Fans of Donal Ryan will not be disappointed with this book. The writing is as rich and descriptive as we’ve come to expect from Ryan. It is an odd name for a book and often in books a title can be a tenuous link to the story, but I found this really appropriate. I had been wondering who the main character was, and in time we learn who the Queen is. The book feels at the same time, old fashioned (think black kettles over open fires) and very modern (3 house battle for book publishing). The characters are mostly all women which are well written from a male writer. In the middle, I did wonder what was the point of some of the narrative, but it all comes together in a very satisfactory and enjoyable conclusion.
Being published on 18th August. I got an ARC from @Netgalley Random House UK, Transworld Publishers. #thequeenofdirtisland

Reading a Donal Ryan book is now like reaching out for a warm hug - never fails to satisfy and leaves a warm glow. Thankfully this book is in the same vein. The heartfelt compassion resonates in every line, and the most mundane descriptions are believable and touching. What was striking about this book, in particular, was how well Ryan paints all his female characters around which the story is told. I don't think a female author could have done any better. The dialogue was magical and made me laugh and cry in equal measure. A wonderful author on top form here.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC

Donal Ryan’s writing is like being enveloped in a soft, comforting blanket - it is warm and lyrical, even when he’s addressing difficult themes. Saoirse is a young girl without a father, and she lives in the very small world of an Irish village. Her home is a place of insults, gossip and religion, but above all of the love between three women - Saoirse, her mother and grandmother, and then her own daughter too. The story has its fair share of tragedy, but underlying everything is the poetic style of Ryan’s writing and the calm pace of the life his characters lead. This is a beautiful book and this reader was bereft when it ended.

A beautiful intergenerational story about Saoirse, her mother and grandmother, and their lives intertwined in small town drama. Loved the writing, it was wonderful. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The Queen of Dirt Island is a lyrical novel about 4 generations of a family living in Ireland. We follow the main character, Saoirse, from her early life as she grows up to have her own daughter, Pearl. The two younger women still live with Saoirse's mother and grandmother, so we get this beautiful intergenerational home which provided a colourful background for small town drama.

It's hard to explain what happens without getting into the plot too much but it's fair to say that this book is quite slow paced, but contains lots of beautifully written but long and winding sentences. I was familiar with this because I've read some other books from the author before. Personally, I really enjoy this writing style.

I would recommend this book! Especially to those from Ireland/Scotland. A lot of the lingo will be very familiar!

Their story begins at an end and ends at a beginning. It involves wives and widows, gunrunners and gougers, sinners and saints. It's a story of terrible betrayals and fierce loyalties, of isolation and togetherness, of transgression, forgiveness, desire, and love. About all the things family can be and all the things it sometimes isn't. Three generations of fierce Aylward women are the central focus of this Ireland based character-driven novel. Their love for each other outshines their trauma, though not always their anger.

It actually feels really hard to put into words what I loved so much about this book… was it the fierce females? The melancholic vibe? The loneliness yet the togetherness? I think that sometimes, the best stories are spun from the realest of lives.

In the vivid descriptions written expertly by the author, we see highs and lows of what it is to belong to a family. The introspection is profound, full of empathy and just generally touching. There felt like some meaningful moment happening on each chapter that really resonated with parts of me that I forgot existed.

The writing was this wonderful, magic, lyrical prose of story-telling and droll dialect. The admiration and respect that the author has of the female characters shine through - I felt like the author also had fun with them though, I feel like so far my review has made it seem like quite a heavy read but that isn’t the case.

The character development was really nicely done, the author lets these women grow organically, but they never lose their spark. Overall, it was a really insightful read with clouds of melancholy and bright rays of humour.

I adored this book. Each of the Aylward women is a strong and spirted characters that jumped out of the page. Their abundance of love for one another is clear from the very start, and their funny dialogues between each other sparkles throughout.

The book is structured in short two page chapters, portraying a variety of dramas and life events for the Aylward family. We see them through deaths, pregnancies, love, and living in judgement of those around them. Though at the heart of the book is the bond between the women of the family.

I was surprised to see characters from Ryan’s previous book “Strange Flowers” reappear, but it was nice to be meeting them again. This book is not a follow on, and can be read on its own. Though if you enjoy Ryan’s style of writing, I would recommend reading it.

This is a beautiful book, with spellbinding and writing that keeps the reader captivated till the end.

When I say I’d read a shopping list if Donal published it, I mean it. This is another pleasure of a read, focusing on a mother, grandmother and daughter. They get on mostly, they bicker, they argue but they know that there’s no one more precious to them on earth than each other. The story of the Awlyard women begins at an end and ends at a beginning and there is an ethereal, traditional feel to the novel which suggests it could have been written at any stage in the last 100 years. Relationship woes, battles on property and inheritance, village gossip, big decisions, the Awlyard trio see everything and work through everything that confronts or threatens to upset their happy home. It is sparsely written so every word counts and you will feel bereft when it’s over. This is a book to keep and to re-read every year. Worth every accolade it will be awarded.

Have you ever read a book that feels both incredibly familiar and original at the same time? That's The Queen of Dirt Island. Themes and storyline that you will probably have seen in other guises, but there is a magic spark which makes it absolutely compelling and the prose is beautiful. I normally hate the fashion for lack of speech punctuation, but Donal Ryan can pull it off and it works fabulously - I felt as if I was sat around with kitchen table with Nana, Eileen, Saoirse and Pearl.

Donal Ryan is truly one of the great prose writers of our time.
Another 5 star from him - the way emotions come off the pages of his books are fascinating. The seemingly normal and mundane lives of Saoirse and her family in Nenagh is spun in such a beautiful and emotive way that you become so fully immersed in this book. It is always a novelty for me being able to read books set in my home county.
What I love about Ryan's books is how he is not afraid to describe Ireland as it is - judgemental and cold. Families falling out over pregnancies, farmland - we all know these stories, even now.
I hung off every word of this book and I can't wait to grab a physical copy and add it to my collection. What a stunner.

THe Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan is the book from the author I have read and another beautifully written book from the author. This is not a sequel to Strange flowers but has some characters from the previous book.
The story starts when Saoirse is born in the town of Nenagh, Co Tipperary, one of four generations of three headstrong Aylward women living together in a small house in the 1980’s. It tells of the loves and losses of the family and the conflicts that they must overcome. This is still the time of strong prejudices between young single girls, The catholic church and the time of the IRA.
Yet again this is another great story by Donal Ryan about the Aylward family but in certain parts. As found that I started losing interest a bit and then it started picking up again. 3.5 stars from me.

The writing is superb. I was very quickly immersed in the story; in fact, I read it in a day.

The story revolves around a family of strong women. Men are absent or peripheral. The paragraphs speed by as they are unhindered by the need for speech marks. There is a distinct Irish flavour throughout and the descriptions of their home are vivid and truthful.

There are four women, eventually, and the love they have for one another shines out from every page. I laughed. I felt sadness. I felt anger.

I thoroughly recommend this novel and have put Donal Ryan on my ‘authors to read’ list

I read a proof copy provided by Netgalley, but my opinions are my own.

The Queen of Dirt Island reminds me of Donal Ryan's first two superb novels: The Spinning Heart and The Thing About December, both of which I loved. If you enjoyed these books as much as I did then The Queen Of Dirt Island is for you.

The lives of four generations of Aylward women are shown in moving, lyrical prose through superb vignettes: their pain, their fights, and their love shine through each episode, described most vividly. This is a character driven story, the plot as such covers the lives of Saoirse, born the day before her father dies in a car crash; Eileen, her young widowed mother; Mary, her paternal grandmother; and Pearl, Saoirse's own daughter.

Donal Ryan is the best Irish writer of his generation and The Queen of Dirt Island illustrates him at the peak of his craft and storytelling powers. Highly recommended for both old and new Ryan fans. Thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse/Transworld/Doubleday for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

Fans of Donal Ryan’s Strange Flowers will love this. Not a sequel but a considerable overlap. Story centres on the Awlward household, made up of Eileen, a widow, her mother-in-law, daughter and eventually a granddaughter. All aspects of female relationships are explored, the love, support, friction and fights. Aided and abetted by a plethora of supporting characters all bringing a richness to the story and cutting to the heart of rural life in Ireland and leaving one with a sense of history managing to repeat itself again and again. My only quibble was the timing, felt the setting was more suited to the 70s or 80s rather than post 2000.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for this personal review.

Excellent, moving story of the lives of four women in an Irish family, told through a series of short chapters / vignettes that continually develop the relationships between the women, the wider family and the local residents. Beset by, and largely overcoming, the challenges that they face in rural Ireland from the 70s onwards, Ryan brings real warmth to the characters. Thoroughly enjoyable, and the characters have stayed with me over the last few days since reading.

It was good, but not a favourite.

I liked the characters, particularly the female leads, but I found it a bit disjointed in places and my concentration kept dropping. Not sure if this is due to it bring about 500 deg when I was reading it or if the writing style was not for me. I found it difficult to decipher who was talking at times and some characters seemed unecessary.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

Four generations of Aylward women – Nana, Eileen, Saoirse and Pearl – telling us all about their interwoven lives in Co Tipperary.

Sweet and gentle and lyrical, it is beautifully written. I struggled to love this as much as others have reviewed though.

I would rate 3 stars.

3.75 rounded up to 4.

Queen of Dirt Island follows a multigenerational, unconventional family comprised of the Aylward women. The story is told through a series of vignettes using witty dialogue and rich imagery.

We follow Nana, Eileen, Saoirse and Pearl through their lives; love, loss, drama and their relationship with each other. They are crude, crass and full of affection for one another.

I enjoyed the first and last part of the novel, however it fell flat in the middle with the focus being on Josh and Honey. I wanted more of the Aylward women!!

The use of vignettes as a mode of story telling both did and didn’t work for me, personally. At times, it allowed me to feel enveloped by the characters Irishness and Irish culture, viewing their dramas through a cultural lens - this was great! But the use of vignettes also didn’t allow me to fully invest myself in any of the characters.

Overall, an enjoyable story with fierce female Irish characters and beautiful writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers Random House, UK, Transworld for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Donal Ryan writes with such feeling and such talent. His melancholic descriptions are like nothing I have read elsewhere; he is an author with a unique and recognisable voice, such meaning, such depth at describing human emotions - his writing is magnificent.
I have read all of Donal's work; he is a true favourite of mine. I was delighted to see a crossover between the some of the characters from Strange Flowers, it was wonderful to watch these relationships entertwine and grow.
A stunningly beautiful read, another amazing piece of work from Donal.

The Queen of Dirt Island is a beautifully written collection of vignettes that tells the story of the Aylward women, three (and then four) generations of women who have created a life for themselves that feels so honest and I got totally swept up in it. Their home is full of love but the brutality in which they can speak to one another and yet you know that their relationship will not diminish is a real testament to Ryan's writing.

The book tells of all elements of life from death and marriage to betrayals and isolation, Ryan carries this along with the loyalty that each of the Aylwards show towards one another and each element is handled with such care. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to get swept up in a short book that you won't forget in a hurry.