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Sebastian Barry


DuncanEwart

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Has anybody read anything written by the Irish poet, playwright and novelist Sebastian Barry?

I have only started reading his work this year- I was given his novel "Days Without End" as a Christmas present (thank you @Blackislekillie). I've now finished two novels and nearly finished a third, and I'm really looking forward to reading more.

His First World War novel "A Long Long Way" is, I think, the equal of the best novels on the subject (Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy, especially "The Ghost Road", in my opinion....although I also have a soft spot from childhood for "Charley's War", in Battle comic,but that's another story).

"Days Without End" is a beautiful love story set as the American Civil War is coming to an end. I found myself worrying about the main characters and really hoping for a happy ending for them as the novel progressed.

Edited by DuncanEwart
Battle not 2000 AD
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I hadn't read anything of his either tbh, but I heard him being interviewed on Radio Scotland when I was driving from the frozen north to the Clyde Riviera. It was around the time of the referendum in Ireland on legalising gay marriage (Barry's son is gay). He spoke with great pride about his sons (and others) bravery in the face of institutionalised prejudice and linked it to the themesx in the book. I bought itvon the strength of his conviction in that interview and I'm glad I did. A remarkable piece of work. 

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The novel I've very nearly finished now is "The Secret Scripture", a novel about history and memory and what constitutes "the truth" all contained within the story of a hundred year old woman, but it is also the story of small town early to mid twentieth century Ireland and the human cost of the political upheavals of that time.

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I've read all three of the works mentioned and am deeply impressed. It is remarkable that he manages to combine an interesting story with reflections on man and his nature which stem naturally from the stories and are didactic without hammering you over the head. Long may he write.

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On 9/7/2017 at 9:09 AM, jasper said:

 Long may he write.

I heartily agree with that sentiment @jasper. I think you can see he has a poet's grasp of language- prose written by poets always seems to have a certain lyrical quality ("Trumpet" by the Scottish poet and novelist Jackie Kay is another example of this that springs to mind).

I am now reading "The Whereabouts Of Eneas McNulty", which is a companion piece to "The Secret Scripture". It was written first, so I have probably read them the wrong way round but I really don't think it matters.This is the story of the "other" brother, who only briefly appears in person in "The Secret Scripture" and whose absence from the McNulty family is a bit of a mystery.

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  • 1 month later...

I've just finished "On Canaan's Side", the story of Willie Dunne's (from "A Long Long Way") youngest sister Lily and her life in America. The immigrant's tale is a well worn trope but Barry has the ability to reinvigorate what some may regard as a tired subject matter. He makes the ordinary lives of his characters extraordinary in the telling. He is particularly interested in the schism between Empire and independence in Ireland in the early twentieth century and the emotional and physical effects this has on his characters. In another thread, @historyman states that he believes James Robertson has never written a bad book. I feel the same about Sebastian Barry (although I've still got two to read).

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  • 2 weeks later...

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