Tag Archives: Sebastian Barry

#BookReview ‘Old God’s Time’ by Sebastian Barry #contemporary #grief

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Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry is a sensitively and quietly written tale of family tragedy and loss. Beautiful, so subtle, with moments of extreme grief and love, flashes of helplessness and impending trouble. A difficult read but also enjoyable, Barry is a master of his craft. Sebastian BarryThe pace starts slowly, gently with Barry tightening the screw of perception as newly-retired policeman Tom Kettle [what a great name] is forced to remember what he has buried so deep. You may think, as I did, oh please not another story about abusive Irish priests; but this is about Tom and his beloved wife June, their children Winnie and Joe, not about the clergy. Barry dallies with our perception of what the story is about. He shows us Tom adjust to his existence without work, his flat, the changeable Irish weather, the coastline, at the same time exploring the nature of memory, lived memory, what is true and what is perception or presumption, while increasing the mystery of Tom’s past. The misty, stormy changing weather echoes this visibility/invisibility of personal truth.
Tom’s new routine is disturbed by a visit from two young detectives, uncomfortable in his presence, unsure of how to behave with such a venerable retired detective. Tom makes them cheese on toast and gives them a bed for the night. But their absence lingers in his mind as memories of an old crime resurface.
Is Tom Kettle a reliable or unreliable narrator? Is his truth believable and reliable – who is alive now, and who dead – or the confusion of an ageing memory? He sees real people, and ghosts, which suggests he is older than he is, confused, fading, vulnerable. As Tom revisits his memories again for the detectives, and in private moments on his own, the emotional story comes together. The responsibilities of husband and father stay with him, all of his time, ‘Things happened to people, and some people were required to lift great weights that crushed you if you faltered just for a moment. It was his job not to falter. But every day he faltered.’
A novel about the depth of love, it defines genre description. It is mystery, suspense, tragedy, gentle humour, contemporary, Irish history and crime but is ultimately a story of mourning lives lost and innocence destroyed. A dark read about lasting trauma, it is slow at times but please persist with it.

Read my reviews of these other novels by Sebastian Barry:-
A LONG LONG WAY
DAYS WITHOUT END #1DAYSWITHOUTEND
A THOUSAND MOONS #2DAYSWITHOUTEND
THE WHEREABOUTS OF ENEAS MCNULTY

If you like this, try:-
‘A History of Loneliness’ by John Boyne
‘Last Stories’ by William Trevor
‘Did You Ever Have a Family’ by Bill Clegg

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview OLD GOD’S TIME by Sebastian Barry https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-6Nb via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Mick Herron

#BookReview ‘The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty’ by Sebastian Barry #historical

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Written in 1998, The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty is the earliest of the books by Irish writer Sebastian Barry I’ve read so far. I came to him with A Long Long Way, shortlisted for the 2005 Booker Prize. What I didn’t realise until recently is that many of his novels are connected by their characters, all related distantly to each other. Sebastian BarryThe Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty is the sad story of a dislocated young man forced to leave Sligo, threatened with murder, blacklisted because he worked as a police officer for the Royal Irish Constabulary. When Irish independence occurs at around 100 pages, Eneas realises that following the murders he witnessed, murders by Irishmen of Irishmen in the cause of this independence, he must be either an outcast or a wanderer. And wherever he goes, he must go alone without the girl he loves. Viv, the enigmatic, beautiful, carefree girl he met on the beach.
Eneas is a simple man who makes his own way in life, looking for support from no one, but naïve in the decisions he takes and friends he makes. His banishment is symbolic of the ferocious Irish political turmoil of the early 20th century. Periodically he tries to return to his family – his parents, two brothers and sister – hoping time has healed the political separations but finding his name is still on a kill list. So he drifts, finding for work, not proud, turning his hand to what is available. “And he thinks back a little over his life and where he was born and he wonders did he make such a hames and a hash of it after all? Didn’t he just live the life given him and no more side to him than a field-mouse as God’s plough bears down to crush his nest?”
The timeline stutters through events in Eneas’ life, taking a long time over small passages of time but flashing through momentous landmarks. Wars start and end. Decades pass with barely a mention. But the language is a delight.
Eneas, an innocent in the world of early 20th century Irish politics, is afraid. There is ‘no aspirin for his fear.’ The novel is suffused in Irish history with mentions of Irish warrior hero Cú Chulainn and local Sligo landmarks such as Maeve’s Cairn at the peak of Knocknarea.
This is a novel to be read slowly and absorbed. Race through it and you will miss its beauty.

Read my reviews of these other novels by Sebastian Barry:-
A LONG LONG WAY
DAYS WITHOUT END #1DAYSWITHOUTEND
A THOUSAND MOONS #2DAYSWITHOUTEND
OLD GOD’S TIME

If you like this, try:-
‘The Irish Inheritance’ by MJ Lee
‘Love is Blind’ by William Boyd
‘The Heart’s Invisible Furies’ by John Boyne

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE WHEREABOUTS OF ENEAS MCNULTY by Sebastian Barry https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-6aU via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Anthony Quinn

#BookReview ‘A Thousand Moons’ by Sebastian Barry #historical

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1870s Paris, Tennessee, a young Lakota girl Ojinjintka, lately known as Winona Cole, travels a delicate path in post-Civil War America. Another 5* book from Sebastian Barry, A Thousand Moons is sequel to Days Without End, though both books can be read independently. This is a dangerous time when the rule of law is often non-existent and hatred is on every street. Winona says, ‘It was a town of many eyes watching you anyhow, an uneasy place.’ Barry tells this heart-rending story in eloquent prose that makes the pages turn.Sebastian BarryWinona is the adopted daughter of Thomas McNulty and John Cole, whose wartime story is told in Days Without End. Now, peace has come and Thomas and John raise their daughter to be educated and respectful. This in itself causes problems. ‘It is bad enough being an Indian without talking like a raven,’ says Winona. ‘The white folks in Paris were not all good speakers themselves.’
A story of one young woman’s journey through life’s racism, prejudice and latent violence, this is also a story of love. The love, for its time, of an unusual family; an Indian cared for when her family is killed when she is six years old. Winona finds a new home with Cole and McNulty, living with fellow Civil War soldier Lige Magan on his farm, with two black ex-slaves, cook Rosalee Bouguereau and her farm labourer brother Tennyson. Winona finds a mentor in Lawyer Briscoe, for whom she clerks. What happens next is the catalyst for the story; an event she struggles to understand, to hide. This is a coming-of-age story in which Winona must reconcile her Lakota birth with her childhood and young adulthood in a changing racial world, and also find herself as a woman.
A beautifully written book.

Read my reviews of these books also by Sebastian Barry:
DAYS WITHOUT END #1DAYSWITHOUTEND
A LONG LONG WAY
OLD GOD’S TIME
THE WHEREABOUTS OF ENEAS MCNULTY

If you like this, try:-
‘At The Edge of the Orchard’ by Tracy Chevalier
‘Frog Music’ by Emma Donoghue
‘Time Will Darken It’ by William Maxwell

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview A THOUSAND MOONS by Sebastian Barry https://wp.me/p5gEM4-4ww via @SandraDanby

Great Opening Paragraph 118… ‘The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty’ #amreading #FirstPara

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“In the middle of the lonesome town, at the back of John Street, in the third house from the end, there is a little room. For this small bracket in the long paragraph of the street’s history, it belongs to Eneas McNulty. All about him the century has just begun, a century some of which he will endure, but none of which will belong to him. There are all the broken continents of the earth, there is the town park named after Father Moran, with its forlorn roses – all equal to Eneas at five, and nothing his own, but that temporary little room. The dark linoleum curls at the edge where it meets the dark wall. There is a pewter jug on the bedside table that likes to hoard the sun and moon on its curve. There is a tall skinny wardrobe with an ancient hatbox on top, dusty, with or without a hat, he does not know. A room perfectly attuned to him, perfectly tempered, with the long spinning of time perfect and patterned in the bright windowframe, the sleeping of sunlight on the dirty leaves of the maple, the wars of the sparrows and the blue tits for the net of suet his mother ties in the tree, the angry rain that puts its narrow fingers in through the putty, the powerful sudden seaside snow that never sits, the lurch of the dark and the utter merriment of mornings.”
Sebastian BarryFrom ‘The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty’ by Sebastian Barry

Read my reviews of these novels by Sebastian Barry:-
A LONG LONG WAY
A THOUSAND MOONS
DAYS WITHOUT END
OLD GOD’S TIME
THE WHEREABOUTS OF ENEAS MCNULTY

Try one of these #FirstParas & discover a new author:-
‘The Slaves of Solitude’ by Patrick Hamilton
‘Such a Long Journey’ by Rohinton Mistry
‘Sea Glass’ by Anita Shreve

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#Books #FirstPara THE WHEREABOUTS OF ENEAS MCNULTY by Sebastian Barry  https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3Js via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘Days Without End’ by Sebastian Barry #historical

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There is not a word out of place in this harrowing and beautiful tale of love, war, duty and sacrifice. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry deservedly had award success in 2016/2017. I already knew Barry could write about war, having read and loved A Long Long Way set in the Great War. What is different about Days Without End is the relationship between Thomas McNulty and John Cole. Barry tells the epic story of the Indian and Civil wars in America, combined with a heart-stopping tale of love. Sebastian BarryThe story is the first person narrative of Thomas, an Irish émigré fleeing the Irish famine. He arrives in a young America with so many disparate groups, contrasted and never seeming to connect: men, women; officers, foot soldiers; gay, straight; white, black; American, Irish immigrant; army, native Indian; north, south. Barry does not shy from telling the reality of the American wars, the brutality, the atrocities of army against Indians and vice versa; but also the comradeship and solidity of men fighting alongside each other. There is betrayal on both sides, brutality on both sides, and soldiers hating and turning on each other. At the core of this though is the story of Thomas and John Cole, who meet as boys and perform a cross-dressing act on stage before signing up for the army. It is not all about war. There are three sections of ordinary life when we see the ordinary life of the two men, finding a role for themselves and fitting into society.
Much was written at the time this novel was published about how Barry dedicated this book to his son. The portrayal of the men’s relationship is gentle, fond and loving, but the single thing which struck me most was their absolute loyalty to each other.
Full of beautiful prose, plot twists and turns, savage cruelty and betrayal, poignant loyalty at the expense of self, it feels like a slow-moving story but I didn’t want to put it down. Highly recommended.
The story is continued in the sequel, A Thousand Moons.

Read my reviews of these books also by Sebastian Barry:
A THOUSAND MOONS #2DAYSWITHOUTEND
A LONG LONG WAY
OLD GOD’S TIME
THE WHEREABOUTS OF ENEAS MCNULTY

If you like this, try:-
‘Barkskins’ by Annie Proulx
‘At the Edge of the Orchard’ by Tracy Chevalier
‘My Name is Yip’ by Paddy Crewe

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview DAYS WITHOUT END by Sebastian Barry https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3oB via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘A Long Long Way’ by Sebastian Barry #Irishhistory #WW1

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A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry is the story of Willie Dunne, an innocent, who goes away to war not understanding fully what is involved but determined to do his bit. Written in 2005 and nominated for the Booker Prize, it is the tender tale of a young Irish man who volunteers for the British army and ends up in Belgium. Sebastian Barry Set against the background of the Easter Rising, Willie does not fully understand the political implications of what is happening around him. He is born in Dublin, as a baby “he was like the thin upper arm of a beggar with a few meagre bones shot through him, provisional and bare.” Barry’s language throughout is a delight, something I didn’t expect when the book is about the worst of trench warfare. Barry does not spare punches, at times the action and conditions he describes brought me close to tears, but I read on, pulled forwards by Willie’s life force.
He travels to new places, “ravished by the simple joy of seeing new places of the earth.” This joy unravels when arrives at the trenches. “The biggest thing there was the roaring of Death and the smallest thing was a man. Bombs not so far off distressed the earth of Belgium, disgorged great heaps of it, and did everything except kill him immediately, as he half-expected them to do.” And all the time he longs from Gretta, his girl at home. “He was in love with Gretta like a poor swan was in love with the Liffey and cannot leave it.”
I will be reading more by Sebastian Barry.

Read my reviews of these books also by Sebastian Barry:
A THOUSAND MOONS
DAYS WITHOUT END
OLD GOD’S TIME
THE WHEREABOUTS OF ENEAS MCNULTY

If you like this, try:-
‘The Lie’ by Helen Dunmore
‘Life Class’ by Pat Barker
‘Wake’ by Anna Hope

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview A LONG LONG WAY by Sebastian Barry http://wp.me/p5gEM4-Bx via @SandraDanby