missed the characters as though they were absent friends of mine. It's a healthy dose of history cleverely woven throughout an enthralling story that will capture your heart and thoughts for a long time!
I noticed that there were used copies of ths book available. Who would sell theirs?! I have the hard copy AND the electronic version.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Mon Nov 19 00:00:00 EST 2012
I recently read this book and am really surprised that there is NO synopsis available describing just what this book is about.
The story is set in Belfast, Northern Ireland - circa 1968, and while it's touted as a "romance," it's really a history lesson on the religious wars in Ireland with mostly information regarding the IRA and the battles between the Catholic and Protestants in the 20th century. There is a 3-way "friendship" that's touted as the romantic slant to the story, but it's really just about the angst the female (American) character feels about insinuating herself n in the middle of the Irish Civil War - albeit knowingly - and how all the players will deal with their parts in this love-triangle of an American outsider, her IRA terrorist-husband and their friend and member of the Irish nobility.
It was recommended to me by a friend with very similar tastes in literature , but this was not the story I was expecting upon her recommendation. While the story was interesting enough, my extremely long history lesson with this first book will NOT be repeated by reading the second or third in the series.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008
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Anonymous
Posted Fri May 21 00:00:00 EDT 2010
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Overview
It is the spring of 1968 in Belfast and James Kirkpatrick has just lost his father under suspicious circumstances, Casey Riordan is released from prison after five years and Pamela O'Flaherty has crossed an ocean and a lifetime of memories to find the man she fell in ...