This book is narrated by a history teacher who seems to be explaining the stories of his family history to his class before his forced retirement. The family has a great deal of drama and intrigue in its past and it continues to do so in the present time of the book. They live in the reclaimed lands of the fenlands, hence the title. Swift is a good writer and draws you in, although sometimes this book seemed a bit long to me, especially the bits of the book that are stream of consciousness type writing rather than a straight narrative. (There is a particularly long passage about the mating habits of European eels that is also quite dull.)
The story openly discusses sex and sexual situations, including a rather graphic description of an abortion.
I read this because it was on one of my lists, otherwise I don't think I would bother. It isn't worth the fairly large amount of time it takes.
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