Tanglewood

by Dermot Bolger

'Phone the cops or phone Alice. But just don't expect life to ever be the same after you make that call...'

When two neighbouring Dublin couples decide to cooperate in building a townhouse that straddles their gardens, they have no idea that its construction will expose the fault lines within their relationships - and lead to a panicked decision one night when the two husbands, Chris and Ronan, are confronted by a situation that could be catastrophic for their families. The consequences of their actions cast these law-abiding men adrift into unknown territory, propelled into a new moral landscape from which it seems impossible to return.

Written by a master story-teller, Tanglewood is an incisive dissection of Ireland in 2007, when - unbeknownst to the two couples - the Celtic Tiger edifice is quietly imploding. It is a bittersweet examination of the simmering tensions, intolerable strains and unbreakable bonds of memory and love that can simultaneously exist within marriage.

Praise for Tanglewood

‘Tanglewood is an outstanding piece of work by one of our most mature and courageous writers, one who is unafraid to hack his way through the tangles of contemporary Irish life and write a rare thing in Irish a serious state-of-the-nation novel.’ - The Irish Times

'Only a writer of Bolger's precision and suppleness could wade back through the nation's self-loathing into that mess and mine new truths, treasures to be heeded and learned from...Bolger isn't meditating on regret, love, moral fibre, greed and carpe diem - he's setting the record straight on them...This is storytelling that flows deep and soundly, and brims with a hard-earned wisdom...sublime.' - Sunday Independent

‘well-wrought, considered, layered and evocative.’ - Irish Examiner

Genres: Irish Literature

277 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2016

About the author

Dermot Bolger is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet born in Finglas, a suburb of Dublin.

His work is often concerned with the articulation of the experiences of working-class characters who, for various reasons, feel alienated from society. Bolger questions the relevance of traditional nationalist concepts of Irishness, arguing for a more plural and inclusive society.

In the late 1970s Bolger set up Raven Arts Press, which he ran until 1992 when he co-founded New Island Press.

Reviews

[Seán Rafferty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed with 'Tanglewood'. It's full of one dimensional characters spouting bland dialogue. Lines such as 'How could the weight of history compete with the weight of Sanja's breasts?' should have been edited out. The book needed a strong editor who should have cut about 50 pages. It's like a Ladybird guide to the Celtic Tiger implosion. Clunky lines such as 'She was caught in the crossfire of an intractable civil war simmering in his soul' are littered throughout this turgid novel. It's like a badly written soap opera and the love[?] scenes have the quality of being written by a twelve year old. I won't mention the typos.

[Shannon Sauro · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exploration of dreams, life choices and a marriage in middle age set inside the recent history in Ireland, on the precipice of the economic crash. All this is complexified further by situating recent Irish history within less recent Eastern European war and trauma and the economic disparity and trauma shared by many who moved to Ireland from other parts of Europe or Asia to escape or find a better life during this period of prosperity.

A thoughtful read that made me reflect upon the current crisis in Syria and the very different realities of those who flee/survive war/poverty/genocide and those who are have not.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

To say I "really liked" this somewhat painful novel is stretching the truth - a strong sense of doom and too many, too accurate, insights into how marriages work (and cease to work) for comfort, but comfortable entertainment is not always required, and the doom delivered was of a twisted and differently-hued one to that expected.
What was equally powerful was the depiction of the effect of Ireland's economic disintegration, the panic and corruption and despair.

[Thady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engrossing story of developers and would-be developers at the end of the Irish boom in 2007. Bolger is a master craftsman. Sometimes though i feel that writers introduce too many twists and turns and unexpected events into novels and this is one of them. That plus i find that when a story is told through the eyes of a number of individuals that it is diminished somehow - in real life we never know more than one viewpoint, our own, though we guess at and assume others. Still a great read.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sad sometimes uncomfortable read about two couples who live side by side yet have totally different lives. Despite this they are entwined by the crisis of the Celtic tiger and the general malaise the can hit in middle age. We see the breakdown of a marriage, the yearning to be loved, greed, opportunities lost and lives changed forever. Insightful writing , leaving the reader perturbed.

[David M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Centrality of Ireland

Before visiting Ireland I had imagined it as an isolated place that Americans came from. I now understand that it has been involved in events throughout Europe and beyond. This novel discusses that role through the lives of a troubled family during the 2000s housing bubble.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Emma Getz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and complex novel but I can't decide if it was actually good or not. Anyway this is just Capitalism: A Horror Story

[Elaine Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just a little too deep for me. Great plot, very complicated characters, several of whom were just not likeable people. I struggled to finish it.

[Shorty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, honest and poignant novel from Ireland's master storyteller, Dermot Bolger. With characteristic insight and emotional authenticity, Bolger explores the trials and tribulations of marriages under strain. The writing is wonderfully lyrical and evocative.

The characters are well-drawn, and their voices will resonate with the reader long after you've finished the last page. Easily one of the best novels I've read in years.

[Mebhe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paru en francais sous le titre "Ensemble séparés" éd. Joëlle Losfeld. Le 5e roman que je lis de Dermot Bolger : étonnant, caustique et génial. J'en parle bientôt sur le blog.