Deborah Robertson
The protagonist David Quinn is the sort of man any woman would want. Clever, kind, sensitive and good-looking , yet he has never married and never been a father. Sweet Old World is a tender exposition of the ache in a man who is desperate to have a child of his own —to be a father.
His longing is portrayed against the landscape of the island of Inishmore off the coast of the west of Ireland, and Robertson’s descriptions of the land, its people are like mini poems full of a sort of wistfulness and appreciation of the unique landscapes.
David Quinn meets a backpacker Esther Bradley at Kilronan the main town on the island of Inishmore. Esther has dinner with him and falls off her bike on the way home. David then meets her mother and falls desperately in love and dreams of a child.
Esther’s mother Tania appreciates David for all he has to offer but does not have the commitment to change her life and live with him. There is also the question of David’s interest in Esther, her daughter, and Tania never quite comes to terms with his intentions. There are many deeper themes of men and women, their relationships and the complexity of people especially as they fall in love later in life.
I loved this book with a passion, and I have re-read it many times. I loved the ease at which the characters came to life. David, Orla (his sister) his nephews, his friends and his lover all were sketched very simply. I also enjoyed the way they related to one another, the dialogue and the sex scenes were in tune with the bodies, and I especially loved the sensitivity to the tragic rich past of the islands and the people who lived there.
Some truly beautiful sentences written by Robertson.
Outside the night has begun its slow thickening. The blues and greens deepen while the daisies glow. This is the daisie’s time, their half hour to twirl their tutus on the stage of all this theatrical beauty.
Sweet Old World is Deborah Robertson’s second novel and was published by penguin in 2012