Review of Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor and Connemara Single Malt Irish Whiskey
The Star of the Sea
Author: Joseph O’Connor
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: January 2002
Pages: 432
Description (from Goodreads)
In the bitter winter of 1847, from an Ireland torn by famine and injustice, the Star of the Sea sets sail for New York. On board are hundreds of refugees, some optimistic, many more desperate. Among them are a maid with a devastating secret, the bankrupt Lord Merridith, his wife and children, and a killer stalking the decks, hungry for the vengeance that will bring absolution.
This journey will see many lives end, others begin anew. Passionate loves are tenderly recalled, shirked responsibilities regretted too late, and profound relationships shockingly revealed. In this spellbinding tale of tragedy and mercy, love and healing, the farther the ship sails toward the Promised Land, the more her passengers seem moored to a past that will never let them go.
As urgently contemporary as it is historical, this exciting and compassionate novel builds with the pace of a thriller to a stunning conclusion.
Star of the Sea is a book you could read passively as any other fictional story on your shelf. The chapters a full of rich detail, character and plot development, intriguing intertwines, mystery, love, deceit, debauchery, and human desire. When taken as no more than a work of fiction, a reader can easily get lost in the movement of the story from it’s seemingly disjointed beginning to its quilted end. You would enjoy it just like this, close the back cover after reading the last page and feel good about the time you spent with Joseph O’Connor’s creations.
Or, you let the book into you as a micro-sized view of the weblike effects large-scale tragedy creates within the human condition. You can consider the moral obligations of a captain commissioned to transport passengers from famine-stricken Ireland to the ports of America. Ponder over the ethics involved in storytelling. Debate the ownership of responsibility for global inequities created by centuries of colonization and entrenched power structures. Consider the effects of gender, racial, genealogical, economic, religious stereotypes. You can ask how far you would go to protect yourself and your family.
Either way, Star of the Sea does not disappoint. Tenderly and respectfully told, this story of life, death, love, and tragedy moves without preaching and asks without indulgent piety. I am sure there is supposed to be a hero and a villain in this story – I am just still not quite sure who they are. Perhaps they are a bit of the hero and the villain that are in all of us.
Spirit Pairing –
Connemara Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Purchase details:
Location: The Loop, Dublin Airport
Date: 6/16/2022
Cost: 28E / $2953
Type: Irish Whiskey
Distillery: Cooley Distillery, Riverstown, County Louth, Ireland
Bottled in: County Louth, Ireland
Proof: (% ABV) 40 (80%)
Composition: 100% Malted Barley
Age: NAS
BoozApp says:
Avg MSRP – $48.16
Fair Price – $57.15
Shelf Price – $52.74
One of my favorite finds in Ireland due to the peaty nature of this single malt Irish Whiskey. Wonderful pick for someone trying to find a different flavor profile or slow walk themselves into the world of Scotch.
Until next time
Sáinte!
Ape
