Kirkus
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Lawhon retrieves a legendary woman warrior from the mists of 16th-century Irish history. The extraordinary life of Grace O’Malley—Gráinne Ní Mháille, in Irish—overlapped closely with that of Queen Elizabeth I, and one of the high points of Lawhon’s latest historical novel depicts a meeting between the two, both rivals and allies, both sharply aware of their fraught positions as female rulers in a man’s world. Gráinne was the daughter of The O’Malley, chieftain of his clan, and distinguished herself at a young age by such unusual gifts and talents that she was taught the ways of the sea and assumed a constantly contested leadership over her father’s land and people after his death. Lawhon has never written a novel with a straightforward timeline, and her latest is no exception, interweaving episodes from three eras of Gráinne’s life—maiden, mother, and matriarch—so that a chapter where she is 56, for example, is followed by one where she is 8, and then one where she is 24. In her signature personable and informative author’s note, Lawhon suggests that one might reread this 400-plus page book a second time in chronological order and have a totally different experience. Some readers may wish that would have been the experience in the first place, as the braided approach seems to trade narrative momentum and clarity for [fill in the blank if you figure it out]. Confusing time management aside, it’s a thrilling story, and the fun that Lawhon clearly had with scenes of bloody mayhem, storms at sea, treacherous machinations, and low Gaelic dialect (“that feckingeejit,” “thatcunting piece of shite,” and never just Galway, always “fecking Galway”) is contagious. Her pirate queen is brilliant, beautiful, and fearless; her loyal servants are adoring and capab her male foes are sleazy scumbags and detestable boobs—all exactly as it should be. A heroic, exciting, and stormy voya worth weathering the chop. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.