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Foggage
Kevin and Maureen Hurley, middle-aged twins living in remote Irish farming country with their bedridden father, look for a plausible sire for the child Maureen believes she is carrying
- GenresFiction
230 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
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About the author
Patrick McGinley
17 books3 followersPatrick McGinley (born 1937) is an Irish novelist, born in Glencolumbkille, Ireland.
After teaching in Ireland, McGinley moved to England in the 1960s and settled in Kent. He pursued a career as a publisher and author. Among his strongest literary influences is his Irish predecessor, author Flann O'Brien, who McGinley emulates most noticeably in his novel The Devil's Diary.
Source: Wikipedia
After teaching in Ireland, McGinley moved to England in the 1960s and settled in Kent. He pursued a career as a publisher and author. Among his strongest literary influences is his Irish predecessor, author Flann O'Brien, who McGinley emulates most noticeably in his novel The Devil's Diary.
Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 22, 2011
A very quick read, but what a well-written and engrossing farce! McGuinley creates eerily quirky and fleshed-our characters and has very appealing prose. The book's charm is very plot-dependent, though. I like books to have high re-read value and this book has such distinctive twists and turns, I doubt I could read it again in entirety. Unless, I forget everything about it, which could be possible.
March 28, 2022
The book Foggage is about brother sister incest. This theme continues from the first chapter to the last. It is not only included as a relationship but also as a concept. The universal taboo against incest is described, including punishments for it. And exceptions to the taboo, such as incest among royalty in ancient Egypt and Peru, are mentioned.
I am not revealing any secrets when I say that Foggage is about incest. Consider these lines from the book’s dust jacket.
“Forty-year-old Kevin Hurley and his twin sister Maureen live on a farm in Ireland with their bedridden ninety-six-year-old father. Kevin is a good, hard-working farmer; Maureen feeds him plenty of potatoes, mustard, and beef, and life goes along quietly. … Their way of life suits Kevin, as sleeping with Maureen suits him. She was the only woman he'd ever slept with. He didn't think about it much; he just knew she'd kept him warm through many a midland winter. … Maureen liked to think about it, though. She said to him, ‘I'll bet the neighbors see me as an old maid and you as a sapless bachelor. Little do they know that there's more heat in this house than in all the other houses of the townland put together.’ … Then Maureen thought she was pregnant — which was indeed a complication. It was evident, Kevin realized, that there'd been no gentleman calling on Maureen, and he'd have to find one quickly — someone both appropriate and willing.”
Who can Kevin and Maureen get to pretend to be the baby’s father? Billy Snoddy, about ten years older than Maureen and whom Maureen knew when she was fifteen, is hired to work on the Hurley farm. He is considered as a possible explanation of Maureen’s pregnancy but is more of a problem to Kevin than a solution. Kevin receives advice about women from his veterinarian friend, Festus O’Flaherty, who has both a wife and a mistress. Because of Festus’s history with women, he is considered as another possible explanation of Maureen being “with child. There are other characters in the book. Another brother and sister pair, Murt and Elizabeth Quane, live on a nearby farm called Larch Lawn. Also, Kevin and Maureen have a younger sister named Concepta.
There is a marriage in the book. The man says that “his blood told him at night that sex with his sister was more ‘natural’ than sex with his wife, but in the morning the intellect would say that the blood led to darkness and death, that only conscience could point the way to light and life.”
There are tragedies in the book. Whether or not they are caused by the incest is a judgement for the reader to make.
It has always seemed to me that only in novels of erotica could a brother and sister live in incest happily ever after. In more mainstream novels, there has always seemed to be one of two possible endings. In some cases, the brother and sister were happy in their love but found that they were not really brother and sister. So, their love could exist without incest being their relationship. In other cases, the incestuous love between brother and sister did not end but tragedy would befall at least one of the two. Now, I have found that those endings are not the only ones possible for brother sister incest in a book.
Foggage is an excellent book. I recommend it.
I am not revealing any secrets when I say that Foggage is about incest. Consider these lines from the book’s dust jacket.
“Forty-year-old Kevin Hurley and his twin sister Maureen live on a farm in Ireland with their bedridden ninety-six-year-old father. Kevin is a good, hard-working farmer; Maureen feeds him plenty of potatoes, mustard, and beef, and life goes along quietly. … Their way of life suits Kevin, as sleeping with Maureen suits him. She was the only woman he'd ever slept with. He didn't think about it much; he just knew she'd kept him warm through many a midland winter. … Maureen liked to think about it, though. She said to him, ‘I'll bet the neighbors see me as an old maid and you as a sapless bachelor. Little do they know that there's more heat in this house than in all the other houses of the townland put together.’ … Then Maureen thought she was pregnant — which was indeed a complication. It was evident, Kevin realized, that there'd been no gentleman calling on Maureen, and he'd have to find one quickly — someone both appropriate and willing.”
Who can Kevin and Maureen get to pretend to be the baby’s father? Billy Snoddy, about ten years older than Maureen and whom Maureen knew when she was fifteen, is hired to work on the Hurley farm. He is considered as a possible explanation of Maureen’s pregnancy but is more of a problem to Kevin than a solution. Kevin receives advice about women from his veterinarian friend, Festus O’Flaherty, who has both a wife and a mistress. Because of Festus’s history with women, he is considered as another possible explanation of Maureen being “with child. There are other characters in the book. Another brother and sister pair, Murt and Elizabeth Quane, live on a nearby farm called Larch Lawn. Also, Kevin and Maureen have a younger sister named Concepta.
There is a marriage in the book. The man says that “his blood told him at night that sex with his sister was more ‘natural’ than sex with his wife, but in the morning the intellect would say that the blood led to darkness and death, that only conscience could point the way to light and life.”
There are tragedies in the book. Whether or not they are caused by the incest is a judgement for the reader to make.
It has always seemed to me that only in novels of erotica could a brother and sister live in incest happily ever after. In more mainstream novels, there has always seemed to be one of two possible endings. In some cases, the brother and sister were happy in their love but found that they were not really brother and sister. So, their love could exist without incest being their relationship. In other cases, the incestuous love between brother and sister did not end but tragedy would befall at least one of the two. Now, I have found that those endings are not the only ones possible for brother sister incest in a book.
Foggage is an excellent book. I recommend it.
November 12, 2024
Two complaints:
1. Some major events happened too quickly, and didn't leave the impact they could have. Depending on your tastes, this may be trouble.
2. Maureen felt, at times, like more of a charicature than a character. Depending on your reading, this may be better.
Otherwise, I very much enjoyed how much it felt like a play that happened to be a novel. There was something very enjoyable about that. McGinley's dialogue felt fresh out the characters' mouths, but the long, ponderous sequel beats sold the story as actually novelworthy.
Please read it! The "heiffers v fillies" discussion has a special, if weathered, place in my heart. And yes, that's coming from a heiffer who will never, ever be a filly.
1. Some major events happened too quickly, and didn't leave the impact they could have. Depending on your tastes, this may be trouble.
2. Maureen felt, at times, like more of a charicature than a character. Depending on your reading, this may be better.
Otherwise, I very much enjoyed how much it felt like a play that happened to be a novel. There was something very enjoyable about that. McGinley's dialogue felt fresh out the characters' mouths, but the long, ponderous sequel beats sold the story as actually novelworthy.
Please read it! The "heiffers v fillies" discussion has a special, if weathered, place in my heart. And yes, that's coming from a heiffer who will never, ever be a filly.
July 4, 2015
Although I am giving this five stars I want you to know that if you do decide to buy this book, you will remember it forever. It has an alarming incest scene that I didn't see coming. It's a solid piece but a bit plodding at times. I became well acquainted with the protagonist and had empathy for his situation though his sister was a bit wonky to understand.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews