The latest from Barry (whose A Long Way
was shortlisted for the 2005 Booker) pits two contradictory narratives against each other in an attempt to solve the mystery of a 100-year-old mental patient. That patient, Roseanne McNulty, decides to undertake an autobiography and writes of an ill-fated childhood spent with her father, Joe Clear. A cemetery superintendent, Joe is drawn into Ireland's 1922 civil war when a group of irregulars brings a slain comrade to the cemetery and are discovered by a division of Free-Staters. Meanwhile, Roseanne's psychiatrist, Dr. Grene, investigating Roseanne's original commitment in preparation for her transfer to a new hospital, discovers through the papers of the local parish priest, Fr. Gaunt, that Roseanne's father was actually a police sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary. The mysteries multiply when Roseanne reveals that Fr. Gaunt annulled her marriage after glimpsing her in the company of another man; Gaunt's official charge was nymphomania, and the cumulative fallout led to a string of tragedies. Written in captivating, lyrical prose, Barry's novel is both a sparkling literary puzzle and a stark cautionary tale of corrupted power. (June)
Details
Reviewed on: 03/31/2008
Genre: Fiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-4332-6147-3
Compact Disc - 8 pages - 978-1-4332-6150-3
Downloadable Audio - 1 pages - 978-1-4332-6153-4
Hardcover - 300 pages - 978-0-571-21528-7
Hardcover - 481 pages - 978-1-4104-1130-3
MP3 CD - 978-1-4332-6151-0
Open Ebook - 304 pages - 978-1-4362-2358-4
Open Ebook - 320 pages - 978-0-571-24752-3
Open Ebook - 320 pages - 978-1-101-20292-0
Paperback - 336 pages - 978-0-14-311569-4
Paperback - 320 pages - 978-0-571-23961-0
Paperback - 312 pages - 978-0-571-27560-1
Paperback - 320 pages - 978-0-571-21529-4
Paperback - 358 pages - 978-986-216-642-0
Peanut Press/Palm Reader - 304 pages - 978-1-4362-2359-1
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4332-6155-8
