Scan barcode
lokuttara's review against another edition
5.0
There are no words to describe how great a writer McGahern was.
roisin_prendergast's review against another edition
4.0
Again - so layered, so poignant. The character lends such innocence to his story and is yet bereft of the luxury that that should afford him. A careful and honest insight into a certain side of an Irish Catholic boyhood. McGahern approaches subjects and situations that are so human and everyday yet so hard to admit and acknowledge - he is brave in his truthfulness and it is expressed with such compassion. I imagine as I read, his lovely lilting voice and that kind, knowing tone.
anji444's review against another edition
4.0
My interpretation of the book is that the title refers to Catholic guilt. Interesting father and son relationship and fascinating to see how the boy develops as he grows up. The bit where he agonizes over going to the dance is really beautiful and painful.
greenblack's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
joyce_appreciator's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- I can't believe I used to be unmoved by John McGahern - this man is a master of descriptive prose and the world of memory.
- A good lens through which you might examine this novel is its perceived (and in reality screamingly obvious) debt to Joyce. He's no bilker, but a faithful student of Joyce's craft (with A Portrait being the example referred to here). Mahoney is a much more debased Simon Dedalus, and his characteristic manner of speaking, his tendency of looking towards the past and his habit of laying the blame on his children - to say nothing of how he embarrasses his son through his outspokenness in both Galway and their home town - picks up from where Joyce left off. There is also confession, the priestly vocation, the discovery and nurturing of the protagonists's academic excellence amidst domestic chaos.
- But McGahern can approach this semi-autobiographical with a sexual and social frankness unavailable to Joyce in his times, as well as a slightly different disposition - where Joyce was totally convinced by his messiah status within Irish literature, McGahern is more honest about his vulnerability and less inclined towards self-promotion. A contemporary critic might diagnose Joyce with trauma of some sort, and maybe McGahern gives us a clearer idea of how the sordid aspects of both of their lives could have damned them. This can be a blessing - one wonders how many lives were spent in rural Ireland just as McGahern's was, possibly with less fortunate endings - he pointedly gestures to his comparative disadvantage compared to the other students because of his family background. Indeed, McGahern is a rural writer where Joyce is an urban one, and he unfolds for us an Ireland that Joyce sometimes fumbles at vaguely or longingly - he sometimes exalts in the strange loneliness of this life of toil, which helps him amend his relationship with his father, but also hints at a darker side to it (his visitation of the priest and discovery of how his sister is being treated) which is missing from Joyce's idealized portrayal of the west and Michael Furey.
- However, Joyce's mission statement and grandiose self-fashioning perhaps provide a function absent from McGahern's portrayal of a perpetually drifting self. However, I felt that compared to The Leavetaking, this drift was controlled much better (perhaps through the friendlier device of the Bildungsroman), and we saw some acerbic diagnosis of the causes of alienation and deprivation (the boy's confused anger at the priest's disparaging speech being particularly touching on this point). Writing through this review I'm inclined to give it pretty high marks overall - as a starting point for the longing, religious feeling and paternal figures which would haunt McGahern throughout his career it provides ample context, while anyone interested in the literary portrayal of class will find it a masterwork on the subject. Perhaps it becomes slightly more vaporous when tackling the metaphysical world, but that aside, perhaps his debut novel is up there with his best.
- A good lens through which you might examine this novel is its perceived (and in reality screamingly obvious) debt to Joyce. He's no bilker, but a faithful student of Joyce's craft (with A Portrait being the example referred to here). Mahoney is a much more debased Simon Dedalus, and his characteristic manner of speaking, his tendency of looking towards the past and his habit of laying the blame on his children - to say nothing of how he embarrasses his son through his outspokenness in both Galway and their home town - picks up from where Joyce left off. There is also confession, the priestly vocation, the discovery and nurturing of the protagonists's academic excellence amidst domestic chaos.
- But McGahern can approach this semi-autobiographical with a sexual and social frankness unavailable to Joyce in his times, as well as a slightly different disposition - where Joyce was totally convinced by his messiah status within Irish literature, McGahern is more honest about his vulnerability and less inclined towards self-promotion. A contemporary critic might diagnose Joyce with trauma of some sort, and maybe McGahern gives us a clearer idea of how the sordid aspects of both of their lives could have damned them. This can be a blessing - one wonders how many lives were spent in rural Ireland just as McGahern's was, possibly with less fortunate endings - he pointedly gestures to his comparative disadvantage compared to the other students because of his family background. Indeed, McGahern is a rural writer where Joyce is an urban one, and he unfolds for us an Ireland that Joyce sometimes fumbles at vaguely or longingly - he sometimes exalts in the strange loneliness of this life of toil, which helps him amend his relationship with his father, but also hints at a darker side to it (his visitation of the priest and discovery of how his sister is being treated) which is missing from Joyce's idealized portrayal of the west and Michael Furey.
- However, Joyce's mission statement and grandiose self-fashioning perhaps provide a function absent from McGahern's portrayal of a perpetually drifting self. However, I felt that compared to The Leavetaking, this drift was controlled much better (perhaps through the friendlier device of the Bildungsroman), and we saw some acerbic diagnosis of the causes of alienation and deprivation (the boy's confused anger at the priest's disparaging speech being particularly touching on this point). Writing through this review I'm inclined to give it pretty high marks overall - as a starting point for the longing, religious feeling and paternal figures which would haunt McGahern throughout his career it provides ample context, while anyone interested in the literary portrayal of class will find it a masterwork on the subject. Perhaps it becomes slightly more vaporous when tackling the metaphysical world, but that aside, perhaps his debut novel is up there with his best.
amongthefaithless's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
brendanharrigan's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
michaelc6573's review against another edition
4.0
Dark, fascinating, conflicting and quiet. An excellent read.