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Bitter Glass
From the pen of one of Ireland’s most distinguished writers comes a powerful novel, set in Connemara at the time of the Civil War.
A group of young people, isolated in a remote farmhouse by an IRA attack, are confronted with questions of life and death. As the plot builds to a shattering climax, their harrowing experience alters their lives and their hopes forever.
The Bitter Glass is a haunting and evocative book, and enjoyed critical acclaim upon publication in 1958. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Irish literature and history, and a superb novel in its own right.
Praise for The Bitter Glass :
’ The Bitter Glass has a rounded excellence which comes from a mature technique and imagination of high quality. Without being in the least overwritten or sentimental, this is a most poetical book’ - The Times
‘This is a subtle and nicely crafted story, which deals directly with themes of life and death and war, without becoming sentimental or over dramatic. The descriptions of rural Connemara and its people are beautifully constructed, so that the reader can almost smell the peat smoke and hear the waves on the shore …’ - Goodreads review
Born in Galway in 1920, Eilís Dillon wrote more than forty books, published in several languages including Irish, English, French, Flemish, German, Polish, Czech, Icelandic, Swedish, Hebrew and Italian. Her six novels and many children’s books, on a wide variety of subjects, had already won her numerous distinctions and a widespread critical reputation by the time her bestselling historical novel, Across the Bitter Sea , was published in 1974. Acclaimed by the Sunday Times as ‘a quite remarkable novel … a novel of which Zola might have felt proud’, this was followed by Blood Relations (1977), Wild Geese (1981) and Citizen Burke (1984). In 1982 she published ‘Inside Ireland’, a personal essay about the country, its people, places and history. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1979.
A group of young people, isolated in a remote farmhouse by an IRA attack, are confronted with questions of life and death. As the plot builds to a shattering climax, their harrowing experience alters their lives and their hopes forever.
The Bitter Glass is a haunting and evocative book, and enjoyed critical acclaim upon publication in 1958. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Irish literature and history, and a superb novel in its own right.
Praise for The Bitter Glass :
’ The Bitter Glass has a rounded excellence which comes from a mature technique and imagination of high quality. Without being in the least overwritten or sentimental, this is a most poetical book’ - The Times
‘This is a subtle and nicely crafted story, which deals directly with themes of life and death and war, without becoming sentimental or over dramatic. The descriptions of rural Connemara and its people are beautifully constructed, so that the reader can almost smell the peat smoke and hear the waves on the shore …’ - Goodreads review
Born in Galway in 1920, Eilís Dillon wrote more than forty books, published in several languages including Irish, English, French, Flemish, German, Polish, Czech, Icelandic, Swedish, Hebrew and Italian. Her six novels and many children’s books, on a wide variety of subjects, had already won her numerous distinctions and a widespread critical reputation by the time her bestselling historical novel, Across the Bitter Sea , was published in 1974. Acclaimed by the Sunday Times as ‘a quite remarkable novel … a novel of which Zola might have felt proud’, this was followed by Blood Relations (1977), Wild Geese (1981) and Citizen Burke (1984). In 1982 she published ‘Inside Ireland’, a personal essay about the country, its people, places and history. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1979.
220 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 7, 2024
Mixed feelings about this. It’s very good at creating and ratcheting up a sense of tension and foreboding, and developing conflict between the characters, and it creates a very effective sense of time and place. But – I kept having to refer back to who was who, and make notes about the characters and their relationships. I had to do that in War and Peace as well – but when the novel is as short as this one, I rather resented having to do so much work to keep tabs on the characters. Ultimately, it wasn’t clear to me why this deserved a place amongst Boxall’s 1001 books.
The author was well known in Ireland in her day but she is almost forgotten now. I disliked all her characters and I disliked their creator. When one character says “We’ll get them all out in time”, this is a reference to the ethnic cleansing of the Irish Protestant population, a political objective shared by the author and by many of her relatives. One of the best written episodes in the book is the visit to the (Irish Protestant) doctor, in which (spoiler alert) he is savagely beaten in a sudden, shocking and unprovoked explosion of sectarian violence. And yet the way the incident is described, it seemed clear to me that the author was trying to manipulate our sympathies away from the victim.
Ireland was ever thus, alas. I am writing this while England burns in some of the most severe civil unrest seen in modern times. Last week, an anti immigration demonstration in Belfast united Protestants and Catholics: the Irish tricolor and the Union flag were waved side by side, a remarkable and never before seen display of unity. And yet – they were united to burn down Muslim businesses. Of course, this says something depressing about human nature. Perhaps I am being unjust to the author, but I just don’t feel that she – or any of her characters – represent the best in human nature either.
The author was well known in Ireland in her day but she is almost forgotten now. I disliked all her characters and I disliked their creator. When one character says “We’ll get them all out in time”, this is a reference to the ethnic cleansing of the Irish Protestant population, a political objective shared by the author and by many of her relatives. One of the best written episodes in the book is the visit to the (Irish Protestant) doctor, in which (spoiler alert) he is savagely beaten in a sudden, shocking and unprovoked explosion of sectarian violence. And yet the way the incident is described, it seemed clear to me that the author was trying to manipulate our sympathies away from the victim.
Ireland was ever thus, alas. I am writing this while England burns in some of the most severe civil unrest seen in modern times. Last week, an anti immigration demonstration in Belfast united Protestants and Catholics: the Irish tricolor and the Union flag were waved side by side, a remarkable and never before seen display of unity. And yet – they were united to burn down Muslim businesses. Of course, this says something depressing about human nature. Perhaps I am being unjust to the author, but I just don’t feel that she – or any of her characters – represent the best in human nature either.
November 6, 2021
A well written, thought provoking historical fiction novel set in Connemara, Ireland, 1922, at the time of the Civil War. A group of rich young people, mainly family members, take a train from Galway to Connemara to have a holiday at an isolated remote farmhouse. They catch the last train to Connemara before the train bridge between Galway and Connemara is destroyed by the IRA. Whilst at the remote farmhouse a group of IRA soldiers arrive with a wounded soldier and ask for the soldier to be looked after. The rich young people experience conflict within the group as not all of them agree with the IRA’s actions.
A worthwhile, interesting reading experience.
This book was first published in 1958.
A worthwhile, interesting reading experience.
This book was first published in 1958.
September 16, 2012
I liked this a lot: it's beautifully written and well observed.
However, the writing style is very odd to an early twenty-first century reader. We've got used to reading a third person limited point of view in contemporary fiction: i.e. third person that's very close to first person -- we're not in a narrator's head, but we're pretty much on the protagonist's shoulder. We can hear their thoughts, but no-one else's. It's quite different from the omniescent third person point of view used by earlier writers.
The "rules" for writing third person limited, as they've become codified, suggest that you shouldn't jump from one person's point of view to another without, say, a section break. And that's just what Dillon does. She tells us the thoughts of one character, then another: we jump around from shoulder to shoulder.
I found it took a while to get used to, but was rather charming. I enjoyed getting into the heads of most of the characters, without the sort of formal structure where, for example, they each get a chapter in turn. It's also interesting to see it as a stage in the development of contemporary fiction.
I'll look for more of Dillon's novels.
However, the writing style is very odd to an early twenty-first century reader. We've got used to reading a third person limited point of view in contemporary fiction: i.e. third person that's very close to first person -- we're not in a narrator's head, but we're pretty much on the protagonist's shoulder. We can hear their thoughts, but no-one else's. It's quite different from the omniescent third person point of view used by earlier writers.
The "rules" for writing third person limited, as they've become codified, suggest that you shouldn't jump from one person's point of view to another without, say, a section break. And that's just what Dillon does. She tells us the thoughts of one character, then another: we jump around from shoulder to shoulder.
I found it took a while to get used to, but was rather charming. I enjoyed getting into the heads of most of the characters, without the sort of formal structure where, for example, they each get a chapter in turn. It's also interesting to see it as a stage in the development of contemporary fiction.
I'll look for more of Dillon's novels.
June 21, 2023
if someone could tell me what miteys accent was supposed to be i woukd greatly appreciate it
7/10
7/10
Want to read
April 3, 2022MyNextRead
June 14, 2012
I'm in two minds about this book. On the one hand it was quite an easy read but I did find that with so many characters introduced in the first few pages I never got my head round who was related to who, not that this was hugely crucial to the story but it may have helped. Also I expected this story to run over a few months not a few days so found that a bit strange. It also seemed to hop between characters quite suddenly with no breaks in the paragraphs so I found myself having to re-read a paragraph every so often to work out what was going on. The descriptions of life in Ireland were lovely, you could almost smell the turf burning.
February 15, 2013
A book set very much in it's time and location. A group of young people head into the country to a house owned by the family. On the way there a number of incidents occur which result in them being cut off from the city and other members of the family. Things occur which lead to a deepening sense of dread, maybe it's the characters or the style but I found it hard to like any of them.
The plot is good and drives the short story on, did read it in two sittings.
The plot is good and drives the short story on, did read it in two sittings.
December 17, 2019
Set in Ireland in 1922, this novel tells the story of 4 siblings who have left Dublin to spend their holidays in the West of Ireland. They are accompanied by Colman, the fiancé of the eldest sibling, and family friend Joe, plus twin babies and their nurse. It is a journey they have taken before, and they are expecting their parents and aunt to follow on in a day or so, but Ireland is now suffering Civil War, and a bridge is blown up by the IRA, leaving them stranded in the family home in Connemara. Their situation worsens when the IRA bombers turn up in their grounds, and the babies fall ill, and the chain of events changes the life of all of them.
This is a subtle and nicely crafted story, which deals directly with themes of life and death and war, without becoming sentimental or over dramatic. The descriptions of rural Connemara and its people are beautifully constructed, so that the reader can almost smell the peat smoke and hear the waves on the shore. The sense of isolation caused by the destroyed bridges, the stifling hot weather and the clouds of flies add to the tension within the house.
Each of the characters finds themselves making decisions that will take their lives in an unexpected direction, and their encounters with death and violence shatter their settled lives of comfort and privilege. The narrative style of a third person narrator moving between the characters takes the reader into the thoughts of each character, helping us understand and empathise with their individual struggles.
This is a haunting and intriguing book with hidden depths that leave the reader with plenty to muse about once events have reached their end.
This is a subtle and nicely crafted story, which deals directly with themes of life and death and war, without becoming sentimental or over dramatic. The descriptions of rural Connemara and its people are beautifully constructed, so that the reader can almost smell the peat smoke and hear the waves on the shore. The sense of isolation caused by the destroyed bridges, the stifling hot weather and the clouds of flies add to the tension within the house.
Each of the characters finds themselves making decisions that will take their lives in an unexpected direction, and their encounters with death and violence shatter their settled lives of comfort and privilege. The narrative style of a third person narrator moving between the characters takes the reader into the thoughts of each character, helping us understand and empathise with their individual struggles.
This is a haunting and intriguing book with hidden depths that leave the reader with plenty to muse about once events have reached their end.
September 9, 2020
Understated (although shot through with foreboding) look at family dynamics set in 1920s rural Ireland and the civil war - and lent by a friend after a discussion about how little literature I had come across set in this period. It’s always surprising to read how, even in the midst of conflict, for much of the time, people are generally going about their lives fairly normally and just hoping that trouble does not come their way. I was also surprised to learn that Dillon had won the Nobel Prize as she seems to be pretty much forgotten/ignored which does feel something of an injustice.
October 17, 2023
This book was more subtle than I expected, and on reflection, that's not a bad thing.
An undercurrent of tension pervades the whole book, making the situations taut and the characters emotions constrained. There are some beautifully elegiac reflections in the minds of the characters, capturing a strong sense of what it might have been like in Ireland during such a divided time. Although, really, the division is as much inherent in the group of family and friends as the wider context of the country.
An undercurrent of tension pervades the whole book, making the situations taut and the characters emotions constrained. There are some beautifully elegiac reflections in the minds of the characters, capturing a strong sense of what it might have been like in Ireland during such a divided time. Although, really, the division is as much inherent in the group of family and friends as the wider context of the country.
January 30, 2025
Reason read: Reading1001, randomized list 2025. The story is of some young people on holiday to Connemara. During this time, the bridges are bombed in the civil war and they are isolated from their mother and father who did not arrive with the, from doctors, and even the priest. The story is set during the Irish civil war in the 1920s. Themes of love, death, and war. I did not like how the female characters were presented but on the other had, it explores how women can get into a proposed marriage for all the wrong reasons. The book has a positive ending.
April 3, 2024
Subtle, understated writing leading to such sorrow. We see the events from so many different viewpoints, yet the narrative does not seem jumpy or disjointed at all. Perfectly captures the tension and tragedy of these few days against the backdrop of the Irish Civil War in 1922.
June 23, 2024
Good topic
Started off as a good read but ended abruptly and have no endings to the characters. I thought it might have been because there was a second book but no. That's why I'm only giving it 3 stars
Started off as a good read but ended abruptly and have no endings to the characters. I thought it might have been because there was a second book but no. That's why I'm only giving it 3 stars
March 20, 2025
Irish war story. Detailed description of small town turmoil.
February 3, 2016
Set during the Irish Civil War, in 1922, the MacAuley children (the youngest being 16) are traveling to their summer home, about 20 miles from Galway. They are accompanied by Ruth's fiance, and Pat's best friend and Nora's future hopeful fiance, as well as their aunt's babies and their nurse, Sarah. The parents are all arriving in a few days' time, or so everyone thought. As they travel, the IRA has blown up several bridges, including the one to Galway, so they are isolated, and the bombers have shown up on their lawn to camp out and receive treatment for one of their soldiers. As the few days of the novel progress, the babies get sick, and tensions are high because of the illness and the insurgents, as well as the condescending attitude of Ruth's fiance, Colman. Things eventually come to a head, and no one is the same afterward.
I enjoyed this book- characters were polarized, and it was easy to find things about them to like or dislike. Descriptions were lifelike, and the plot moved well. There was enough history for my curiosity to be piqued, and now I'd like to learn more about this time in Ireland's history.
My reading experience was enhanced by Irish music- from traditional and Celtic Woman to Van Morrison, U2, Mumford and Sons, and to pub rockers like Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly.
I enjoyed this book- characters were polarized, and it was easy to find things about them to like or dislike. Descriptions were lifelike, and the plot moved well. There was enough history for my curiosity to be piqued, and now I'd like to learn more about this time in Ireland's history.
My reading experience was enhanced by Irish music- from traditional and Celtic Woman to Van Morrison, U2, Mumford and Sons, and to pub rockers like Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly.
July 26, 2012
Eudora Welty said of Eliis Dillon's "The Bitter Glass," "An excellent piece of work to me, full of reality, full of poetry, written with a very sure and sensitive hand, I was completely won over by it." I personally don't see how...I found this book to be pretty awful.
"The Bitter Glass" is the story of a group of young Irish adults who are traveling to the country to for a summer holiday. Their parents are to follow on a later train, but the bridges blown up by an IRA column so they are left on their own with two sick babies to care for.
I didn't think the characters were very well drawn-- I kept forgetting who was who and wondering why I was supposed to care about them. This is a short novel but it took forever to read... I just found the whole thing rather boring. It didn't provide much insight into "the troubles" or provide a compelling story of a family to follow.
I'm honestly not sure what makes this one of the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die."
"The Bitter Glass" is the story of a group of young Irish adults who are traveling to the country to for a summer holiday. Their parents are to follow on a later train, but the bridges blown up by an IRA column so they are left on their own with two sick babies to care for.
I didn't think the characters were very well drawn-- I kept forgetting who was who and wondering why I was supposed to care about them. This is a short novel but it took forever to read... I just found the whole thing rather boring. It didn't provide much insight into "the troubles" or provide a compelling story of a family to follow.
I'm honestly not sure what makes this one of the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die."
August 23, 2010
Rich, young adult children on a train from Dublin headed north into Connemara find that their train is the last to pass bridges that have been destroyed in a Civil War taking place in Ireland. Their parents are unable to follow after them. When they reach their vacation home, the twin babies become sick, guerrilla soldiers set up camp in their yard, and fiances question the strength of their relationship. They are all forced through awkward, frightening and life changing moments as a result of their isolation. The smells of seaweed, turf, baking bread and the images of white-washed houses...coastal, northern Ireland is described beautifully in this story.
January 2, 2013
It took me quite a while to finally get to reeading this book.
Now that I did, I must say that I find this an impressive book.
I learnt quite a bit about Irish history and liked the way the story was written.
It was, subject-like, a bit like other books about a family living through difficult times. What made this one different for me, was the form of writing. Quite matter of fact like, not too emotional, quite from a distance, but in such a way, that the characters seemed the closer.
Now that I did, I must say that I find this an impressive book.
I learnt quite a bit about Irish history and liked the way the story was written.
It was, subject-like, a bit like other books about a family living through difficult times. What made this one different for me, was the form of writing. Quite matter of fact like, not too emotional, quite from a distance, but in such a way, that the characters seemed the closer.
March 16, 2013
Started and finished this book during my holiday, and I loved it. Funny how the 1001 lists provide the chance to read great books that I would have probably never chosen otherwise. The characters were very well shaped, the tension palpable, the simpleness and yet tragedy of Irish country life amid the civil war breathtaking and only a hint idyllic.
March 20, 2013
Well written picture of life in Ireland in the 1920's. I do think it requires some knowledge of and interest in Ireland's history and ways of life to get the most out of it.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews