House of Splendid Isolation: A Novel

Modern Ireland Trilogy #1

by Edna O'Brien

House of Splendid Isolation is a newly reissued novel from Edna O’Brien, the author of Girl—“one of the most celebrated writers in the English language” (NPR’s Weekend Edition).

The heartbreaking dilemmas and the noble and bloody history of Ireland come vividly to life in the tale of Josie, a widow living in a solitary house outside an Irish village, whose home becomes the hideout of an IRA terrorist.

Genres: Fiction, Ireland, Irish Literature, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Novels, 20th Century

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Edna O’Brien was an award-winning Irish author of novels, plays, and short stories. She has been hailed as one of the greatest chroniclers of the female experience in the twentieth century. She was the 2011 recipient of the Frank O’Connor Prize, awarded for her short story collection Saints and Sinners. She also received, among other honors, the Irish PEN Award for Literature, the Ulysses Medal from University College Dublin, and a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Literary Academy. Her 1960 debut novel, The Country Girls, was banned in her native Ireland for its groundbreaking depictions of female sexuality. Notable works also include August Is a Wicked Month (1965), A Pagan Place (1970), Lantern Slides (1990), and The Light of Evening (2006). O’Brien lived in London until her death.

Reviews

[Orsodimondo · Rating 3 out of 5]

IL SOLDATO E LA FARFALLA



Tredicesimo romanzo di Edna O’Brien, pubblicato quando compiva sessantaquattro anni: leggendolo ho come avuto la sensazione che Mrs O’Brien fosse stanca di trame dall’andamento lineare, che avesse più che voglia di sperimentare, di “o famo strano” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON4Gc...].
Da qui, i tanti bruschi salti di questo breve romanzo, che spesso rendono complicato capire chi agisce, chi è chi è, in che tempo ci si trova... E anche, i paragrafi, tutti brevi, iniziati sempre in corsa, gli inserti con altri materiali, il forzato andare avanti e indietro nel tempo, anche quando non è così necessario. O forse, non è necessario soffermarsi così a lungo, raccontare così tanta storia passata: visto che il clou dovrebbe essere sull’oggi.
E forse aggiungerei anche che avendo due protagonisti assoluti, magari era più giusto trattarli alla stessa maniera: mentre quello di sesso maschile, per giunta indubitabilmente il più interessante dei due, ha molto meno spessore, e storia personale, è pressoché monodimensionale.


Uno splendido isolamento.

Ma anche per la lei, Josie, non mi riesce di parlare di terza dimensione, si rimane su una bidimensionalità che m’ha lasciato insoddisfatto. E, in fondo, si tratta di una classica donna à la O’Brien. Ma nulla a che fare con le ragazze di campagna, quelle dagli occhi verdi, le mamme che abitano le stanze dei figli… Manca del tutto quello smalto, quella freschezza, quella brillantezza...

A leggere la quarta di copertina, e anche a spulciare in rete, sembrerebbe la storia tra un militare dell’IRA (volontario? Terrorista?) in fuga dalla polizia che trova riparo nella villa malmessa abitata solo dalla vecchia proprietaria Josie, ormai vedova, e abbandonata dalla servitù. Josie e il suo splendido isolamento (in verità, tutto meno che splendido: alquanto pulcioso).
E quindi, mi sono illuso: ho sperato si raccontasse dell’IRA e dell’ULSTER, delle due nazioni irlandesi e dell’occupazione britannica. Mi aspettavo uno scontro a due tra la prigioniera e il suo carceriere, due lati diversi di una barricata, che si esplorano e man mano conoscono, magari perfino conquistano.


Conor Foy: East View, 2012.

Invece è soprattutto la storia di lei, prima ragazza, gli anni in America (Brooklyn), il ritorno a casa, il matrimonio, lo sfacelo della vita coniugale: e poi, rimasta vedova e ormai in età avanzata, vive l’esperienza che io ho creduto centrale e portante. È lei che vive nello “splendido isolamento”, ma è difficile scorgere qualcosa di splendido nella sua esistenza.
La politica rimane in sordina, nessuna accusa, nessuna presa di posizione, se non una generica contro la violenza, da qualsiasi parte arrivi. Si legge:
Lassù è guerra aperta e qui è guerra mezza aperta.
ma è difficile saperne di più, rimane tutto alquanto superficiale.


Alla ricerca di uno splendido isolamento.

Il tutto immerso nell’Irlanda chiusa, provinciale, contadina, bigotta, pettegola, malevola, livorosa: dove anime sognanti e piene di illusioni, sia uomini e che donne, ma soprattutto se di sesso femminile, finiscono deluse, a mani vuote, sofferenti.

”Varietà, complessità, slancio”, ripeté lei. Nel loro salotto non si erano mai sentite parole simili: l’argenteria e i peltri le accolsero con favore, e nel focolare un turbinio di oro fulvo volò allegramente su per il camino. Varietà, complessità, slancio.


House of Splendid Isolation

[A. Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

O'Brien builds a puzzle, but once the pieces are all in place, she doesn't offer a solution. To do so would be trite. What she succeeds in doing is make clear the complexity of Ireland by giving her characters the space they need to become known and thus to become sympathetic. Not every single character is likable, but every character's impulses are understood (except perhaps for the Snoop). I wouldn't say they're dynamic--they don't change. Perhaps that's the point. Perhaps the situation in terms of people's convictions is static. At the end of this novel, no one's mind has been changed. But they all are humanized. That's a tricky thing.

O'Brien's protagonist, Josie, is the book's anchor, and her story alone would make a potent story, about the necessary marriage, marital violence, constrained sexuality, requisite procreation. But somewhere in every Irish story there is the issue of identity and independence. Seemingly at random, but of course not, it enters Josie's house in the person of Mac. They make a compelling story. The only thing that keeps me from rating the book a five-star read is the last page, the epilogue. For me, it adds nothing. For me, it detracts.

[Laila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josie O’Meara is old and lonely in her crumbling big manor house in the Irish countryside. She’s come home from the hospital to die in her own home. She is haunted by her past, her abusive husband and a tragic love affair with an unavailable man. She is utterly alone in the world, a nurse occasionally coming to check on her and a grocery delivery coming once a week. The last thing she expected is to be caught up in the manhunt for a dangerous escaped IRA soldier, McGreevy, nicknamed The Beast. Informed of the owner’s invalid status, once he escapes from jail he travels south and uses her house for cover in an operation to kill a vacationing English lord. The last thing Josie expects is to feel something for a man described who is a killer.

House of Splendid Isolation is a complicated novel, a mix of suspense, social commentary, and exploration of the choices one makes and has to live with. I don’t pretend to know very much about Ireland’s Troubles, just the bare bones, but O’Brien makes McGreevy just sympathetic enough to have probably gotten some flack for her portrayal. My sympathies were engaged by many characters in this short novel – Josie, McGreevy, a young policeman who kills a man for the first time (one of McGreevy’s comrades,) a young woman who sympathizes with the IRA and seems to be waiting for her life to really begin. They are all caught in their roles, it seems, playing parts almost predestined for them. The action of the story shifts back and forth from the present to Josie’s sad past. McGreevy is not the only one who may have something to atone for.

Reading House of Splendid Isolation, I bemoaned the fact that I had never read anything by Edna O’Brien before. I was thoroughly engrossed in the compelling story and propulsive writing style. O’Brien has crafted a moving story with some thrilling scenes – I was reading the scene where McGreevy breaks into Josie’s house while my husband was working at night, and my son was asleep, and I was convinced I heard a noise outside. (I was totally creeped out!) I appreciated the way O’Brien makes the reader work a bit – we’re not always sure who is talking or thinking when a scene shifts perspective. She keeps us on our toes. It is a sad novel, but the fast pace and the sensitive characterization make it worthwhile. This may have been my first O’Brien novel, but it will not be my last.

[Vivian Valvano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread for my library presentation. Still one of my favorite of O'Brien's works. It is a very effective Troubles novel. Inspired by the factual hunting down of a notorious IRA gunman, O'Brien creates an intriguing character, her escaped prisoner, IRA Volunteer McGreevy. He escapes to the South, where a job is being planned, and hides out in the house of the title, in Tipperary, believing it to be temporarily vacant. However, the house is inhabited by an old, frail widow, Josie O'Meara. She has a complicated history, including temporary immigration to Brooklyn, a disastrous marriage to the man of the formerly esteemed house, a disastrous romance with a priest, jealousies and misunderstandings directed at her by the community, an active and inquiring mind, and a heart full of emotion. The Northern Irish McGreevy has a complicated history, including his intense dedication to eliminating British control from every mile of Ireland, his record of violence and killings, the loss of his beloved wife and child, an active inquiring mind, and a heart full of emotion. And Ireland's complicated history becomes a virtual character in the novel. And ... Josie and McGreevy, hostage and hostage-holder, develop an unforgettable relationship. O'Brien takes all of these threads, and more, to a stunning conclusion.

[Cxr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un articolo letto recentemente elencava quattro scrittrici più o meno coetanee conosciute soprattutto per i racconti, notando che il premio Nobel ad una di loro e non alle altre era stata una scelta del tutto arbitraria. Queste quattro signore del racconto, oltre allla premiata Munro sono O'Brien, Perlman e Berlin. Incuriosita ho deciso di provare a leggerle, cominciando da O'Brien, visto che nel mio scaffale strabordante di libri comprati e non ancora letti c'era questo House of Splendid Isolation.
Purtroppo (da un certo punto di vista) è un romanzo e non un libro di racconti e quindi il confronto con Munro è quasi impossibile. Ma io ci proverò lo stesso. D'altra parte, proprio aspettandomi Munro, il libro mi ha letteralmente travolto.
Al centro della storia c'è l'incontro tra un'anziana signora irlandese, ormai sola in una enorme casa che sta andando in rovina, al limitare di un bosco, e un terrorista dell 'IRA in fuga, che lì ha deciso di trovare rifugio. E' lo scontro tra due persone che la pensano diversamente ma sentono e si emozionano allo stesso modo. E nell'incontro tra due umanità O'Brien fa proprompere la Storia del suo paese, con la sanguinosa guerra tra protestanti e cattolici terminata grazie al lavoro diplomatico di Tony Blair alla fine degli anni '90.
E' un libro dalla scrittura potente. Come la Munro O'Brien getta il lettore al centro delle situazioni, scoprendo a poco a poco ciò che i personaggi stanno vivendo. Ma qui si fermano le similitudini. Niente interni borghesi, madri e sorelle con cui confrontarsi, niente storie d'amore in cui la donna è travolta e l'uomo fugge. I personaggi di O'Brien qui sono influenzati dalla Storia che stanno vivendo, sono mossi da ideali e valori forti, temi che nella Munro sono per lo più assenti. Sono personaggi che ho sentito più vicini e dunque ho amato di più di quelli di Munro. Forse l'Europa non è solo un concetto astratto, soprattutto culturalmente.
Dopo questo romanzo mi è rimasta la voglia di leggere anche i racconti di una scrittrice scoperta adesso e indubbiamente affascinante. (Il libro l'avevo comprato prima del 2000,visto che ha ancora il prezzo in lire, ma poi come spesso mi capita, presa da altro, l'ho lasciato lì per quasi vent'anni.).

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

House of Splendid Isolation is a story of one event and incidents involving a community, over a few days as a man involved in murderous events is on the loose and actively being hunted.

It is also a book of parts and voices, a child's voice, the past, the present, a woman Josie who returned to Ireland after a period in America, her disappointing yet predictable marriage, an impossible affair and violent retribution, an accident, people who drop by, whose good deeds lead to violent consequences, friendships that hide betrayal, communities that breathe suspicion, that harbour fear and occasionally a fugitive.

I hear stories. It could be myself telling them to myself or it could be these murmurs that come out of the earth. The earth so old and haunted, so hungry and replete. It talks. Things past and things yet to be. Battles, more battles, bloodshed, soft mornings, the saunter of beasts and their young. What I want is for all the battles to have been fought and done with. That's what I pray for when I pray. At times the grass is like a person breathing, , a gentle breath, it hushes things.

Josie is now a lone widow in a big old house that she came to inhabitant through marriage, she did not wish to die in a Home, she has returned, a nurse visits occasionally and her grocery order is delivered. Memories still haunt her.

Into her last days arrives this unwelcome visitor on the run, they play cat and mouse, wary of each other, challenging each other, co-existing nevertheless, never quite knowing if one can trust the other, providing each other something they need for a brief moment, while the world outside goes mad in their paranoia, the rumourmill running rampant, suspicions gone mad.

While their words and worlds would never align, there is something in the brief respite each other provides in this house of Splendid Isolation, before they each face the inevitable that awaits them, capture or death, peace no longer an option.

A novel of many layers and consequences revealed of humans wronged, who know not how to seek healing or harmless resolution, whose path leads to occasional respite en route to destruction.

Brilliantly depicts two faces of a staunchly divided territory, their failed attempts to escape their destiny, a brutal confrontation and a lands that continues to absorb the repercussions.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a college literature course. I’d never heard of it before that, but thoroughly enjoyed it. It brought to mind another book I’ve enjoyed, Gone to Texas (See Josey Wales: Two Westerns : Gone to Texas The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales). In both cases, the central character is a hardened outlaw who comes to be held in awe by friend and foe alike. Only this story takes place in modern Ireland.

I really enjoyed the author’s subtle style. You are only ever given the bare bones of information to follow the plot. It’s a novel that requires an attentive reader. The characters are realistic and worthy of empathy. Definitely a good read.

[Mary Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a Northern Irish terrorist breaks into an old woman’s house to seek refuge, this book becomes more a study of Ireland’s history rather than a novel about the troubles.
Josie, now near the end of her life feels like ‘the rust coloured husks’ on a geranium plant, stripped of life by marriage to a violent drinker.She forms a relationship of sorts with McGreevy, whose ideology is still strong, but who is now also propelled forward because he has lost everything and everyone else he once loved.
The parallels are easy to spot, the disappointments with church and state, and the dilemma of the guards between their culture and their job.
At the hands of another writer, this might be unbearable, but the dark, earthy seductive writing carries it through

[Gondwana · Rating 3 out of 5]

İyi bir konusu var ancak yeterince işlenmemiş gibi geldi. Çeviriden dolayı olabilecek (bazı baskı hataları da var) akışta bir kopukluk vardı. Geçmiş ve şimdi anlatımına geçişler birbirini tamamlayıcı değildi. İfadeler edebi duygulanımdan uzak kurulmuş gibi. Ayrıca kadın bir yazardan anlatımın eril olmamasını beklerdim. Sanırım kurgu için verilen detaylara ufak da olsa eleştiri bekliyorum, avcılık, hayvan yeme ya da cinsel şiddetle ilgili. Bazı betimlemeler rahatsız etti, cinsellikle ilgili bir bölümde aile içi tecavüzü çocuk üzerinden örneklendirme vardı. İrlanda’nın iyi yazarlarından biri olarak anılıyormuş maalesef genel olarak hoşlanmadığım bir okuma oldu.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un style unique pour une ambiance très particulière. Un récit touchant, qui recherche l'humanité au milieu de violences insensées. Toutefois ce roman ne m'a pas emportée autant que je l'aurais voulu -- sans doute par manque de profondeur et de développement dans la relation entre les deux protagonistes.

[Eva Lavrikova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mozaika, v ktorej sa vyskladá zvláštny vzťah osamelej starej ženy a odťažitého írskeho teroristu, ako aj zložité pozadie dejinných udalostí Írska.
Podmanivá írska príroda, pocity samoty a odcudzenia, a v tom všetkom neľahké životné príbehy, boje o hodnoty a zložité rozhodnutia. A ich následky. Nič nie je čiernobiele. Útla kniha, v ktorej je veľa.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un romanzo che narra l’incontro tra due personaggi apparentemente antitetici: Josie, una anziana donna, sola e alle prese con i ricordi del passato, ricordi ricchi di sofferenza, malinconia e frustrazione e McGreevy un terrorista dell’IRA che cerca di difendere la propria patria ma che possiede anch’egli un passato dominato da dolore, morte e distruzione.
Due figure che in realtà condividono più di quanto loro stessi possano inizialmente immaginare e che riusciranno alla fine a stringere un rapporto che potrebbe essere paragonato a quello madre-figlio, una madre che ritrova il proprio figlio dopo una vita di lontananza e distacco.

Edna O’Brien offre uno squarcio sulla pericolosa e cupa situazione vissuta dall’Irlanda in quel periodo attraverso una scrittura fluida, scorrevole e intrisa di profondità psicologica.
Una scrittrice da non sottovalutare e su cui tenere gli occhi puntati.

[jimtown · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover of this book gets five stars for being so enchanting to make me want to read it, the title also gets five stars, for being enticing. The idea gets four stars but the actual story itself gets only two stars from me. , (maybe it's just me...) was hard to follow and never really evoked any emotion.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is by a woman I will be paying more attention to. If you're interested in good writing, the Ireland/England terrorist conflict, and lonely old ladies, read this. If not, read something else by this author because she's extremely worthwhile.

[Antonella Imperiali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struttura anomala. I salti temporali di questa storia mi hanno disorientata, c’è molta confusione, non si capisce di chi si sta parlando e se si è nel presente o nel passato. Ogni tanto spuntano personaggi e situazioni nuove che lì per lì risultano difficili da collocare e collegare. Mah!
Alla fine si riesce però a capire che i personaggi principali sono loro due: Josie, un’anziana signora, vedova, dalla salute cagionevole, che abita in una antica dimora malmessa, ma che offre tanto spazio; l’altro è McGreevy, fuggitivo, ricercato, un terrorista, un assassino che trova ricovero nella casa di Josie.
Una situazione strana, quasi sconveniente... Nessuna violenza, nessuna discussione rilevante, neanche a livello politico, solo un civile scambio di idee e di ricordi, il tutto nel reciproco rispetto (se non addirittura - alla fine - affetto) per una quieta, breve convivenza.
Conclusione amara, inevitabile quanto prevedibile.
La verità? Mi è dispiaciuto per entrambi.
L’ultimo capitolo non l’ho proprio capito.


🌍 LdM - Irlanda 🇮🇪
🔠 Alphabet autori: O
📚 Biblioteca

[Annalisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarà sicuramente una percezione mia, visto che ho letto delle recensioni abbastanza positive, o legata alla lettura non sul cartaceo, che a me risulta sempre meno coinvolgente, ma esco da questa lettura avendo ricevuto poco, con l’idea che il “non detto” rimane offuscato e poco chiaro, che i personaggi sono disegnati ma non hanno rilievo e spessore, che si vuole parlare di molte cose ma l’indagare non scava.

[John Mccullough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pardon the long review, but the book absolutely must be placed into historical context for it to make any sense.

To recapture his lost kingdom of Leinster, King Diarmait Mac Murchada invited Anglo-Norman nobles to invade Ireland in May 1169 and in exchange promised the invaders land and fealty to English King Henry II. The English came and never left, slowly swallowing bits of Ireland over the centuries until it was all in English hands. The Irish never gave up wanting their land back and free of English rule.

By the time of Elizabeth I the Irish remained recalcitrant and, losing patience, Good Queen Bess decided that the ultimate solution to the Irish problem was gradual genocide. To that end “plantations” of Protestant Scots and English were established on land of displaced Irish Catholics with the ultimate aim of eventually eliminating the Irish people entirely, partially by land confiscation and partially by crippling laws. Thus the “Scotch-Irish” were born. The obvious starting location was in Ulster, the northern-most part of Ireland and closest to Scotland and Northern England. The rest is history – a bloody tale of colonization and eventually partial de-colonization.

When Ireland finally freed itself from English rule in 1921 the fight was incomplete. In order to accommodate the many Protestants now living in Ulster, Northern Ireland was retained as England’s last Irish colony. But the Irish never gave up hope that Ireland would become whole again. The ghastly result of this incomplete resolution of the end of English rule has been guerilla warfare and continual bloodshed on both sides with thousands dying.

O’Brien gives us a very personal view of how this history is still being played out in the lives of ordinary people in Ireland, not just in Belfast, Dublin and London. She contrasts the collision of an isolated and non-political Irish widow – Josie O’Meara – and an Irish freedom fighter/terrorist, McGreevy. She details the background histories of the two, especially that of the widow, and how they contrast as a partial explanation of their interactions. Both are flawed humans with the normal needs of love and acceptance, both largely unrequited. And perhaps most important, the devasting effects this century-long fight has on both their lives today.

O’Brien writes in the charming Irish style of speaking, including Gaelic-based grammar and selections from the Irish vocabulary that might not be familiar to many readers. Her writing style is off-putting for some readers but for me was part of the charming if brutal ambience which placed me mentally in Ireland and brought me into the story very effectively.

People either love or hate this book, very few taking a moderate view. I was greatly impressed by O’Brien’s work and with an Irish humour must declare it fecking good!

[Lachlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel from 1994 portrays an Ireland caught between its modernising ambitions and its long sad history, against the background of the troubled relations between North and South and the presence of the IRA and other organizations fighting for a united Ireland. The central character is a woman, Josie O'Meara, who after an abusive marriage to a wealthy man lives on in their massive house with its extensive grounds; she is taken captive there by a terrorist/freedom fighter, but gradually she warms to him as a fellow human being, with ultimately tragic consequences. After a hesitant start with short, staccato sentences, the book begins to flow. A sentence I particularly liked describes a detail of the decaying house: 'A warped and pitiless decrepitude has invaded every corner so that there are flaking walls, missing stair-rods, stacks of damp and mildewed newspapers, and over a light switch, like some rustic fetish, a tranche of toadstools ripening in the sun.' I'm unsure about the title: Splendid Isolation for a British reader has the connotations of Britain's (19th-century) unwillingness to involve itself in other countries' affairs: in the Irish context, the title seems ironic at best, ill-chosen at worst. But this is a fine book that manages 'to go right to the heart of the hate and the wrong and to sup from it and be supped.

[Orla Hegarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember flyng back from Ireland after visiting my family on my own as a 12 year old in 1979 and sitting beside a newly married couple from Belfast. They were heading to Canada on a belated honeymoon. The delay had been caused because one of their families homes had been bombed.

As a 12 y.o. - and first generation Canadian-Irish immigrant - I had no idea of how their lives were completely entwined with my own heritage.

This book helped me to understand this at a greater depth than before. It is haunting.

[Steve Kreidler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully haunting novel with poetic prose as the real star. Many have described this as one of the handful of books that capture the intensity of the Irish conflict from within. I'll take their word for it, as I have no other reference. This book is so personal and so broad at the same time.

Just be sure to set aside good blocks of time to read it, so that the flow and arc of the story can envelope you.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A riveting, emotionally charged story that examines the political conflicts in Ireland and delves deeply into the human psyche. Edna O'Brien is an incredible author, and is referred to as the "doyenne of Irish literature." This is the first work that I have read by her, and it will not be my last. A dismal, yet compelling read.

[Federica Rampi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sotto il cielo d’Irlanda si incontrano due vite: Josie e McGreevy, terrorista dell’IRA
La paura di questa convivenza forzata li rende terribilmente bisognosi l’uno dell’altra
Un romanzo dalla struttura particolare, dove il passato occupa la parte iniziale della trama, ma è la narrazione del presente la sua forza

[Laura Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book. i read it too long ago to have something pithy to say about it. just trust me.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edna O'Brien knows how to use words. That sounds flip but it's not meant to be. She's very responsible and diligent with them. This book was sad and good.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book captured the essence of the Irish problem by exploring the life of a rich middle-aged widow who is taken hostage by an IRA fugitive.

[Mary Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

book group. I'd say "5" stars but it was too bleak to be truly enjoyed.

[Hermien · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had its moments but didn't quite do it for me.

[Brunella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Allora questo libro fa cacare

[L.A.Weekly · Rating 5 out of 5]

EDNA O'BRIEN: IRELAND'S OTHER LITERARY HEAVYWEIGHT
By Jim Ruland

This summer, instead of slogging through all 250,000 words of Ulysses (as well as the shelf-cracking row of books you’ll need to decipher it), read Ireland’s other modernist prose stylist and genius storyteller: Edna O’Brien.

The author of more than 20 novels, short stories and plays for stage and screen, O’Brien has had a prolific career spanning nearly 50 years. She has been described as possessing “the soul of Molly Bloom and the skills of Virginia Woolf,” and heralded as “the most gifted woman now writing fiction in English” by none other than Philip Roth. She has received countless accolades, yet remains one of Ireland’s most misunderstood writers. Shortly after the release of her critical study of James Joyce in 1999, one reviewer sniffed, “All Edna O’Brien’s effort proves is that lightweight novelists should stick to what they do best.”

O’Brien’s relationship with Ireland has always been a cantankerous one. Her first novel, The Country Girls, written in 1959 during a three-week frenzy, was condemned by the minister of culture as a “smear on Irish womanhood.” The book, which deals with the sexual awakening of a young woman from a small village in west Ireland, was promptly banned. As were her next eight novels.

Read the rest of Jim Ruland's article in the LA Weekly here:
http://www.laweekly.com/art+books/boo...

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lyrical little book fitting a complex story/ideas into a relatively few number of pages. I liked it all except for perhaps the end, which, though beautifully written, is rather macabrely written from the perspective of an aborted child. My immediate thought was, oh god, hear comes the heavy-handed moral, but it all honesty, it didn't come off as preachy. It was just one more perspective of a violence ravaged ireland. She was carely throughout, or was simply naturally able, to not make any of the characters become overly simplified representations of either 'good' people or 'bad' people and the same actually seems to hold true for the end passage.