The Woman's Daughter

by Dermot Bolger

A classic Bolger novel, following the lives of three women.

Set in the grimy backstreets and suburbs of Dublin. Bolger has often used a woman’s voice to tell his story, and this novel is no exception; we follow the lives of three women – a Victorian maid, a young woman brought up in the 1960s (the product of a violent family) and that young woman’s daughter, the child of an incestuous relationship, hidden away from sight.

Genres: Fiction, Ireland, Irish Literature

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

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

[A. Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I read it, but I probably should only give this novel a three. The problem is that I found the book rather difficult to follow in the second half. Part One is a gripping story, but the shift to Part Two is too abrupt for me, and sometimes I wasn't sure if I was reading a ghost story or what. The novel deals with a community's deepest, darkest secrets, kept locked in upper rooms or isolated cottages, never talked about. For that alone, it's important.

[PolkadotRussianDoll · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found this confusing and difficult to follow. I would award zero stars if I could. This book was a bit of a mess and I’m left here thinking what did I just read? It’s also 85% description 15% storyline. It wasn’t for me. Thank god it was a short book or I would never have finished it.

[Meg Onthemove Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

A 2.5.

My overall feelings about this were completely connected to it's unremitting darkness, and lack of hope. A really sad book about a terrible period in Irish history which doesn't even have the patches of humour in amongst the brutal honesty of other books about this period.

It's timeline was sometimes hard to follow, but it was not poorly written, just bleak.