Reviews
The rare quality of this memoir owes much to [Hamilton's] novelistic skills, not least his handling of the child's point of view throughout, with its luminously comprehending attentiveness to adult behavior...the cumulative effect is to elevate an act of scrupulous remembering into a work of art., "A terrific achievement, thoughtful and compelling, smart and original, beautifully written." -- Nick Hornby "An astonishing achievement...a landmark in Irish nonfiction...a masterpiece." -- Washington Post "The rare quality of this memoir owes much to [Hamilton's] novelistic skills, not least his handling of the child's point of view throughout, with its luminously comprehending attentiveness to adult behavior...the cumulative effect is to elevate an act of scrupulous remembering into a work of art." -- New York Times Book Review "A masterful piece of work--timely, inventive, provocative and perfectly weighted. Don't be surprised if it becomes a classic." -- Colum McCann "The Speckled People stands head and shoulders above the ruck of memoirs pouring out of Ireland....an accomplished work of art and a strange tale brilliantly told." -- Boston Globe "A fine reminder that there are many ways of being Irish." -- New York Newsday "Unlike most Irish memoirs, this one is devoid of sentimentality. Which doesn't make it any the less heartrending. " -- Philadelphia Inquirer "A complex and layered story, intriguingly different from all those other Irish-childhood memoirs." -- Orlando Sentinel "A wonderful, subtle, problematic and humane book....about Ireland...about a particular family...about alternatives and complexities anywhere." -- Irish Times "An astonishing account, both delicate and strong, of great issues of twentieth-century Europe, modern Ireland, and family everywhere." -- Nuala O'Faolain "The long wait for this most talented novelist to cast his eye over his homeland has been worth it." -- GQ "A prize--delicate, achingly well-observed and wonderfully moving." -- A.L. Kennedy "Triumphantly avoids the Angela's Ashes style of sentimental nostalgia and victim claims... stands up well in the mighty, unending competition for most memorable Irish life-story." -- Guardian (London) "Never clichéd, thanks largely to Hamilton's frankly poetic language and masterful portait of childhood...a beautiful memoir." -- Publishers Weekly "A fine and timely book from an exquisitely gifted writer...beautiful, subtle, unflashy, perfectly realized and quite extraordinarily powerful." -- Joseph O'Connor "A memoir of warmth and wisdom...tender and profound and, best of all, tells the truth. I loved it." -- Patrick McCabe "Evocative, agitating and inspiriting, Speckled People sticks up for diversity and principled dissent...extending the scope of Irish memoir." -- Independent "A memoir of childhood that often reads like a craftily composed work of fiction." -- Daily Telegraph (London) "The most gripping book I've read in ages...a fascinating, disturbing and often very funny memoir." -- Roddy Doyle "Full of several different kinds of passion with a real tragedy at its heart." -- Margaret Forster, Never clichéd, thanks largely to Hamilton s frankly poetic language and masterful portait of childhood a beautiful memoir., A fine and timely book from an exquisitely gifted writer...beautiful, subtle, unflashy, perfectly realized and quite extraordinarily powerful., The Speckled People stands head and shoulders above the ruck of memoirs pouring out of Ireland....an accomplished work of art and a strange tale brilliantly told., A masterful piece of work—timely, inventive, provocative and perfectly weighted. Don't be surprised if it becomes a classic., Never clichéd, thanks largely to Hamilton's frankly poetic language and masterful portait of childhood…a beautiful memoir., The Long Wait for this Most Talented Novelist to Cast His Eye over His Homeland Has Been Worth It., Evocative, agitating and inspiriting, Speckled People sticks up for diversity and principled dissent...extending the scope of Irish memoir., A masterful piece of work--timely, inventive, provocative and perfectly weighted. Don't be surprised if it becomes a classic., A Memoir of Warmth and Wisdom...Tender and Profound And, Best of All, Tells the Truth. I Loved It., Never clichd, thanks largely to Hamilton's frankly poetic language and masterful portait of childhood.a beautiful memoir., Unlike most Irish memoirs, this one is devoid of sentimentality. Which doesn't make it any the less heartrending., A masterful piece of work-timely, inventive, provocative and perfectly weighted. Don't be surprised if it becomes a classic., Never clichd, thanks largely to Hamilton's frankly poetic language and masterful portait of childhood...a beautiful memoir., An astonishing account, both delicate and strong, of great issues of twentieth-century Europe, modern Ireland, and family everywhere., A wonderful, subtle, problematic and humane book....about Ireland...about a particular family...about alternatives and complexities anywhere.