Where Are the Kings by Donal Ryan review
A teenage boy navigates adolescence and the traumatic loss of his mother in this poignant coming-of-age novel set in rural Ireland
TL;DR
- There's a trend in recent literature to explore themes of time manipulation, including reversed history, time travel, and the subjective experience of time, particularly in relation to grief.
- Donal Ryan's novel 'Where Are the Kings' uses the concept of 'grief-time' to depict how loss distorts the passage of hours, using the perspective of a 12-year-old boy, Jack.
- Jack is dealing with the aftermath of his mother's suicide and his father's institutionalization, navigating adolescence while sensing unspoken family secrets and traumas.
- The novel is noted for its humorous and poignant family interactions, particularly with Jack's uncles, and its depiction of rural Irish life where time feels unhurried and non-linear.
- Ryan's work suggests a moral lesson that 'things don't stop being beautiful because ugly things happen' and that the inescapable truth of mortality leads to the simple imperative to live.
- The novel is set in rural Ireland, possibly Tipperary, and evokes a sense of a timeless place where elements from different decades coexist, and the passage of time is fluid.