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

Paperback

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[David Gagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbly written collection of short stories. Wonderful writing.