21st Century Literature discussion

Hi everyone! I am starting this today and am going to see how keeping the whole discussion in one thread works, for this type of book that is not too long or dense I think it might work well. So maybe try spoiler tags or just indicate above your comments what chapter(s) you are covering if you are spoiling :) this looks like a quick, utterly absorbing read and should be a great discussion!

Thanks Dianne. I am not sure whether I will re-read this while the discussion is active, but I will contribute where I can. I like everything Sebastian Barry has written - this was the first one I read and one of the best (along with A Long Long Way, and I also really enjoyed The Temporary Gentleman).

Thanks Hugh! And great to hear Barry's books are excellent, this is the first of his I am reading.

We had an interesting discussion earlier this year about David Mitchell and his ubernovel concept. If you read a lot of Barry, you will notice that most of his characters are all part of the same extended family (McNultys and Dunnes), which is loosely based on Barry's own family. He was a playwright before he began writing novels and apparently the plays also feature some of the same characters.

Interesting! That will be great then to explore the other books and learn all about the inner workings of the families. I don't know much about Barry, I'll see what I can find and post some information. If anyone else has read his books or has familiarity with him, please share!

I read this in October, so am hoping I should remember enough to join in with the discussion :-)

I am approaching the halfway mark. This is beautifully written and getting more intriguing with each page!

Neil wrote: "I am approaching the halfway mark. This is beautifully written and getting more intriguing with each page!"

it is a quick read isn't it Neil? what do you think of our protagonist? She is an interesting lady! Why do you think she hides her notes under the floorboards?

Here is some wiki info on the author:

Sebastian Barry (born 5 July 1955) is an Irish playwright, novelist and poet. He is noted for his dense literary writing style and is considered one of Ireland's finest writers.

Barry's literary career began in poetry before he began writing plays and novels. In recent years his fiction writing has surpassed his work in the theatre in terms of success, having once been considered a playwright who wrote occasional novels.

He has twice been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for his novels A Long Long Way (2005) and The Secret Scripture (2008), the latter of which won the 2008 Costa Book of the Year and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. His 2011 novel On Canaan's Side was longlisted for the Booker.

Quite the pedigree!

Dianne - yes, Roseanne is definitely interesting - I have a feeling things are going to get sadder as the book goes on. Discussing why she hides her notes might get a bit spoiler-ish, but I reckon Dr Grene has more going on than I know about at the moment and there are contradictions that appear around the end of part one that make you wonder about what it is she is actually writing.

I think we can probably get creative and discuss the plot without being too spoilery for those who don't want to do tags. But I have a non plot related question for you all. There is a line early in the book:

"After all the world is indeed beautiful and if we were any other creature than man we might be continuously happy in it."


What are your thoughts on this? Is man destined for bouts of unhappiness? Wouldn't there actually be some merit in this because the times that are less happy make the happy moments shine more brightly due to the contrast?

Here is another line, and I'll tread lightly here because I've never had anyone close to me die. But does this ring true to anyone?

"It is as if a huge lump of lead were lain over the soul, such deaths, and where that soul was previously weightless, now is a secret and ruinous burden at the very heart of us."



Secret and ruinous - wow. I think of the ongoing burden a death must have, once the initial sympathy has worn off, and how you must have to carry that great weight every day silently. And ruinous, I imagine, because it eats away at you, takes a piece of your heart and soul.

Dianne wrote: "I think we can probably get creative and discuss the plot without being too spoilery for those who don't want to do tags. But I have a non plot related question for you all. There is a line early i..."

Sort of spoiler alert - skip the rest of this paragraph if you haven't read more than half the book! I think there must be something going on related to the fact that Dr Grene doesn't understand how he got the job offer that brought him to Ireland. I don't know if that's related to the fact that Roseanne hides her notes, but it seems very suspicious to me.

I highlighted the quote about being happy in the world on my Kindle. I read it in the context of man's awareness of death. Man is, I think, the only creature on the planet that is aware he is going to die. It made me think about the value of living in the moment and appreciating the beauty around us for what it is.

Dianne wrote: "After all the world is indeed beautiful and if we were any other creature than man we might be continuously happy in it....."

I'm probably being way too analytical, but our brain allows us to both enjoy and distress over the world in ways other animals can't. At the same time, our brains probably allow us to ponder beauty in ways no other animal can. But it's a nice thought. I like Barry's prose.

A few reviews etc (these may contain spoilers):
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/boo...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/43...
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...