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A review by andrew61
Amongst Women by John McGahern
4.0
" As he weakened Moran became afraid of his daughters." is the opening line to this book and it is the idea of this imposing man being humbled in his old age which adds to the subsequent story of Michael Moran's life with his family.
The opening chapter sees Moran's three adult daughters coming back to the family home when their aging father is to resurrect monaghan day . This is a day of feast when Moran's old soldier in arms from the Irish war of independence visits and they reminisce over the friend drinking a bottle of whisky. In that chapter we learn that at the time of the Irish civil war Moran was leader of an IRA group and was a tough and unforgiving commander yet and that is the only peak we get into the psychology of a man who then over the ensuing chapters does not have many redeeming features.
The life of Moran then begins in the book when he is about to meet his second wife Rose ( again we don't know much about his first wife) and he is sole carer for four children at home Sheila, Maggie, Mona and Michael. Moran rules the home with an iron fist and a religious devotion that includes the family each night saying the rosary on his their knees. we also know that something has happened to lead the eldest son to leave the house and escape to England without any contact with his father.
The story is concisely and well told and certainly the author is able to create a world in a few paragraphs that other writers need hundreds of pages to express. Often within a few paragraphs we leap months but I did not find this frustrating as the story was rich in content. Often what is not said or , Moran's few words are enough.
But Moran is an unrelentingly sad character and there were scenes that had me worrying over the family as a whole particularly the conflict between him and Michael which clearly echoes back to what has happened to Luke, and his imposing his will on Sheila which leads to taking a different path.
So not my favourite character in fiction but an incredibly absorbing character whose life was perhaps framed by his experiences as an adolescent and perhaps as a young man. A tale brilliantly told and one which I could have immersed myself in for 500 plus pages yet this was book of less than 200 pages and perhaps that is why it was not 5* as I was left feeling that I needed more about Moran and his family and allowed myself to excuse Moran rather than despair of his life as a husband and father.
The opening chapter sees Moran's three adult daughters coming back to the family home when their aging father is to resurrect monaghan day . This is a day of feast when Moran's old soldier in arms from the Irish war of independence visits and they reminisce over the friend drinking a bottle of whisky. In that chapter we learn that at the time of the Irish civil war Moran was leader of an IRA group and was a tough and unforgiving commander yet and that is the only peak we get into the psychology of a man who then over the ensuing chapters does not have many redeeming features.
The life of Moran then begins in the book when he is about to meet his second wife Rose ( again we don't know much about his first wife) and he is sole carer for four children at home Sheila, Maggie, Mona and Michael. Moran rules the home with an iron fist and a religious devotion that includes the family each night saying the rosary on his their knees. we also know that something has happened to lead the eldest son to leave the house and escape to England without any contact with his father.
The story is concisely and well told and certainly the author is able to create a world in a few paragraphs that other writers need hundreds of pages to express. Often within a few paragraphs we leap months but I did not find this frustrating as the story was rich in content. Often what is not said or , Moran's few words are enough.
But Moran is an unrelentingly sad character and there were scenes that had me worrying over the family as a whole particularly the conflict between him and Michael which clearly echoes back to what has happened to Luke, and his imposing his will on Sheila which leads to taking a different path.
So not my favourite character in fiction but an incredibly absorbing character whose life was perhaps framed by his experiences as an adolescent and perhaps as a young man. A tale brilliantly told and one which I could have immersed myself in for 500 plus pages yet this was book of less than 200 pages and perhaps that is why it was not 5* as I was left feeling that I needed more about Moran and his family and allowed myself to excuse Moran rather than despair of his life as a husband and father.