The Captains and the Kings

by Jennifer Johnston

'It's writing which is relaxing but acute, both accessible and profound' Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Fiction, Ireland, Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, Literary Fiction, Novella

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Jennifer Johnston was an Irish novelist. She won a number of awards, including the Whitbread Book Award for The Old Jest in 1979 and a Lifetime Achievement from the Irish Book Awards (2012). The Old Jest, a novel about the Irish War of Independence, was later made into a film called The Dawning, starring Anthony Hopkins, produced by Sarah Lawson and directed by Robert Knights.

Reviews

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First and foremost, The Captains and the Kings is about the existence of an elderly man. There's the sotry, that’s it—what is it like to be elderly and what is it like to be this elderly man? His existence is altered by a young boy who barges into his life.

The story takes a turn at the end which I was not expecting. Of this, I will speak very little. I will say only that the turn at the end is a very possible, albeit unfortunate, consequence of earlier events. The turn shifts the book’s focus to a topic widely discussed in contemporary times. Is the turn at the end good? The story becomes less original, less one of a kind. On the plus side, the section after the turn is abruptly cut short by a good ending. By good, I don’t necessarily mean happy!

We are in the mind of an elderly man. He is Anglo-Irish, living in his family’s estate worn down by the passage of time. Both house and man have seen better days. The two are decrepit, falling apart, in need of repair. Their ceaseless disintegration makes an imminent end seem looming. Mr. Charles Pendergast is the man’s name. Born at the turn of the 20th century, his elder brother, their mother’s favored son, died at Gallipoli during the First World War. The family property is outside Dublin. The only two occupants remaining are Charles and the family’s long-time servant, originally employed as a chauffeur but now reduced to a lazy, alcoholic gardener. He too has seen better days.

Charles thinks back on his past. It’s perhaps more accurate to say that memories of his wife, his daughter, his brother and his parents intrude on his thoughts. He has no control over them—memories flick in and out of his consciousness when awake, when dozing off, when sleeping. At the start, the reader is surprised when suddenly the timeframe changes. Next time this happens, you know what is going on—another memory has intruded.

Into Charles’ world barges a rambunctious school-age boy. His parents want him to work in their grocery store, but basically, they just want him gone. Diarmid is his name, and he has a mind of his own. He will make of his life what he wants. He spurts of ideas and energy. He is a delightful character. Between the elderly and the young there develops a friendship, a trust and a bond. They both come to need each other, in different ways of course. The central focus morphs—first it is solely Charles’ existence and then it becomes also his relationship with the young boy.

Then something happens, and the central theme takes off in another direction. This is the turn I spoke of.

The story’s beginning, middle and end flow smoothly. Each part keeps your attention. Each serves a purpose. First, we are drawn in and made curious, then meat is added to the bone, followed by the turn and the abrupt ending. The story doesn’t get off track.

The lines, the dialogues are pitch perfect. This is reason enough to give the book four stars.

The relationship that develops between Charles and Diarmid feels very real to me. Not too sweet. It has ups and downs. Life and people get in the way, make a mess of what could have been good.

Gerard Doyle gives a very good narration. He speaks slowly and the Irish is not difficult to follow. He sings and does so in an appropriate fashion when the text has lines of verse. Four stars for the narration.

Having read only two books by Jennifer Johnston and having given both four stars, I will soon be reading more by the author. The book descriptions give little guidance on which to choose. What draws me to this author are the dialogues and the well thought through, carefully planned structure of the stories. The unnecessary has been discarded and what remains rings true.

************************

*The Railway Station Man 4 stars
*The Captains and the Kings 4 stars
*Shadows on our Skin 4 stars
*This Is Not a Novel TBR
*The Old Jest TBR
*How Many Miles to Babylon? TBR
*The Gingerbread Woman TBR
*Foolish Mortals TBR
*Fool's Sanctuary TBR
*Grace And Truth TBR

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing and deeply moving story of loneliness and misunderstandings.

Mr Prendergast, haunted by his past and his brother, is seeing out his days in his crumbling mansion with only a grumpy, alcoholic old gardener for company. Mr Prendergast was rejected by his mother when he survived WW1 while her favourite son died. She somehow blames him for this. He, in return pushes everyone away from him, including his wife and daughter. His gardener was very fond of Mrs Prendergast as the two of them work on the garden together; he seems to resent Mr Prendergast who couldn't care less about the garden. Into this setup comes Diarmid, a young, inquisitive lad who is skipping school and a bother to his parents, who manages to worm his way into the old man's heart.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what you would call a well-written novel; exposing both the best and worst of human nature within a tight plot - and yet I put it down several times already knowing how the details would play out - and knowing I didn't want to continue. I made myself read through to the bitter end - as there have been so many of my book choices laid aside just recently.

There you have it - another book I did not enjoy. I'm beginning to despair of ever finding something that I find, surprising, original and truly delightful - too much to ask?

I've picked up Tess of the D'Urbevilles. I know the plot; last read when I was 18 or thereabouts. I'm just hoping that Hardy's literary style will delight and please. Let's see what happens.

[Angela Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of Jennifer Johnston's novels are short (this, her first, is 124 pages, her third, The Captains and the Kings is 156 pages and The Christmas Tree my favourite of all her novels, is 183 pages. The books seem slight just because they are thin, but they contain whole worlds that last for far longer in the mind and in the heart than their relatively few pages might suggest. And the lyrical beauty of Johnston's writing seems so natural it reminds me of Fred Astaire's: 'If it doesn't look simple you aren't working hard enough.'

In this novel a secret friendship – a theme Johnston also addresses in The Captains and the Kigns – this time between a young boy and an old man is, eventually, investigated by the Guards. The ending shocks, although not as much as the ending of The Captains and the Kings or The Railway Station Man but it is also exactly right. And I think that's because this novel is so beautifully imagined and constructed that there could be no other ending.

I don't know whether Johnston finds writing hard or not. I don't know how many drafts she writes before she is satisfied. All I know is that what she gives us to read is glorious and tender, tragic and poignant and over and over again she shows us the way, the real way, we human beings are.

[Infosifter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This intensely evocative short novel reads like an extended short story. I have never both despised and despaired over an MC the way I did the one in this novel. As a result of rejection by his family in early life, he pushes everyone away. His unintentional But complete emotional cruelty to his wife and daughter is enough to make a reader truly hate him. On the other hand, he is an elderly man and his rejection of humanity has left him terribly lonely without his understanding the fact, which made at least this reader intensely sorry for him while being very frustrated by him. The novel also shows a bit of the culture of the Ireland of the late 60s or early 70s; interfering clergy who think they have the right to order the lives of their parishioners, and no one willing to leave well enough alone. I think this short book will stay with me for a long time, and I will definitely look out for other things by this author. Read this if you want something that will cause deep feelings, though they will definitely not all be positive or pleasant ones. 4.5 stars

[A. Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This plot has basic similarities with Bernard McLaverty's Lamb, and these similarities are made especially intense by what we know of child abuses in Irish history. In Johnston's novel, an old man becomes very involved in the life of a boy who is a trouble to his family, who skips school, who doesn't want to be a shop boy. The boy and the man develop a strong bond, which is, of course, misunderstood (sometimes willfully, certainly spitefully) by the boy's parents and others in the village. Where can this story go, except where it inexorably goes? That's the point. Sometimes, a man just cares about a boy's life. Not every man is set to abuse a boy. But this story cannot be read without that heavy subtext.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVELY LOVELY LOVELY. I read this book on a dark, stormy day overlooking Chincoteague Bay. It's like the rhythm of waves, it's like the rising of the tide. Be careful it doesn't flood you.
P.S. The beginning is confusing, but it's only testing you.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Johnston is a new author for me and I enjoyed this book. The relationship between Mr. Prendergast and Diarmid, the similarity of both of their childhood experiences and Mr. Prendergast’s being a man of few words made the book enjoyable and interesting. I will be reading her other books.

[Jane Armour · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing style and the author set the scene well of the lonely old man, Mr Prendergast up at the Big House, and the young lad, Diarmid, skipping school and also lonely, and the friendship that blossomed but it was all a bit obvious and sad how actions can be misinterpreted.

I’ve had this book for years - it was published in 1972 and given away as a promotional copy in a magazine - and I recently found it whilst moving house. At 124 pages it’s an easy read.

[Lauren Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quiet, thoughtful book by a writer who is much underappreciated. She deserves a wide audience, although I fear the sort of book she writes -- gentle, interior, full of the depth of ordinary lives --
is much out of fashion in favor of dystopian horrors, angry screeds, and extreme character portrayals. Pity.

This novel deals with aging and youth, scandalous talk, resentments, misunderstandings, foolishness, closemindedness and the pain of injustice. Set in Ireland in the mid-20th c, Mr. Pendergast is a man at the end of his life, a solitary man, of few passions. He is a Protestant and, much against his will, finds himself in an unlikely friendship with a Catholic boy. It's heartbreaking and beautifully drawn. I highly recommend it and will be reading the rest of Johnston's work.

A fine article about her appears here... https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...

[Valerie Poore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written, deeply moving novel that tells us of the consequences or uninformed prejudice. The main character, Mr Prendergast, has made innumerable mistakes in his personal relationships. Cold, dismissive, and torn by jealousy of a brighter brother who had the love of his beautiful mother, Mr Prendergast keeps the world at arm's length. That is until in his twilight years, a cheeky urchin marches into his life and endears himself to the old man. But his gardener, a drunken, mean man who resents Mr Prendergast for not being as kind and generous as his deceased wife, Claire, seeks to desecrate the only real friendship the old man has known and valued. The setting is a small town in Ireland, where prejudice is rife. The ending is both fitting and sad. This is a beautifully crafted story and very poignant. There are so many 'what if's.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the story is set over fifty years ago now, it has a timeless quality. Mr Predergast is an ageing Anglo-Irishman, living in small town Ireland. His is a melancholy existence, living alone in his decaying mansion with only a drunken gardener called Sean for company. His wife has died and he is estranged from his only child Sarah, and there is only an irritating Rector chivvying him about moving to London to be near his daughter. His memories are no solace: his childhood was marred by the death of his brother at Gallipoli, and his mother made it obvious that the wrong child had survived. His adulthood and marriage to Clare was a peripatetic life, never settling anywhere, making no friends, achieving nothing of note.

Into this loneliness comes Diarmid, a local lad whose awful parents want to offload him into work at the manor. Mr Predergast is dismissive. Apart from the fact that he can’t afford to pay Diarmid and he already has a gardener of sorts, he is ossified in his isolation. Quite properly, he sends Diarmid packing, with advice to pay more attention to schooling than he has done so far, if he really wants to be in the army.

But Diarmid worms his way into Mr Prendergast’s solitary life, and soon the old man finds himself enjoying reminiscing about games of toy soldiers with his brother, and he likes introducing Diarmid to books and poetry and history. This is all ok up to a point, but Diarmid’s parents still haven’t offloaded him and he’s still wagging school. What turns out to be even more significant is that is Sean is jealous… and then Diarmid runs away from home.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/07/01/t...

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short novel is a prime example of great writing that is concise and still manages to convey deep emotions and detailed characterization. Johnston is a highly respected and accomplished writer who was born in Dublin, and lived for many decades in Derry, Northern Ireland. She returned to live in Dublin a few years ago. This was her first novel, published when she was 42 years old.

I will share the summary from the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, group facilitator.
It was clear that the whole group (17 attendees) thoroughly enjoyed The Captains and the Kings by Jennifer Johnston. Most readers thought it a fine and assured debut novel. The characters were well-rounded, the writing 'astute', 'minimal' and 'impactful', and that the novel captured the demise of the 'Big House in Ireland' well. We touched upon the theme of loneliness, perception and questioned the parenting skills of various characters. We agreed it was the authors intention to leave the reader wanting and for them to decide what was really going on. The only aspect of the book which divided the group was that of Mr Prendergast's true sexuality. It was clear that all readers were thankful to have read (or re-read) the book and would read more of/recommend more of Jennifer’s novels. And in rounding off the discussion off one person 'called to arms' (as such) for all of us to promote the value of short novels and to reinforce that Jennifer Johnston's books was a fine place to start.

I am one of those who plan to read the Johnston novels that I have in library, and have yet to read. Highly recommended.

[R.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

English review below the Greek one...
3+/5
Ένα ακόμα από αυτά τα μελαγχολικά ποιητικά ψυχογραφήματα που αρέσκονται να γράφουν πολλοί Ιρλανδοί συγγραφείς. Η πλοκή είναι ακριβώς αυτή που περιγράφεται στο οπισθόφυλλο, ένας ηλικιωμένος εκκεντρικός Αγγλο-Ιρλανδός ζει μόνος από επιλογή και απλά περιμένει να πεθάνει, όταν εμφανίζεται από το πουθενά ένας προβληματικός πιτσιρικάς και μία ιδιότυπη σχέση δημιουργείται μεταξύ τους.

Η πορεία των πραγμάτων προδιαγεγραμμένη τελικά όπως και στις περισσότερες Ιρλανδικές ιστορίες, ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων, τα πάντα ματαιότης...

Μικρό βιβλίο, μπορεί να διαβαστεί μέσα σε ένα απόγευμα και χωρίς να είναι αριστούργημα, αξίζει τον κόπο...

3+/5

Another one of those melancholic, poetic psychographs that many Irish writers have a tendency towards. The plot is exactly as described on the back cover, an old, eccentric Anglo-Irish man is living in soltitude by choice and just awaits his own death, when out of the blue a troubled kid appears and a peculiar relationship forms between them.

One can see how this will end, as in most such Irish stories, vanity of vanities, all vanity...
This is a small book, it can be read in an afternoon and without being a masterpiece, it is worth the effort...
3+/5

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read a Jennifer Johnston novel before and I picked up this slim paperback at a book sale after speaking about her work with a woman at my book club. Johnston died the next week, so it seemed fortuitous. This is her first novel (published in 1973), and in only a few short sentences she sets a scene, the narrative is gripping, particularly the descriptions of aging, illness, loneliness and parental rejection. "She had apparently believed, for some reason that the old man couldn’t grasp, that this humiliating state of suspended animation was better than death."

This short novel delivers a tense narrative of Irish life staggering toward the end of the dramatic twentieth century. In only a few short pages, Johnson captures the tension between the Anglo-Irish of the Irish "Big House" class and the rural Irish community, right until the tragic, but inevitable ending.

[Susan Lanigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief, contained slice of time from an Ireland long vanished - a beautifully executed tale of loneliness, war trauma, familial brokenness, Anglo-Irish decline, friendship and the interference of the state, with particularly tragic implications for one character based on what we now know of the industrial school system. Read it in one morning and it very gently broke my heart a little. When literary fiction is as well-plotted and executed as its genre contemporaries, there is no more pleasing form to read. This is one of those rare and delightful examples. Highly recommended.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a story. I was hooked from the beginning, on Chas Prendergast and his eccentric old ways and dry wit, his ghosts, begrudging gardener Sean who keeps a torch lit for his dead wife.
You sense the terrible thing before it happens, but still feel bereft for old Chas in the ‘fag end’ of his life, even though it’s self inflicted, to an extent. Chas for the first time in his life let’s himself be liked, loved even, feels reciprocal emotions, softening his heart, which blindsides him, resulting in a fleeting friendship that proves fatal.

[Cindy Mondy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me to read. While the themes of friendship, marriage, and family are strong in this book, I found it depressing. From the old man’s point of view nothing in his life was happy or joyful except a short lived friendship with a village boy that unfortunately turned against him. A take away from the book is that none of our lives are what they appear to be, for good or bad.

[Paul Gaya Ochieng Simeon Juma · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy was 142 pages. Finished it in a day. Amongs its themes are death, old age, war, literacy etc. It is based in Ireland. The main character, Mr. Prendergast is escaping the war after loosing his wife who he never appreciated. He is a recluse who awaits nothing but death. He appears to be a cynic who shuns every attempt by other s to help him. A small but powerful book. Highly recommended.

[Joy Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A horrible old man who is cruel to his wife . The gardener he holds in contempt and along comes a lad who gets under his skin. They form an unusual friendship which ends up ruined by the gardener and gossip. ( all lies) it is very sad how one person will change the course of a life forever,what hate does and a vengeful spirit

[Veronica Freeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nicely written story, a study of old age and loneliness. In places it is moving and quite poignant and at its heart is the age old examination of 'the other'; and how society, in this case a small Irish town, is quick to take the word of a drunk because he is one of their own over that of the 'outsider'. It's an age old tale but handled well here.

[Patricia Power · Rating 4 out of 5]

The captains and the kings by Jennifer Johnson. This one is sitting on my kindle for years and in an effort to somewhat clear the tbr I picked it up. I don’t know where to start - it’s about a friendship between an old man and a teenager, it’s about the best and worst of human nature and it is heartbreaking .

[Lillian Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cutting edge stuff considering it's time of publication. Themes of loniness, vulnerability, and life reviewing are strong in this novel. Main characters drew an empathic response, and while secondary characters were dimensionally limited, they worked functionally in the novels context.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A near perfect little book: rich characters, a strong sense of place, beautiful language, and a sad and deeply touching story about a troubled boy who befriends an embittered and lonely old man.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. Easy to read easy to like.

[colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

It felt unfinished - I wanted more depth and more content!

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Startling

[Ernest · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - 3.5 stars.

Tender, delicate writing. A nice story too. But I don't like how it always has to be so sad and unresolved.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended for our book club, and I was delighted to come across a writer I hadn't found before. It's the type of novel that I think the Irish excel at: brief, but just the right size, without extraneous matter, and tugging the heartstrings with a wry smile and hope of redemption. So Small Things like These is a more recent work that compares well to this. The plot is simple - an old man in a crumbling mansion is befriended by a boy from the village. But the undercurrents are vast and also specific, so there's a strand of meaning about what it means to be a man, a brave man, but also the joys of childhood play. I'm only sorry this book is described as the author's best work, as I'd love to read more like it but hate to be disappointed.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second time that I’ve read this novel. I upped my rating from 4 to 5 stars. It’s short in length but packs so much in. It is an amazing first novel.
Her writing reminds me of Brian Moore and William Trevor and that to me is high praise.

With her pared-down, precise style of narration she tells, with empathy, the story of the broken and stranded lives within one of the decaying Anglo-Irish Big Houses.

The Rector is a ‘Pretentious blithering fool, in his fancy dress. Incompetent shepherd of a dwindling flock. Ten on a good day..,,Son of a local Bishop....Not enough gumption to do anything but follow in father’s footsteps. Never managed to preach a decent sermon.
And:
‘….Clare had talked gardening with them and done the expected good deeds. Chatted over teacups. All dross. Why torment yourself with face to face confrontations? Why try to communicate? This terrible post-war urge. Everything that had to be said was there, on the bookshelves, dancing on the staves,on canvas. Find your own salvation there. If that was what you felt the urge to do.’ (p33).

That’s all in one paragraph. I wonder will our post lockdown world resemble this?

My recent reading of all my Brian Moore novels proved to be so rewarding and enjoyable that I will now read several Jennifer Johnston’s. My next read will be Shadows on Our Skin.