Confessions of a Fallen Angel by Ronan O'Brien - #BookReveiw

 

Dying was the easy bit. It was during my life after death that things started to go wrong. A conspiracy of coincidences perhaps or else maybe some higher power was having a laugh at my expense. But when I returned from the other side I brought something fearful back with me...

Following a near-death experience as a child, a young boy becomes cursed with the ability to foresee the deaths of the people closest to him. These visions come to him in his dreams and, following a disastrous attempt to save a childhood friend from drowning, a set of terrifying events begins to unfold. As a young man, he finds redemption in the arms of Ashling, his beautiful wife. But then the visions return...

This is a story about one mans struggle to live an ordinary life in extraordinary circumstances; about love lost and found and the vast range of emotions that can be weathered by the human heart. This is a story where dreams come true but where dreams can turn into nightmares; a place where true love will prevail and where death is only the beginning.

Set in the fictional Dublin suburb of Rathgorman, Confessions of a Fallen Angel is a truly remarkable debut novel that will grip you from the first line and surprise you to the last.

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I stumbled across this book in the library. I had never heard of the author or any of his work. However, this is the beauty of libraries; they enable us to try new titles and authors without worrying about the cost.

What I found within the covers of this novel was a little gem which I loved from the very start. The book begins with the childhood of the main character, and the reader is permitted to accompany him on his journey through life as the book is narrated from his point of view. 

And what a varied journey it is. We get to laugh and cry with him and to experience his range of emotions within those parameters.

The author has skilfully created a whole panorama of characters who are expertly drawn. At times I felt angry when some of those characters misunderstood him. This is testament to the author as his writing was able to make me react so emotionally.

There are times in this book when the narrative turns toward the violent. Whilst those sections made for uncomfortable reading, I never felt that the author turned to the gratuitous and those descriptions really were significant to the plot.

This is a great book and it deals with many themes; love, hope, disappointment and, of course, Ireland. The book is as much about the country as it is about the character and plot.

This is the authors debut novel and I sincerely hope that there will be more to come.

ISBN:  978 0340953167

Publisher: Hachette Books Ireland

About the Author: 

Ronan O'Brien (born 1974, Dublin) is an Irish author, winner of the 2009 Irish Book Awards "Newcomer of the Year" for his first novel Confessions of a Fallen Angel.

He studied law at University College Dublin and then obtained a master's degree in modern drama studies. His primary career is as a solicitor specialising in criminal law. 

He lives in County Kildare with his wife Rita and is currently working on his second novel.

(bio information courtesy of Wikipedia)