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    The Stolen Child: A Novel
    The Stolen Child: A Novel
    The Stolen Child: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Stolen Child: A Novel

    Written by Lisa Carey

    Narrated by Caroline Lennon

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    From the author of the critically acclaimed The Mermaids Singing comes a haunting, luminous novel set on an enchanted island off the west coast of Ireland where magic, faith, and superstition pervade the inhabitants’ lives and tangled relationships—perfect for fans of Eowyn Ivey, Sarah Waters, and Angela Carter.

    May 1959. From one side of St. Brigid’s Island, the mountains of Connemara can be glimpsed on the distant mainland; from the other, the Atlantic stretches as far as the eye can see. This remote settlement, without electricity or even a harbor, has scarcely altered since its namesake saint set up a convent of stone huts centuries ago. Those who live there, including sisters Rose and Emer, are hardy and resourceful, dependent on the sea and each other for survival.  Despite the island’s natural beauty, it is a place that people move away from, not to—until an outspoken American, also named Brigid, arrives to claim her late uncle’s cottage.

    Brigid has come for more than an inheritance. She’s seeking a secret holy well that’s rumored to grant miracles. Emer, as scarred and wary as Rose is friendly and beautiful, has good reason to believe in inexplicable powers. Despite her own strange abilities—or perhaps because of them—Emer fears that she won’t be able to save her young son, Niall, from a growing threat. Yet Brigid has a gift too, even more remarkable than Emer’s. As months pass and Brigid carves out a place on the island and in the sisters’ lives, a complicated web of betrayal, fear, and desire culminates in one shocking night that will change the island, and its inhabitants, forever.

    Steeped in Irish history and lore, The Stolen Child is a mesmerizing descent into old world beliefs, and a captivating exploration of desire, myth, motherhood, and love in all its forms.

    “Steeped in dark Irish mythology, The Stolen Child is a piercing exploration of regret and desire, longing and love. It is a gorgeously written, inventive, and compelling novel.”—Ayelet Waldman

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateFeb 7, 2017
    ISBN9780062669759
    Author

    Lisa Carey

    Lisa Carey is the author of The Mermaids Singing, In the Country of the Young, and Love in the Asylum. She lived in Ireland for five years and now resides in Portland, Maine, with her husband and their son.

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    Reviews for The Stolen Child

    4/5

    85 ratings20 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Beautiful and mesmerizing. A heartbreaking meditation on women's loves and desires and the limitations in their lives, wrapped up in an atmospheric, mythical package. Set on an Irish island in the late 1950's. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      A middling story which attempts to delve into mysticism and ends up being yet another escapist tale drawing upon Celtic lore and unspoken agendas.This was one of my many reads of 2019 during knee replacement recovery. While it was escapist and required nothing from me other than the ability to read, the story remains not particularly memorable, the characters equally lacklustre, and the writing without that poignant resonance.Perfect for recovery, the beach, or a winter's read. But if you're looking for something engaging, this is not it.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book centered around two women in a remote Irish island in the late 1950s. I'm a big fan of Ireland and Celtic myth, and loved both the story of life on those islands and the interweaving of fairy lore and magic and the saint/goddess Brigid into the tale. I wasn't expecting as many faery/magic/magical realism elements as I found, and loved them all the more for the surprise.I thought the writing was excellent and the slow unfolding of the characters' back stories intermixed with the present day of the story really added to how the tale unfolded. The characters and their wishes and goals and lives were complex and well-rounded.As a lesbian, I liked the relationship between two women that emerged, in a way that felt true for the characters involved and the time and place, but was also remarkable to my modern eye for its complete lack of a sense of queer identity.As you might imagine, life on a remote Irish island was not easy. Trigger warning for some domestic violence and sexual violence. If that's not a deal-breaker, it's highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Wow. Beautifully written, beautifully wrought. She told a brilliant story, heart-wrenching and wild.
    • 4/5
      An American woman with a troubled past arrives on a tiny island off Ireland to claim her inheritance: a small cottage in a tight-knit, secretive community with its own demons - and fairies. Brigid seeks solace, solitude and a miracle in her mother's birthplace. But will the same demons that drove her mother away also chase off Brigid? Her hopes of solitude are cut short by strange, angry Emer and her day-dreaming son Niall, who all become close in spite of themselves.This is a book that I wanted very much to like from the premise. And for the most part I was won over by Carey's moody descriptions of the island and its people, the private passions and deep terrors they contain. It took me time to forgive the jarring over-explaining of just how and how much of an outsider Brigid is -- a feeling I have experienced and which is altogether more subtle than she captures with some pretty broad stereotyping on both sides. But forgive I did for the rest of the story which grabbed me and got me reading again, after a long time away.
    • 3/5
      This was an interesting read about an American returning to the isolated Irish island her mother was from. I liked the mixing of Irish folklore/fantasy with the main story, which was well done, although I felt the story was quite slow moving.There were some strong female characters in the novel, whose motivations were largely covered, but I did feel like the men in the story got a bit of a raw deal - they didn't seem to have much characterisation beyond being a bit useless/aggressive, etc. The setting and world that was created was great, I just wish the characters had been fleshed out a bit more.The main narrative was good, although I would have liked a little more plot and a little less sex, and the end of the book seemed a little forced and jarring. Probably the thing I enjoyed most about this book was how imagery was carried through – the repeated use of strong imagery throughout the book (often going back to bee imagery, for example) was done well.
    • 3/5
      This book tells the story of what happens when an American arrives on an isolated Irish island in the 1950s. She wants to have a child and there is a spring on the island which is holy water.She befriends a woman on the island who is a social outcast and they begin an affair.Friendship, death and a wee bit of magic all come together to create a storm which leaves the islanders having to make the decision as to whether to abandon their isolation for a council house on the mainland.There was a real twist in the tale at the end which was slightly odd and I didn't feel added to the story in any way but despite that I enjoyed reading it, if more for the background of the lifestyle of the islanders than for the story itself.
    • 3/5
      This is an interesting , but slow moving story . It's historical fiction with Irish folklore mixed into it . One of the main characters is miserable/mean to almost everyone around her except her young son , which makes it hard to sympathize with her . But the other characters help the reader stay engaged .
    • 4/5
      The story takes place in 1959 on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. It is to this place that American Bridget travels to make a home and look for the waters that are said to create miracles. But first she has to gain the trust of the gruff islanders. There she befriends Emer and her son. After a tragedy occurs, Bridget is no longer trusted.I like how the story began with the ending of the book. Then, after that first chapter, it goes back to a year previous. Their is magic in the book, as well. Many of the islanders are superstitious and believe in fairies and St. Brigid and the magical well. The magic of the book is an important part of the plot.An enjoyable read. I received a complimentary copy from Librarything Early Reviewers in exchange for a review.
    • 4/5
      In 1959, sisters Emer and Rose live with their families and communities on St. Brigid's Island, an isolated island in Ireland. It is a rough life, everyone's well-being depends on the land and the sea, both of which can be harsh and undependable. Rose is sunny and fertile, producing sets of twins every few years. Emer is dark and brooding, cherishing and protecting her only child, a son. Brigid, an American, comes to the island. Her uncle, who lived on the island all his life, has died, and left his house to her. However, Brigid comes for more than just a new home. She is hoping for a miracle. St. Brigid's Island is steeped in mystery about St. Brigid, who is said to have lived on the island centuries before. Brigid, the American, is hoping that St. Brigid can give her what she wants most of all. Brigid has a hard time breaking into the community on the island. The islanders, including Emer, with whom she develops an intense relationship, are reluctant to share the island's secrets with her.Irish myth and lore is intricately woven into the lives of these women and their families, bringing depth and beauty to the story. Well done!
    • 2/5
      This book sounded so good: beautiful setting, Irish mythology, man vs nature...Two of the main characters are a set of Irish twin sisters: one friendly and likable, the other her opposite. Add to it an American and a gaggle of children. Despite eveything the author told us about the women, they didn't feel real to me. I just couldn't seem to care about them. Emer, the unlikable one who had the power to make people around her miserable, reminded me of someone I used to know, which may have colored my feelings towards her. But even the others couldn't hold my attention.I thought the writing was good, the descriptions made the island come to life in my mind. There are two quotes that really stuck with me, the best one being on page 293: "It's like being kicked in the stomach, the truth, even when you suspect it."Overall the book did not feel like a chore, but I got no satisfaction from having finished it. Maybe Emer's power to bring misery translated through the pages into this reader.
    • 4/5
      I loved the remote Irish island setting of this book and enjoyed reading about the island traditions and fairy stories. I found the main character Emer to be difficult to root for. Brigid was a bit easier to like. Although I really like elements of magic in the books I read I found the ending to be a bit too miraculous. I do see the value in a happy ending though considering how dark the majority of the story is. I liked it enough to seek out more of this author's work in the future.
    • 3/5
      Life on the small island of St. Brigid is brutal and raw as the landscape but for a small number of families that have clung to its rocky cliffs, the island and its power is timeless and secret. Stories say that there is magic on the island and women have come to a secret well to ask Saint Brigid to give them a child. One day an American appears and moves into the dilapidated cottage that has been in her family and slowly works her way into the island community. Brigid has her own secrets and reasons for coming to the island. Not all warm up to Brigid and some, like Emer, do not trust her reasons for being on the island sensing that there is more to the story. The island and its people believe in the old ways, have been given special gifts from the fairies and know that someday the fairies will collect. Beautifully written - you can almost feel the spray from the sea and the cold wind or smell the peat. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
    • 4/5
      St. Brigid's Island, off the west coast of Ireland, the home of generations of families, families that have been touched by the myths and folklore of Ireland. The home of fairies and changelings, superstition and belief in the old ways. Emer and Rose twins, now in their twenties, Rose happy and fair, has given birth to many sets of twins, Emer, dark, brooding, a touch of her hand causes hopelessness in all but her twin. Married to brothers, Emery only one son, a son she watches over stringently, afraid the fairies will take him when he turns seven. Another Brigid arrives on the island, the daughter of a woman who left the island when the islanders turned on her, said to be touched by the fairy darkness herself. Brigid has a tragic back story all her own, but she has now come to the island to find St. Brigid's well, a well whose water is said to perform miracles and Brgid wants something very badly.The island is fictitious although the Saint herself is not, the miracles associated with her well documented. This is not a light read, it is a novel of a family, an island but of darkness as well. The magical realism within is not used in a light manner, but to reinforce the folklore, the myths that inhabit these people's lives, the fear of believing in something of which one has little control. Fairies, changeling and mystical happenings have long been a part of these people beings, they believe wholeheartedly in these things, passed down within families. Dark and delicious is how I would describe this book. Well written, well paced, the characters each different and connected by the island's past. If you enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale, I think you would like this one too. Myths in a culture brought to life, both dark and intense, but with small glimpses of light.ARC from publisher and librarything.Publishes the beginning of February..
    • 5/5
      I received this book from the LibraryThings early reviewers and Harper Collins. I did not have any idea what I was getting into when I requested this book it just sounded intriguing. I read this book every chance I got in the 3 day holiday. When I finished it last night I just had no words. It consumed me, I felt this book. It left me questioning and stretched me to places I have never gone. Before trying to write my review of the book I had to read what others wrote because it was just so different from anything I have read before. I did not know how to categorize it but KC on Goodreads summed it up best "This Irish tale is a true mind-bending genre. It is part magical realism, fantasy, folk lore, bi-sexuality, and literary fiction." Kirsten Griffith, also on Goodreads summed up the writing better than I could "This book is exquisite. Beautifully written, excellent character development, and you really feel like part of the island as you read". This book is not for everyone and I suspect there are many who would be offended by some of the subject matter but Lisa Carey undoubtedly can weave a tale and pull you deep into it, or maybe it was the fairies...
    • 3/5
      The Stolen Child, A Novel is a dark tale which attempts to take on many of the world's problems. The tale is a fantasy set on an island off the shore of Ireland named for St. Brigid. All the inhabitants are isolated and uneducated which makes this tale similar to the tale of a small village North of Boston where those inhabitants believed in witches. On the Island, the fairy people are to be feared as they can steal your children and wives and replace them with changelings. The tale tells the story of two sisters, Rose and Emer who were almost killed by the mother at a young age and their interaction to a new arrival on the island, Brigid. Brigid has come to the island for an inheritance and in search for a miracle. The story is an extremely touching narrative of superstition and lore and the misunderstanding of people who do not fit into the "normal" mold. Is Brigid a fairy or woman searching for more in the land of her ancestors.There is a moral to this dark tale but it is heart wrenching.
    • 5/5
      It's been a long time since I've fallen in love with a book with this is the one. The characters are outstanding, unique and fantastic. The magic and mystery has pulled me in. I recommend it for all dreamers and lovers of fairies every where.
    • 5/5
      Magical and creepy and lovely. I love Lisa and I'm going to love anything she writes, but this was particularly amazing.
    • 5/5
      This book is exquisite. Beautifully written, excellent character development, and you really feel like part of the island as you read. The touch of magical realism is just enough to lend an air of mystery, and there are so many quotes that I just stopped and read again, setting the book down to think about how *true* they were. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys Diana Gabaldon, Sarah Waters, Sara Gruen.
    • 3/5
      I really tried to like this book. The writing is fine but I just couldn't like the characters. I really didn't care about any of them. I loved the description of the book, a remote island settlement, it's people needing to be strong and resourceful in order to live in such harsh conditions. Sisters steeped in Irish folklore. Talk of miracles, a hidden well, witches, changelings, fairies. A woman, a Yank, coming to the island in hopes of having/getting something she has always wanted, her own child after being told she couldn't have children. All intriguing to me but it was a real effort on my part to keep reading. I kept hoping I would start enjoying the book but it just didn't happen for me. Sorry.