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November 10, 2012
I actually did not read this collection, but only the play "The Flats", which was first staged in 1971 and first published in 1973.
The author was from Belfast (where I lived), and I only recently discovered his existence thanks to the lovely owner of the second-hand bookshop near the University.
In the play "The Flats", Boyd narrates the events that marked the beginning of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland from the viewpoint of a Catholic family living in a working-class estate called the Flats. As I have been living and studying (the conflict) in Belfast for three years, I am dying to know what real-life location the author had in mind when he wrote this. I have a very clear feeling it could be the Divis Flats, which have now been demolished. On the other hand, it could be anywhere else in West Belfast. It is hard for me to give a 'neutral' opinion on this play, as I am so emotionally involved with Northern Ireland that I have read it almost as an insider. One thing I can tell for sure is that it portrays people, situations, political orientations, language, and places with such accuracy and realism that one feels one's reading about his friend such-and-such, his acquaintance such-and-such, that politician, that religious leader, etc. It amazes me to discover that the play was written and staged only two years after the events it described, and that the Lyrics theater, now tending towards the mainstream (and funded partially by Liam Neeson!), was the place where it was performed.
For someone with an interest in the "Troubles", this is a good place to start.
The author was from Belfast (where I lived), and I only recently discovered his existence thanks to the lovely owner of the second-hand bookshop near the University.
In the play "The Flats", Boyd narrates the events that marked the beginning of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland from the viewpoint of a Catholic family living in a working-class estate called the Flats. As I have been living and studying (the conflict) in Belfast for three years, I am dying to know what real-life location the author had in mind when he wrote this. I have a very clear feeling it could be the Divis Flats, which have now been demolished. On the other hand, it could be anywhere else in West Belfast. It is hard for me to give a 'neutral' opinion on this play, as I am so emotionally involved with Northern Ireland that I have read it almost as an insider. One thing I can tell for sure is that it portrays people, situations, political orientations, language, and places with such accuracy and realism that one feels one's reading about his friend such-and-such, his acquaintance such-and-such, that politician, that religious leader, etc. It amazes me to discover that the play was written and staged only two years after the events it described, and that the Lyrics theater, now tending towards the mainstream (and funded partially by Liam Neeson!), was the place where it was performed.
For someone with an interest in the "Troubles", this is a good place to start.
Displaying 1 of 1 review