Reviews

• Excellent.

• Eine Beschreibung des Lebens im ländlichen Irland der 1980er, mit allen seinen schönen und Schattenseiten,wie ich es selbst erleben durfte.Dass der darauf basierende Film in "meiner" Gegend,dem Joyce Country um Lough Kilbride und Na Foye spielt,wundert mich nicht. Leider läuft er in Deutschland noch nicht.

• Raccomandiamo questo libro con entusiasmo a chiunque voglia leggere di un'epoca passata nella vita rurale irlandese in uno stile gentile che ricorda Steinbeck

• I absolutely loved it and in fact read it twice. I agreed with the reviewer who kept from reading the last twenty pages because he wanted to stay beside the lake with those people. Where was it set? Guessed it was Southern Ireland I almost felt you could look it up on the map. Sense of place well established although they refer to streets when I can't imagine they mean that so far out in the country. The beautiful passages describing the lake and the life on it were delightful prose pieces. I loved the private lawns where otters play and feed their young, the swans' graceful flight and ungainly landing, the sluggish herons, the light on the water. When is it set? Now. Clues - you need them: The digital scales at the Animal Mart. The coming of the telephone was a signal for change. Poles go up around the lake at the end of the book. Will it alter they way in, which the neighbours communicate? Talk of past IRA activities. The awful Ambush story was real and frightening. Jamesie watches Blind Date. Kate's other life in London and the visit from her former boss. Everyday life seems more like the Fifties. Walking, bicycles, trains, simple life, and real neighbourliness, all added up to an older time. Old- fashioned courtesies, occupations, and their love of news. "I've had all your news today so I won't see you again" Patrick Ryan - their acceptance of each other and love of the differences between them. Theme passages of welcome, friendliness, hospitality, Powers whisky sometimes made hot with cloves and lemon, sandwiches under damp tea towel. Even the jugs come to life. Scents of woodbine, bruised mint, birds feeding on wild strawberries, the moon on the lake, sounds of the bells for Mass. Mass clothes, all perfect descriptions. Haymaking, Jamesie's worrying, I loved those sweet passages. Mary's Brown hens with their yellow eyes behind the wire fence were a theme. The cattle and sheep, their good lives and their inevitable ends were very real and touching. Jamesie saying, "They'll never see the lake again" as they go off to the mart, he even pronounced it about Edmund. As if not seeing the lake again was the worst possible thing. When you have livestock you have dead stock. Ways of treating animals. The sweet sour story of the black lamb was a parable to read. Funny use of words - "apt" "alphabetical" All familiar ground, comforting and warm, a charming life. Not so far from the best bits of my own. I felt as if another book was out there somewhere and I should have liked to have read it.. Who is Everyone? Straight into the action without an introduction, it was a challenge to dive into this world. Luckily the reviews were so encouraging. Ruttledge Joe is the central character, married to Kate. Was going to be a Priest but doesn't believe. Behaves like a Priest, always kind, wise, thoughtful and yet practical and kindly. Know all about the way of life from his past. Turns away anger, reassures, helps without question. He was a really good man and a great neighbour. Jamesie and Mary, son Jim married Lucy, children include Margaret. Jamesie and Mary live on the other side of the lake. Make uncomfortable visit to Dublin to stay with family. Better when Margaret goes to stay with them. Johnny was Jamesie's brother who went to London after a girl. Led his life there until the end. Ruttledge's letter kept him there.. Given a home by Mr. Singh When they went to get his stuff they saw what a small life he had. And he left his money to the children (Jim & Lucy?) Bill Evans, the Homeboy, Smokes endlessly but doesn't buy any cigarettes, always has his hand out, not given any money by his horrible ignorant family, Jackie. Previous owner of Ruttledge's house didn't want that family to get her land. Bill Evans carries buckets daily. Gets out into town with help from the Priest and leaves it all behind without a backward glance. Treated kindly by others. The Priest seemed to really do good and was quietly helpful and controlling. Patrick Ryan, Builder, Farmer Land Owner, lives in `The Tomb" I loved the description of what was on his kitchen table. Friend of Johnny, he was an Actor but otherwise rather a sad man. Brother Edmund. Poor chap dying and Patrick shaking him awake in the hospital. + The Lucozade! John Quinn the farmer, survivor of two marriages and creditable father of eight children. Woman mad and strong in his character. He had an over weaning voice. Self-justifying. The story of his first wife and her family farm, was really sad and pitiful especially the tale of their wedding day. The Shah, was Uncle to Ruttledge Joe. The Shah is local man made very good. Station purchase like Penryn. Prefers to be single. Helped the Undertaker. His Man who buys the business was Frank Dolan. They don't speak. Talked himself out his loan, really innocently. Jimmy Joe McKechnie appears both at the beginning and end of the book, "I was the undertaker and now I am the Auctioneer". Strange passage when Jim ,and Ruttledge were alone in a room before the funeral. Talking of the purchase of the farm. Tom Kelly Hairdresser home to see his Mother helped to lay out Johnny, took it incredibly seriously. Felt his work was going to be judged by Patrick Ryan. Great piece of writing. Felt you were in the room, especially when someone tried to open the door. The Dogs - The Shah's black and white collies, present one sits on the front seat with his paws on the dashboard. Bran and Oscar, Johnny's two gun dogs.

• Life in Ireland- three words to which this plot can be boiled down. Yes, a lot happens- marriage, divorce, struggling through winter, death of livestock, death of friends and family- but it happens the way it happens in life- slowly, over time, memorable but not drastic or overwhelming. John McGahern's "That They May Face the Rising Sun" focuses on the Ruttledges, a married couple who have moved to the Irish countryside after living in the hustle and bustle of London. As the adjust to the slower yet more intense pace of country life- a life where they raise their own livestock and build their own housing additions- they also adjust to the personalities that such a life seems to entail. The town gossip, the local drunk, the friendly neighbors with dysfunctions of their own invade the Ruttledge's life continuously as they all struggle to make sense of the ups and downs of existence. The pace of the book is undeniably slow. McGahern's writing counters this with flourishes of poetic prose that bring to life that changing seasons and its effect on the country and those who live in it. While McGahern only briefly confronts the political reality of Ireland and the violence brought about by the struggles of Northern Ireland, its intrusion into the lives of the characters is marked and powerful, and lends a greater fragility to the life he captures so beautifully. If you are looking for a breathtaking page turner, look elsewhere. If you want a masterful piece of writing that brings to life that slow yet intense reality of life in the Irish countryside, then this is your book.

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