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A review by bgg616
Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane
5.0
This novel written by the late Seamus Deane, poet and literary critic, is very autobiographical. It is set in the Northern Irish city of Derry/Londonderry and begins in 1945 and continues through 1974. As the protagonist is Catholic, it is called Derry. This is the story of a family with members in Derry, as well as on the other side of the border in Donegal, and a secret at the heart of this extended family. It is a secret that festers for years, and although some family members know some of the secret, the whole story is known by very few.
The prose in the beginning chapters of the book that progress through the boy's childhood is gorgeous, and very poetic. As the boy loses his childhood innocence, the story becomes more focused on the family's poverty and the IRA campaign along the border with Donegal. The story moves into the era of the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland, the arrival of British troops, and the Troubles. It is a classic of Northern Irish writing.
The prose in the beginning chapters of the book that progress through the boy's childhood is gorgeous, and very poetic. As the boy loses his childhood innocence, the story becomes more focused on the family's poverty and the IRA campaign along the border with Donegal. The story moves into the era of the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland, the arrival of British troops, and the Troubles. It is a classic of Northern Irish writing.