Lovely, engrossing read- very much , as another reviewer commented, with a Forsyte Sage feel.
The Considine family are wealthy Irish Catholics in the mid Victorian era. A large family with a host of characters- an unhappy wife, a priest, a doctor...and company boss Anthony and his adored son, Denis.
The first half sets the scene; the second half focuses on Denis. Groomed for the family business, yet yearning for independence; alternately loving and hating his besotted father; and all the time watched and criticised by his aunts and uncles...

The title comes from Shakespeare's 34th Sonnet:
"Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day,
And make me travel forth without my cloak,
To let base clouds o'ertake me in my way,
Hiding they bravery in their rotten smoke?"

I couldnt put it down. ( )

bought it somewhere in late 80s or early 90s - remember it being on shelf in our master bedroom - these were my favorite versions of the Virago classics - nothing they've done since has had the graphic impact

Immense tapestry of a book, centering around one Irish family in the second half of the 19th century. The leisurely pace and detail may present a challenge to modern readers, but O'Brien's in-depth examination of her characters is worth the read. ( )

It took me FOREVER to get through this. I found it very slow goving - kind of an Irish Forsyte Saga but with a more modernist style. The last 50 pages of the novel though are astounding - both beautifully written and incredibly moving and subtle.

( )

This was an adequate family drama that explored the confining nature of living in the Considine family as a good Irish Catholic. From time to time some individual rises up against the mandates of the family system but that can never be maintained. The opinions of women particularly do not matter during the big Considine family dramatics. When female characters discover the inevitable truth that they cannot live as they desire within their marriages but they also do not know how to break away, they survive by developing headaches and alcoholism. Additionally, though the men in the family are seen as having loving relationships with their children, the women seem to care about the children less- instead, tolerating them. Overall this was an engaging book but it had some odd components. For example, Christina's choices warranted further explanation or demonstration and the preoccupation of most characters with physical appearance eventually became annoying. It was tremendously disappointing that the system always tugged the characters back into their assigned places. It is suggested that a truer love might allow individuals to survive even when pulled back into this system, but we don't see a successful long-term example of this. To survive, the Considine family, in its conservative and patriarchal form, must be the most important mediator of individual choices. Being in such a family in real life now would be intolerable, but perhaps it is to be expected for the time period. ( )