Reviews

Exile by Pádraic Ó Conaire

blackbird27's review against another edition

5.0

A remarkable, intensely-painted picture of poverty, degradation, and hunger, told with surprising humor at a conversational remove from literary artifice (which is its own kind of artifice, of course). The first-person narrator could easily be taken as a synecdoche for Ireland itself over the past several centuries (it was published in 1910), particularly in relation to the bigger, richer island to the east: mutilated, castaway, humiliated, and enraged, he longs both to take his revenge and to be left in peace, but the floating carnival of life carries him with it regardless.

Called the first modernist novel written in Irish, it's rather more in the spirit of Yeats than of Joyce: unmediated passions, striking images, and (unspoken) social criticism dominate it far more than Jesuitical analysis, Freudian self-absorption, and language play. Then again, I could only read a translation: maybe the original language is a wonder too. The translation tends to be rather baldly declarative, which turned out to be fine once I slipped into the rhythm: even at its grimmest, there's still the hint of a wink, a master story-teller letting you know he's got it all under control.

ardeetillidie's review

4.0

Reminiscent of early modernist books such as Knut Hamsun's 'Hunger', Exile by Pádraic Ó Conaire paints a bleak and existential picture of life on the bread line. Originally written as Gaeilge, Exile is rife with absurdist black Irish humor akin to Beckett or of the films of Martin McDonagh. Vivid imagery, strong storytelling and an easy, enjoyable read. An underrated figure of Irish literature.

(8.3)

cmackin's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5