More of a novella, O'Brien does a tremendous job of bringing us inside the mind of a woman, Ellen, who is hurting and insecure after a divorce. In an effort to forget, Ellen takes a holiday in France, and basically behaves in a way that ends up reinforcing her sadness and depression. I loved the way this book was written. O'Brien really takes you inside Ellen's mind the entire time, and it is hard not to empathize with her feelings and situation and her deep deep loneliness. You feel like you are watching a girlfriend do all sorts of things that you know are bad for her, and you just want her say please stop doing this to yourself, but you also know she won't listen.

Unfortunately, the novel takes one misstep (in my opinion), and it's a pretty big one. Hence the four stars instead of five. But because I think the rest of the book is so exquisitely rendered, it really didn't diminish my enjoyment of the writing for long. Just a little "seriously?" came into my mind at this point. It's hard to share without spoiling.

So if you require books be uplifting in order to enjoy them, don't pick this one up. If you want to see how a masterful author can develop a character so real seeming that you want to befriend, help, and guide her, this book does that and more. ( )

Ellen is a 27-year-old Irishwoman separated from her husband and living in London. When Ellen’s husband takes their seven-year-old young son — whom they share custody for — on a camping trip to Wales, Ellen is free to enjoy her own summer break from her job as a theatre critic. A week into her leave, she goes to bed with a male friend but when returns home to his live-in lover she is left frustrated and decides to book a trip to the south of France in search of sun and sex.

In France she flirts with almost every male she sees, including the man sitting beside her on the plane, but her her choices are poor and nothing works out as she would. Then something happens that reminds Ellen that her independence comes at a cost.

First published in 1965 this book was initially banned in Ireland because of its sexual content but by today's standards it is pretty tame. O'Brien writes beautifully about being on holiday and experiencing new things, and it was fascinating to read about a woman’ sexual desires and her hunger to live life to the fullest. But it was the sudden mood swing midway through that really made an impression on me. Suddenly the whole story took on a very different slant. It left me with very mixed feelings about Ellen, whilst she was in France I wanted to go up on her, shake by the shoulders and tell her not to be so stupid but whilst in the UK I wanted to give her a big hug. However, I have to say overall I found this an OK read rather than a particularly gripping one. ( )

Originally written in 1965, I can see why Edna O’Brien’s August is a Wicked Month (Faber) kicked up a bit of a storm a the time, particularly in her home country, Ireland. Ellen is a young, single mother who takes off to the South of France while the father of her son takes him camping. Unleashed, she seems determined to devour every opportunity she can get to enjoy herself as she is unable do at home. Her passions and sexual appetites are to the fore and this book was banned in several countries when it came out. A tragedy interrupts the proceedings and not everyone will sympathise, or even empathise, with the Ellen. However, there is no question about the quality of Edna O’Brien’s writing which is clever and, as always, requiring of the reader to think rather than sit back and let it wash over you. ( )

I was disappointed in Edna O'Brien's novel "August is a Wicked Month," especially since I enjoyed other novels by this author.

The book is about a woman who heads off on a monthlong vacation after the break up of her marriage and stays at an apparently hedonistic hotel where even the bellboys break into your room to have sex with you. She meets a variety of men, and I guess this is supposed to be a sexual reawakening after years of a troubled and dry marriage.

I found it impossible to connect with the characters and so much of this didn't ring true enough to make it interesting. ( )

I took my time reading this book. And since it's August... I thought I'd give it a go.
I must say, that I was a bit disappointed. I even considered putting it away, but then decided to finish it anyway, for it's only about 170 pages.
And luckily I did. The ending (the last quarter or so) of the book more or less made up for the rest of it. A sad book, a main character I did not feel conbected to, I'm still not very impressed with the book as a whole, but it was a quick and okay read. ( )