Don't Read This, And Then See "Manchester By The Sea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                    Girls, I am telling you, if you do, then that is some kind of masochistic venture, because after doing both, you may want to slit your wrists!

                                     "The Little Red Chairs" is not for the squeamish, or depressed.  It had always been on my reading radar, but I kept hearing about this horrible torture scene that forced many to put the book aside.  So, I hesitated.  Is the torture scene horrible?  Yes, but, at least, with the book, you can put it down and take a breath, rest, and process it.  However, I would not want to see this dramatized.  If "The Little Red Chairs" becomes a film, no matter the cast, under no circumstances will I see it.  Like I avoided the film version of "The Kite Runner."

                                       The heroine, Fidelma, is one of literature's great, tragic heroines.  What she goes through, and how she survives is a testament to Irish strength--that whole Scarlett O'Hara thing--but O'Brien is also not afraid to indict Irish countrymen for outdated moral standards and sexual rigidity.  That rigidity is somewhat tested by another character, masquerading as a healer, while actually having been a participant in the murders of hundreds of Serbians.  He is that most dangerous of sociopaths--altogether charming.

                                         Alas, once the revelations come out, punishment for both he and Fidelma is fast and furious, especially, considering Ireland's out dated attitudes to women, for her.  Yet O'Brien's language, gritty when needed, is also beautiful and poetic.  That, and the plight of Fidlema, and its ultimate outcome, is what kept me glued to "The Little Red Chairs."  It is a spiritual, yet deeply disturbing work.  It should be read, but make sure, dolls, you are in the right emotional frame, when you do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!