Reviews

• 「下からの歴史」小説、一つの頂点

  圧巻だった。 イースター蜂起から英愛条約後の争乱期まで、激動と流血のアイルランド史に前半生を翻弄され破壊されながら、それでも人を赦せる善性を心の片隅に持ち続けている主人公ローザンには、心打たれる。その彼女と会話を交わすうちに、自分のほうが癒されていく精神科医のグリーンの姿にも、読んでいて無理なく共感できる。ローザンはそれくらい懐の深い人物だ。 今は取り壊しを待つばかりの老朽化した精神病院の一室で、ローザンは人目を忍んで回想録を綴っている。ローザンとの面会を重ねるグリーン医師もまた、自分の心の変化を日記のようにして書き留める。二つの文書はお互いに読まれることなく書き進められていくが、ついにグリーンがローザンの回想録を目にする時が来る。その後の展開には、本当にぐっとくるものがある（キリスト教の信仰を持っている人なら、きっとさらに心が揺さぶられるのだろう）。作者バリーは読者の涙腺のつっつき方を実によく心得ている。 ローザンという一個人のペンを借りて、公のアイルランド史という大きな歴史に押しつぶされそうな個人の、私的な小さい歴史を発掘する。そうして、公的な歴史の真実性を問題化する。しかし、いったん私的な歴史のほうに圧倒的な共感を引きつけておきながら、そのうえで私的な歴史にも歪曲があることを示し、読者の判断を宙づりにする。そういう小説作法自体は、今では珍しくないのだけれども、その宙づり状態をここまで強力に肯定してみせる作品は、そう多くはないのではないか。 なお、本作は、同作家の "The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty" と絶対にあわせて読むべきだ。さらに宙づり度がアップして、とんでもなく高いところに連れて行かれること間違いなし。 バリーはイメージ豊かな詩的散文を書くので有名だそうだ。実際、"The Whereabouts ..." は暖かいアイルランド方言と詩的文体と野卑さとの豊穣な混合体で、ちゃんと読めたのかどうか自信が持てないくらいだった。だが、"The Secret Scripture" は、ローザンとグリーンによる一人称語りということで、豊穣さが幾分か抑えられており、そのぶん、私たち外国人にとっては読みやすい英語になっている。

• A life of a woman in Ireland

  アイルランドの独立戦争やそれに続く内戦、ケン・ローチの「麦の穂をゆらす風」で描かれた時代、英愛条約をめぐっての対立やカトリックとプロテスタント間の確執。アイルランドの人々は実に悲惨な時代を過ごした。 本書はそうした時代の波に翻弄されながら生きたひとりの女性 Roseanne を中心に据えている。父親と過ごした少女時代、Tom との出会いと結婚生活、そして後半生は精神科病院で過ごすことになる Roseanne は今や１００歳に達して、密かに人生を回想して自分の身にふりかかったあれこれを綴っている。紛争で銃殺された若者とその兄の兄弟、Tom の家族とTom を中心とした三人兄弟、偽善的な神父などがかかわってくる。何が真実で何が希望的幻想なのか。 一方では、 Roseanne が収容されている病院の医師 Dr. Grene、彼自身も妻を亡くして彼女との思い出や喪失感に苛まれているが、Roseanne に主治医として長年接するうちに、彼女の経歴に興味をもち、ある意味惹かれて、彼女の人生の足取りを辿っていく。これも Dr. Grene の日記風の文体で描かれている。 その結末には驚かされたが、二人と彼らをとりまく人々の、アイルランドの歴史的社会的な状況の中での、様々なできごとが、ひたひたと悲しみや怒りを持って、読む者の心に訴えかけてきて、人間の尊厳や愛情へのオマージュとなっている。

• Gripping

  A poignant, beautifully written portrayal of a woman’s mental health struggles during the “Troubles” in Ireland.

• Second in the 'McNulty' trilogy

  Having just finished a back-to-back reading of all three novels in Sebastian Barry’s ‘McNulty’ trilogy, I thought I’d pen a few words for a review. I don’t intend to give away any of the intricacies of the plots, which I’m more than aware is rather infuriating, but instead try to convey the subtleties of Barry’s writing. Although not explicitly marketed as a trilogy, the novels should be read ‘in order’ to make the most from them as a reader. I’m sure that the publisher, Faber & Faber, as well as Barry himself, would argue that the novels can be read as singular entities and fully enjoyed as such. As indeed I imagine they could be. But to do that, or to read them out of sequence, would be an experience leaving you short-changed as a number of threads are continued, explored and explained as the novels progress. The first novel, ‘The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty’, was published in 1998. Written with a lyricism I feel is unique to Barry, the prose carries you along a winding stream of a storyline, following the protagonist Eneas after the First World War and later his experiences in the Royal Irish Constabulary, and later still, Africa. What follows is both a detailed history lesson and a sensitive contemplation of human behaviour. Touching on themes of family, loyalty and betrayal, Barry presents Eneas as a hugely likeable outsider adrift in a world of troubles not of his own making. Religious dogma, particularly the Catholic variety, is portrayed as an immovable force which cannot be questioned. This motif extends throughout all three novels: a sense, at one end of the scale, of bewilderment over the constraints of the Catholic church and at the other end a livid rage at the horrors perpetrated in its name. As the reader follows the hapless Eneas, there are glimmers of hope but also a terrible feeling of inevitability about the ending. You live this exile’s life with him and feel his quiet anguish. And what more could a reader want from an author than be allowed to immerse themselves in a character? Barry is undoubtedly an astute chronicler of the human condition. What stands out the most, more than the subtleties of the plot and the vividly drawn characters, is the sheer lyrical beauty of the prose. It is no surprise that Barry is an accomplished poet, as his words lift off the page and take on a life of their own. Also a successful playwright, Irish colloquialisms are fully captured and the dialogue pitch perfect. Barry’s imagery is unexpected and profound, adding many layers of meaning to his writing. In chapter 6, while Eneas is awaiting what he thinks may be a fatal visit from his former best friend Jonno, the writer captures a rare moment of freedom with the line ‘And away out on the wild sea-marsh and grasses of Enniscrone he is able to spread wide his arms and have the sun sit along them as if they were the fierce white featherings of a seabird.’ The same imagery, of course, has a completely different and more sinister interpretation when viewed from Jonno’s perspective. ‘The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty’ is a heartbreakingly compulsive and emotive read, and possibly the most memorable of the three. The second novel, ‘The Secret Scripture’, published in 2008 (recipient of the Costa Book of the Year award) picks up the story of Roseanne McNulty, who featured in the first novel as a character on the fringe of Eneas’ life. The writing is more direct, with fewer lyrical flourishes than the first novel, but carries its own ingenuity. The dual narrative, with chapters split between the almost hundred-year-old Rosanne and her psychiatrist Dr Grene, is very effective at keeping the reader enthralled. The same themes are present, with a renewed sense of hostility directed towards the Catholic church. Roseanne’s treatment, as a vulnerable young woman, at the hands of (mostly) men who use patriarchy and religion to control women and boost their standing in society, is as horrendous to read as it is compelling. As readers we are obliged to question Roseanne as a reliable narrator. Time, age and memory are all at work here, yet against all the odds she does succeed in telling us her heart-breaking story. The denouement is an ingenious coming together of all the elements of this memorable novel. ‘The Temporary Gentleman’, published in 2014, closes the trilogy and answers some haunting questions about the McNulty family. This time the focus is on Jack McNulty, brother of Eneas, who is married to the beautiful but flawed Mai Kirwan. This novel, written in its own distinctive style quite different to the first two, captures the disintegration of a marriage with painful realism. The spectre of alcoholism is never far away, ‘How is it that for some people drinking is a short-term loan on the spirit, but for others a heavy mortgage on the soul?’ asks our damaged narrator, Jack. Although to blame the couple’s woes on this alone would over-simplify a complex relationship. Jack also tells us ‘Everything had been said without saying a word. Everything had been understood without any intimation of understanding.’ And here Barry proves himself yet again a shrewd observer of human relationships. The ending of this novel, although containing a clever twist, also has the same sense of inevitability as the first novel. That Eneas and Jack are brothers speaks volumes. What Sebastian Barry conveys, more than anything else in these three novels, is the endless human capacity for cruelty, but also love. And how the former too often outweighs the latter. Barry has been shortlisted for the Booker prize twice. That he's never won it is either a travesty or more likely a reflection of how irrelevant that literary prize has become, or perhaps has always been. I’m surprised Faber haven’t published a single volume of the three novels, something along the lines of Cormac McCarthy’s ‘Border’ trilogy. This would be a fitting way to celebrate these novels, perhaps bringing them to a wider audience. In any case, it’s been a long time since any writer has had such a profound effect on me and I would recommend Barry without hesitation. As a trilogy, to be read back-to-back, in the right order, of course.

• A recommander

  Je recommande ce livre a tous ceux qui sont passionnes par l'Irlande et son histoire. Aucun soucis de livraison et le livre est arrivé en parfait état.

• Muy contenta.

  Me ha gustado todo

• Secret Scripture is a powerful testimony of a sad time

  This is the first novel by Irish author Sebastian Barry that I have read. When I selected it, I was not aware of how acclaimed he is, or that he has been nominated for a Man Booker prize. But now having read the Secret Scriptures, I can see why. This novel is set in Ireland between the two world wars. It was a violent, brutal time when nationalistic passions ran high. An Ireland where the Catholic Church ruled supreme, and a beautiful woman was seen as an invitation to sin. Secret Scriptures relates the story of a beautiful woman named Roseanne, and how she became a victim of the culture and times she lived in. It is overall a sad, sad story. The book is set out as the parallel stories of Roseanne, and her psychiatrist, Dr. Grene. At 100 years old, Rosanne is looking back at her life. She has been incarcerated in Roscommon, a mental institution, since she was about 30 years old. Her story is too painful and buried too deep to relate to Dr. Grene, so she takes to keeping a secret diary in which she writes of her life and the circumstances that brought her to Roscommon. Dr. Grene also keeps a record of his efforts to break through to Rosanne in order to find out why she has been kept in a mental institution all of her life. This record soon turns into a diary in which he writes his own story, and the reader soon sees that Dr. Grene has problems of his own. As the man responsible for the assessment and care of the Roscommon facility, he appears (to me, at least), to be too weak and hopeless to be up to the task. Only now that Roscommon is targeted for demolition, does he get around to investigating her case. And as the reader finds out at the story's conclusion, a little more timeliness would have been a good thing for both of them. Sebastion Barry is a great writer and this is an excellent book. He captures Rosanne's bewilderment with her situation, her ignorance and naivete, and her caring, unsuspicious nature very well. Likewise, Dr. Grene's dithering ineptitude (I'm being a bit harsh here)is also portrayed well. A very compelling and insightful novel that I enjoyed reading.

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