Land by Maggie O'Farrell

Maggie O'Frarrell never ceases to enkindle awe in her lyrical writing.  Page after page leaves the reader with so many memorable sentences that beg to be read over and over again. It is one of the reasons that it takes me so long to finish one of her books. 

Set in Ireland after the Famine, Land is a saga of a family headed by Tomás, a cartographer working for the British Ordinance Survey agency. He is incredibly fastidious and is intent on passing down his expertise to his sone Liam, whom he takes on his expeditions as his apprentice. The opening scenes of the novel set the stage as Tomás drinks from a holy well and suffers an altering of his personality that nears the state of madness.

Through a series of flashbacks that weigh on the present scenes, the reader is informed of Tomás' past, his meeting Phina, his wife, and his passion for the land, which in effect is the main character in the book. As he recovers his senses, he is perplexed and displeased by Liam's desire to enter the priesthood, It seems that Liam was mesmerized by Father Joseph, the priest who attempted an exorcism on Tomás. The other members of the family are introduced - Enda, the indpendent violinist, Rose, the younger daughter who is caregiver and ultimately the one to keep the household going, and Eugene, the son who shows signs of autism.

As the layers of terrain are multifaceted, so is Land. From the story of Brith, an ancient young girl whose story is woven through the fabric of the story to the family's relationship to the peninsula where Tomás builds his cottage, the reader realizes that a map does not accurately reflect the history of the place. The importance of family and how they embody tragedy and resilience are so important to reflect on and contemplate.

O'Farrell's books are not to be read quickly, but rather savored. The readers knows the characters as if they were neighbors and will ultimately shed a tear or two or a hundred.