http://www.philipcasey.com/he-water-starthe-water-star-review-by-erica-wagner/ Irish Writer Philip Casey's homepage Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:47:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.philipcasey.com/he-water-starthe-water-star-review-by-erica-wagner/#comment-2 Philip Casey » Reviews of The Water Star Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:06:30 +0000 http://www.philipcasey.com/he-water-starthe-water-star-review-by-erica-wagner/#comment-2 [...] Casey is a poet and a playwright; he has a poet’s delicate ear and a playwright’s eye for direction . The tale that unfolds in this thick, satisfying volume is not particularly complex – any more than the circumstances of any of our lives are complex, which is to say, infinitely and infinitesimally so. Through the interweaving and the overlapping of these relationships, Casey examines how human nature is shaped by sorrow; how people will find a way – sometimes, it seems, despite themselves – to take comfort from others, to make homes where they can, even among the ruins. …Casey’s technique, too, is one of interweaving and overlapping. He will tell the same story more than once, each time from a different vantage point: …Of course, it is not the ‘‘same story’’ that’s told, which is precisely the point. As an idea in the abstract this might seem laboured; in the novel, however, it works seamlessly, simply functioning as it is meant to and unfolding the story like a fan. . . . The Water Star is a graceful, gentle novel that does not shy from the truth. – Erica Wagner, The Times full review [...] [...] Casey is a poet and a playwright; he has a poet’s delicate ear and a playwright’s eye for direction . The tale that unfolds in this thick, satisfying volume is not particularly complex – any more than the circumstances of any of our lives are complex, which is to say, infinitely and infinitesimally so. Through the interweaving and the overlapping of these relationships, Casey examines how human nature is shaped by sorrow; how people will find a way – sometimes, it seems, despite themselves – to take comfort from others, to make homes where they can, even among the ruins. …Casey’s technique, too, is one of interweaving and overlapping. He will tell the same story more than once, each time from a different vantage point: …Of course, it is not the ‘‘same story’’ that’s told, which is precisely the point. As an idea in the abstract this might seem laboured; in the novel, however, it works seamlessly, simply functioning as it is meant to and unfolding the story like a fan. . . . The Water Star is a graceful, gentle novel that does not shy from the truth. – Erica Wagner, The Times full review [...]

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