Now and in the Hour of Our Death: A Novel of the Irish Troubles

Irish Troubles #2

by Patrick Taylor

Nine years ago, the bloody conflict in Northern Ireland tore apart two young lovers, consuming their hopes and dreams and changing their lives forever. Now, in 1983, Davy McCutcheon and Fiona Kavanagh find themselves worlds apart. Davy, once a bomb-maker for the Provisional IRA, is serving a twenty-five-year sentence in a British prison. Having seen enough of death and violence, he wants nothing more to do with the struggle that cost him his freedom and his love. But old loyalties die hard and, despite himself, Davy is drawn into a dangerous conspiracy on behalf of his fellow Provos . . . .Meanwhile, Fiona has forged a new life for herself in Vancouver, British Columbia, far away from the war-torn streets of Belfast. Now a vice-principal at a local elementary school, she has a successful career, good friends, and a new man in her life. Yet she remains haunted by painful memories of her troubled homeland—and the love she left behind.Patrick Taylor's Now and in the Hour of Our Death is a moving and compelling portrait of ordinary men and women caught up in a conflict not of their making, and of the way the past holds onto us even as we try to move on into an uncertain future.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, Ireland, Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2005

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Patrick Taylor, M.D., is the author of the Irish Country books, including An Irish Country Doctor, An Irish Country Village, An Irish Country Christmas, An Irish Country Girl, and An Irish Country Courtship. Taylor was born and raised in Bangor, County Down, in Northern Ireland. After qualifying as a specialist in 1969, he worked in Canada for thirty-one years. He now lives on Saltspring Island, British Columbia.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/patric...

Reviews

[SueChor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steeped in 1980’s Northern Ireland, filled with the Troubles, we first see this story from the Catholic/IRA view. We meet several characters in the present, but go back to the years leading up to their current situations - one in prison, one having emigrated to Canada, others still fighting on in Northern Ireland. Eventually we see a bit from the British view, humanizing one character a bit, but the greatest sympathy is clearly with those who want the Brits gone from Ireland. It’s fascinating to see multiple views even among those sympathetic to the cause, and even more so to see how their stories are interwoven. Suspense, tension, love of family, of country, and romantic love all find a place. But perhaps the most powerful is the terrible and inexplicable effect of the war, which permeates the story and the culture. I’ve been reading a stack of Irish novels with this backdrop, or should I say undeniable pain, filling the characters’ lives, and this one does that, but goes beyond that period as well. Added note: I tried to read one from this writer’s earlier series, “An Irish Country Doctor,” but found it facile, lacking depth, and couldn’t finish it.

[Sue Roselle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sequel to "Pray for Us Sinners. Nine years later, revisit some of the prior characters and add more. Located in rural Northern Ireland, rather than Belfast. Violence between Para IRA and occupying British Army continues. And, British continue to prevail. This novel is written with the same tension as a good mystery with intrigue and betrayal and murder. Well written with terrific character development. A page turner!

[Kelly Is Brighid · Rating 2 out of 5]

It could’ve been an interesting plot. It wasn’t. It was repeatedly repetitive, boring was the underlying current. Daytime TV soaps (in USA) are less emotionally driveling. This author is one old white man who embarrasses himself displaying ridiculous portrayals of women. Chick Lit fans would eschew this.

[Julianne O'Brien · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, but it was tough. It was a slog to read, seemed to be a lot of repetition and then the epilogue felt super rushed. Had I not already read the 1st one and wanted to see how the characters ended up, I probably would have given up.

[Paul Marzell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story. I think I learned a new language. The author effectively used Northern Irish slang and colloquialisms throughout the novel. I also learned much about the Troubles that I was not aware of back in the day when it was covered in US news media.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m very interested in the Irish Troubles, but this book while on topic dragged on too long with pages of unnecessary details about secondary characters. However, I kept reading unable to anticipate how it would end which was climactic.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

like many true irish stories, this one is bound to have a sad ending

a lot of detail on the troubles though

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and written, you get to know the characters. A sad story of Ireland as so many stories are. The sheer brutality of the English in Ireland and the senseless waste of lives.

[Sabrina Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of the book, but I wasn't too crazy about the end. I liked reading a book set in Northern Ireland in the 80's. When I was very young I sympathized with the IRA. Now I reject terrorism, no matter what the cause. Fiona, one of the main characters, lives Ireland for Canada to get away from the violence. Her bf Davy wants to stop making bombs for the IRA but ends up in prison because he doesn't quit soon enough. So they are the tragically separated lovers, which I found to be not so believable. People may try to stay faithful to their lost love when there's no hope of re-union, but life has a way of moving on. But not so much in novels.
The other main characters are a brother and sister dedicated to getting the British out of Northern Ireland. The woman especially refuses to allow herself any doubts about the rightness of her cause or its methods.
The book felt a little one sided. No real explanation of what the British occupation meant for the Catholic minority, especially those who were not fighting, just trying to get a job and raise a family. I'm not an IRA sympathizer as I said before, but they did exist for a reason, in reaction to the armed occupation by England.
I think it's worth reading if you like romance and want a taste of what Northern Ireland was like. The author grew up there and now lives in Canada.

[Ruth Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally don't write reviews but after reading a few reviews I feel that my opinions should be voiced.

Patrick Taylor is a first rate author and I've yet to be disappointed with a book he has written.

Now and in the Hour of Our Death is no exception. In fact, it is a well-researched sequel to Pray for Us Sinners. To those naysayers and 2-3 star reviewers, I write these words for you: Davy might have been uneducated but he bettered himself while he was in prison. How could a reader say that the author was prejudiced and portrayed the Northern Irish as all uneducated and not intelligent? Patrick Taylor accurately portrayed people living in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, real people with all levels of education and background. As one who is obsessed with Irish history, I can tell you he knows his history and he was born and raised in Ireland.

As for typos? There are none. I am not too sure why some readers are claiming there are typos.

Excellent book.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to finish this one (was literally counting down the pages until I could be done with it). You really need to suspend belief / turn off your critical thinking to follow the story through some of the plot advances and there were some editing issues that really bothered me.

I also wasn't a big fan of how Davy's decision to further his education and his growing desire to leave the Provo's coincided. It's naive to write all these people off as uneducated (not so subtly implying they were only led into the IRA by ignorance). Indoctrination in the "cause" from birth is a HUGE part to be sure, but it's too easy to discount someone with beliefs and desires different than yours as "simple".

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophie and I are going to the British Isles this summer so I am reading up on historical fiction of the area. Hid first book is a home run. I felt the tension and the trauma described in this book when I visited Belfast two years ago. Such a tragedy. How can we continue to fight each other and cause such terror in our own lives. I do remember children coming to spend school holidays in the USA so they could feel some normality and escape the violence. We welcomed them then. NOW?

[Debbie Sencenbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of the Irish Country Doctor series resumes with the lives of those that survived the previous book Pray For Us Sinners, and adds new characters who are deep into the Irish Revolution. Again the story is tragic, more heartwrenching as you watch characters not so blindly ready to give their lives for a United Ireland with removal of the hated British from the Ireland. Again you ache for those just trying to live their lives in peace. I would read this again, but dasly. It gives a good explanation of the IRA, how it became, the radical splinter groups and their evolution, and the permiating presence of the heavy hands of politicians in the sorrows.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read Patrick Taylor's Dr O'Reilly books and loved them.
This book was set in the 1960's and 1980's during the Irish "Troubles".
This story was more complicated to read.
It is indeed a love story between people and also their country of birth.
Different beliefs based on upbringing make it so hard for people of the same country to exist.
Patrick does a good job incorporating 1980's Vancouver Canada into the story - so beautiful and peaceful as opposed to Ireland.
Ireland is just as beautiful, but dangerous because of the "Troubles".

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

A great book about the war that was raging in Ireland. Between Catholics and Protestants. How there were men in jail how they broke out and were willing to move and start life over if they didn't get caught by hiding out till they reached where they thought it was safe to live without anyone knowing they were escaped convicts or possibly die for love of Ireland. Well worth reading so much determination to fight for the right to win the cause for a free Ireland. Too much good in book to remember all I suggest you get this it won't disappoint I guarantee.

[Dan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful sequal to "Pray for Us Sinners". Patrick Taylor put down the Irish Doctor Pen and picked up his more serious pen..

A great ending to a story that deals with the conflict between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, but more it is a love story that spans over a decade.. A wonderful story.

[Tom Wascoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, Taylor is an excellent story-teller. Story is about the "Troubles" between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland but it is really a love story. Taylor's undertone of humor from his Irish Country Doctor series is missing but, considering the subject matter, appropriately so. Excellent characters. Basically a sequel to "Pray For Us Sinners".

[SRK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate Taylor's putting human faces on this time in history.

[Bruce Reiter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book, but sequels seldom are. Again, the author uses fiction to define the capabilities and outcomes of the Troubles. Throw in a little romance and the book is both readable and educational. The problem still exists with the Six Counties. Maybe Brexit will bring it to a head. Not the subject of this book.