I Am Alone

by Walter Macken

Banned in Ireland when first published, this London set novel tells the story of a young Irishman who leaves behind the grey stone and green fields of Galway for the bright lights of pre-war London. All of his senses are overloaded as he meets the new and different women of London but it is when he meets up with his old friend Jojo that things really begin to get complicated. As the planes drone overhead and the world holds its breath, he finds it is crisis time for himself, his wife, his friends and his loyalties.
[Source: Google books]

Genres: Ireland, Literary Fiction, 20th Century

270 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Walter Macken was an Irish writer of short stories, novels and plays.

Originally an actor, principally with the Tadhbhearc in Galway, and The Abbey Theatre, he played lead roles on Broadway in MJ Molloy's The King of Friday’s Men and his own play Home is the Hero. He also acted in films, notably in Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow. With the success of his third book, Rain on the Wind, he devoted his time to writing. His plays include Mungo’s Mansion (1946) and Home is the Hero (1952).

His novels include I Am Alone (1949); Rain on the Wind (1950); The Bogman (1952); and the historical trilogy Seek the Fair Land (1959), The Silent People (1962) and The Scorching Wind (1964). His short stories were collected in The Green Hills (1956), God Made Sunday (1962) and The Coll Doll and other Stories (1962).

He also published a number of books for children, including Island of the Great Yellow Ox (1966); and Flight of the Doves (1968), which was adapted for the cinema.

Reviews

[Barra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a different read for me in terms of Walter Macken's works, having enjoyed previously his historical novels and short stories. This one is set in what I'll call 'modern times' - the late 1930s. It is only Walter Macken's second ever novel, first published in 1949 and, surprisingly, is something of a love letter to England and the English. Everything I have previously read by Macken has been firmly rooted in his native Galway or neighbouring Clare, so this was a refreshing change of gear for me. We follow Pat Moore as he tries to make a new life for himself in London. Macken perfectly describes the mundanity of the lengthy journey there, his homely but inhospitable digs, the brutality of the worksite, the gaiety of the dancehall, the romance, the passion, the conflicts and the contrasts. We stand on doorsteps with Pat as he makes a modest living, and share his thoughts as he re-evaluates the various aspects of his existence. The title reverberates throughout the novel as Pat, and others, find themselves alone in life and in situations. One wonders how much of Macken himself we have in Moore, an everyman who has a healthy disrespect for many of society's constrictions. More than a little I would guess.

[Lizzie Barner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style was excellent; a mixture or straight prose and eloquence that was a joy to read. The plot was sparse and the themes were not crazy interesting, but I did really like the book. The character of Pat as an every man but an ordinary one, the most ordinary every man I have ever read, was very well done. He is likable albeit boring (though I think that was the point). I loved the perspectives of Maureen and his friends and hearing their inner voices as distinct as they were made the whole book much better. This book has the benefit of not being locked into a genre, and though it is ambling at times, the lack of a strong plot line reminds you of a indie film. I would recommend, though I won't read it again soon.

Small note: the book is of its time and some descriptions of women are not my favorite.

[Len · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am never at ease when there is the atmosphere of a kitchen sink drama in the air. I spent too much of my childhood and youth surrounded by one to feel anything more profound than emotional discomfort. Walter Macken's tale of Patrick Moore, a young Galway boy newly arrived in the London suburbs to seek work shortly before the Second World War is set to begin, is told with great skill and style with lively characters and realistic situations. And yet for me so much of it is depressing with memories of drab clothes, backyards with outside toilets, kitchens with a pervading smell of cabbage, Sundays which seemed determined to become endless, and the sound of voices raised, they could be in anger, profanity or laughter, but always needlessly loud.

Patrick's life has an added spice of love affairs, the descriptions of which almost work, and the guilt or torment of learning that some of his Irish friends see the turmoil of the oncoming war as an opportunity to strike against Britain with a bombing campaign. One of them, Jojo, is on the run from the police and seeks Patrick's home as a safe refuge. Macken makes an interesting job of playing themes against one another, Irish nationalism, loyalty to a foreign land that has provided a family, a home and a livelihood, violence or peace seen as a choice by some, violence or appeasement by others. It is easy to see why Macken was proud of the book.