Solar Bones

By: Mike McCormack

Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds

A vital, tender, death-haunted work by one of Ireland's most important contemporary writers, Solar Bones is a celebration of the unexpected beauty of life and of language and our inescapable nearness to our last end.

It is All Souls Day, and the spirit of Marcus Conway sits at his kitchen table and remembers. In flowing, relentless prose, Conway recalls his life in rural Ireland: as a boy and man, father, husband, citizen. His ruminations move from childhood memories of his father's deftness with machines to his own work as a civil engineer, from transformations in the local economy to the tidal wave of global financial collapse. Conway's thoughts go still further, outward to the vast systems of time and history that hold us all. He stares down through the "vortex of his being", surveying all the linked circumstances that combined to bring him into this single moment, and he makes us feel, if only for an instant, all the terror and gratitude that existence inspires.

Solar Bones is a masterwork that builds its own style and language one broken line at a time; the result is a visionary accounting of the now.

©2016 Mike McCormack (P)2017 Recorded Books

Super

First time I’ve been moved to write a review; I’ll keep it short. Simply superb book, that draws you in through an overlapping series of banal anecdote and conversation until you unwittingly find yourself wholly inhabiting the main character. A great achievement which is only added to by an exceptional narrative performance in this edition. Can’t recommend enough.

Great listen!

I don't write many reviews, but felt compelled by this book. Writer has captured the heart and soul of an engineer perfect. The flow of the story takes reader ( listener) into seamless flow . Enthralling comes to mind. Narrator is perfect for character. Can't wait for more by this writer!!

You ether love it or hate it

Steam of consciousness story that jumps around. Still easy enough to follow the life of a man and his family in Modern Ireland. But not for everyone. If you like Joyce you probably like this. Even if you don't you may discover a style that works for you. Give it a try..

OMG! Raw

Bought this book as a daily deal. I was lured by the narration which I must say kept me engaged. The story, although not my usual genre, was raw and not at all what I expected. I was not sure I would make it. When I got to the end though, I kept saying OMG! over and over.

Life's reflection of an ordinary man

I had my reservation at the beginning, it felt scattered and a little disorienting. Once I got a grasp of the writing style the novel came to life.
I was compelled to continue and I'm grateful I did.
Marcus the main character comes across as simple man but once your drawn into his stream of consciousness he becomes memorable. You journey along side him as he reflects on life.
We are witness to his relationships as father, son, partner, citizen, employee and discover how they shape him into the man he has become. A beauty story that made an impact on my soul.

Don't miss it

Would you listen to Solar Bones again? Why?

The writing and performance combine for a unique effect.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This is a book to listen to in one sitting. If you have a one day outdoor project to do, like Fall or Spring cleanup with your earbuds buried under ear protection gear and a backpack blower and you are all alone ... you won't forget this book. Tim Reynolds brings Mike McCormack's book to life.

Any additional comments?

Perhaps, listen inside while you are drinking Writers Tears.

An excellent find!

An excellent find. I’ll read whatever this writer writes. Happened to listen to this one on audible, but still want to see the words on the page. So enjoyed the reading as well.

Sweet story.

The author bounced high and low around mundane and lofty ideas. At times, he reaches for the infinite, like Joyce. At other times he is guttural, leaning toward pornographic. A fabulous read. A wonderful voice. I want to hear more.

Stunning

This a most reverend and loving portrayal of west Mayo, pared back to reveal a people as flawed and interesting as you’d find anywhere but beatifically tempered and rendered submissive and happy by the beauty of their surroundings. I loved every word and the cadence, rhythm and delivery of the narrator was excellent. However, as a native of Westport, as mentioned in the book, the narrator’s accent was cringe worthy and wince inducing, bordering on the cod Irish. The prose kept the experience afloat for me but I wish I’d read the book for myself. Cliona.

Haunting

A very interesting book by an Irish author, and set in a small village near the western coast of Ireland. Marcus is a middle-aged engineer and the book is like a stream of consciousness, but it is a ramble of memories that go through his mind on one momentous day (I’ll leave that to avoid spoiling the book for any who might someday read it). It, like our own thoughts, is all chained together so that the random thoughts don’t seem at all random because we can listen to the transitions from one to the next in his mind, and in something that seems like one long sentence. The “engineer” side of him comes through as he recalls visiting a museum of torture in the Netherlands where he describes his impression that the most advanced technologies of the middle ages were in the machines of torture. He loves being an engineer and marvels in the complex inter-working of materials and science that create the marvels that we enjoy, and yet with the knowledge that man has not changed in that the most advanced technology today is also used for evil ends and that politics is a force that twists the work of engineers. He is taking care of his wife who is very ill and describes how they begin to discover that the illness is not hers alone, but has come from the water due to an overloaded system, and politics is behind that also. He is dealing with a school being built on a faulty foundation because the concrete work had to be split among several companies for political reasons, meaning that the concrete from different pours will not bond together properly. The book is negative in many ways, but it also shows a deep love for his wife and children, who are making their world on their own--their daughter as an artist, whose work is shocking to Marcus, and their son who is backpacking around the world as a break from college. It’s a creative, excellent book, that only gets a little bogged down in a couple of places and some at the end. Definitely a recommended book.
Check out this great listen on Audible.com. A vital, tender, death-haunted work by one of Ireland's most important contemporary writers, Solar Bones is a celebration of the unexpected beauty of life and of language and our inescapable nearness to our last end. It is All Souls Day, and the spirit ...