A Belfast Woman

by Mary Beckett

A collection of short stories portrays women of Northern Ireland, whose lives bear the imprint of war, religious conflict, and the struggle to raise their families, and who find themselves questioning their beliefs

Genres: Short Stories, Ireland, Fiction

142 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Mary Beckett (1926–2013) was an Irish author.

She was born in Belfast. In the 1950s, she wrote radio plays for BBC Northern Ireland and had several short stories published. She worked as a teacher, married and had five children. She was not published again until 1980's A Belfast Woman.

Her non-fiction includes the short story collections A Belfast Woman (1980) and A Literary Woman (1990). She wrote one novel, Give them Stones (1987), and several children's books including Orla was Six, Orla at School, A Family Tree, and Hannah, or the Pink Balloons.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Marinasbokhylla]

This shortstory is depicting the life of a Chatolic woman living on a Protestant street in Belfast. She lives under a constant threat due to her religion and the story is most moving, especially since it depics the contemporary reality at this time. The clashes between the religions can be seen as a negative effect of colinisation and the British involvement.
The author uses a first person narrorator which makes the reader see the protagonist from an interesting prespective and her actions are easier to understand.
This story is well written and it contains several metaphors for the reader to interpret.

[Chloe Fulton]

A collection of short stories by Mary Beckett, a belfast born author whose Wikipedia page is sadly only three paragraphs long. I went to a Belfast Book Festival event where Lucy Caldwell (author of These Days) named Beckett as one of the masters of the short story. I found this lovely little signed(!) edition as well as a copy of 'Give Them Stones' recently in my local secondhand bookshop.

This book gives us eleven short stories about different women living in Ireland. Each one is unique and feels very authentic. Beckett's writing style allows you to get lost in the stories very quickly, leaving you wanting more at the end of each chapter. There's a mix of rural and city life, but each woman tells the story of a life bound by strict social contracts and the difficulties facing families in mid-century Ireland.

[Anna R]

Són capítols amb històries independents entre elles, com a factor comú entre aquestes és que són dones d’Irlanda del Nord en l’època de ple conflicte. Tot i això (i l’edició que és molt bonica), són històries molt poc polítiques, amb molt poc context concret de l’època i m’ha costat una mica més

[Sam]

Interesting short story. I especially liked the way it focused on the mother’s roots in Northern Ireland, even as her kids moved away.

[Encarni Prados]

Me encanta cuando las editoriales rescatan a escritoras y nos las dan a conocer, porque son verdaderas joyas ocultas.

Aquí nos encontramos con once relatos escritos sabiamente por Mary Beckett, una autora que, en la década de los cincuenta, escribía guiones radiofónicos para la BBC y después lo dejó para tener su familia.

"Una mujer de Belfast" lo escribió en 1987.

Las historias de Beckett, son sobre mujeres normales y su día a día, aunque no por ello son relatos aburridos, sino todo lo contrario. Aquí, el Conflicto de Irlanda del Norte está muy presente junto con otros temas como son los hijos ilegítimos, los matrimonios mixtos entre católicos y protestantes, la relaciones familiares (hay uno "santos y sabios" que es la pelea entre una suegra y una nuera que no tiene desperdicio) y la crítica en pequeños pueblos donde todos se conocen.

Aquí siempre la voz la llevan las mujeres.

El relato que da titulo al libro, es impactante, comienza con una nota escrita en rotulador rojo a la protagonista "Señora Harrison, fuera de aquí, o te prendemos fuego", así se vivía en Belfast en aquella época.
Estas historias, además, te ayudan un poco a conocer más el entorno y el Conflicto desde dentro, solo puedo recomendarlo.

[Andrea ✨]

Historias cortas que no dejan indiferente. La manera en la que Mary Beckett escribe sobre las historias de mujeres con vidas comunes y a la vez expone temas como prejuicios sociales, matrimonios infelices, amores del pasado que regresan, infelicidad o como no el conflicto de Irlanda del norte de primera mano. Una pequeña joya.

[David Gagen]

Superbly written collection of short stories. Wonderful writing.

[Marisa Costa]

3.5 ✨