At a recent reading, a member of the audience commented that she wanted to take the book home with her only if Barry himself would accompany it. He was that good and uproariously funny! I was sitting next to a couple of friends who had already read the novel. They both commented that it wasn’t at all the voice in which they had read the book. Excellent, I thought, sometimes being behind the times is an advantage after all.
The genesis of Sebastian Barry’s tale begins in his own family. One day, while driving near Sligo, his mother pointed out a little tin hut and commented “Of course, that’s where that woman stayed for many a year”. That woman turned out to be Barry’s great-aunt. A little research, the discovery that his relative had been institutionalised for social reasons and a fertile imagination combined to produce this year’s Booker-shortlisted novel.
Roseanne McNulty’s tragedy is a fictionalised account related to that of Barry’s great-aunt; the novel his attempt to reconcile himself to being the member of a family that treated one of its own so shabbily. Roseanne is one of the lost people – Barry believing that Irish history is told more truthfully by documenting the stories of the losers, not the winners. Facts don’t always lie on the surface. They must be hunted, dug out, remembered, misremembered.
Roseanne is almost 100 years old, has been institutionalised for 60+ years and care in the community policies mean her psychologist, Dr Greene, must determine whether she is sane enough to be “freed”. Her history is not clear. While Roseanne creates a narrative that makes sense, it is not always factually true. It becomes clear that she has sanitised her history – possibly to remove the terror from the truth, which involves fearful and loathsome incidents replete in the Irish past.
Barry controls his novel beautifully. Past psychological policies contrasting with the present (in many ways just as insane). The narrative voices of Roseanne and Dr Greene contrasting and complimenting. Dr Greene has troubles of his own, which echo the experiences of Roseanne. The fascinating, if uncompromising, portrayal of Irish society in a time when one could be institutionalised for simply not conforming to society’s expectations. The blurring of fact and fiction in the memory. Misrememberings – not lies. A mystery – the solution of which is signposted from the middle of the novel. A solution I was hoping would be avoided.
The only faux pas in an otherwise perfect novel. I’m only deducting a 1/2 star but it rankles much more than that. Could it have been the reason why Ariga triumphed in this year’s Booker?. The Secret Scripture is much more accomplished than The White Tiger but the ending is a veritable rafter in the eye and so I have still to fall out with this year’s Booker judges.
Final point – I would recommend The Secret Scripture to all lovers of The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. There are common themes, yet The Secret Scripture has a broader scope, documenting not just the personal tragedy of one unjustly incarcerated, but the troubled history of the Irish nation.
1/2
I loved this book but I understand about the ending-which I saw coming unfortunately-and I agree. Otherwise it was very well written and worth reading for anyone. Glad you reviewed it.
Thanks for the review. I bought this book last week and loved The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, so now I have no doubt that The Secret Scripture is going to be an excellent read as well.
I didn’t mind the ending. The occasional “tie things up a little too neatly” is okay with me, especially when the book is written as well as this one was.
I loved it when that lady asked if she could take him home.
I don’t mind tied-up ends either. But coincidences that big?
No, it wasn’t a coincidence – have a look again at how Dr Grene came to be at the hospital (the later explanation, not the earlier info from his diaries).
Nice review Lizzy. Sebastian Barry’s reading was one of my highlights at EBF this year. Rather than the timid little voice I heard when I read Roseanne’s story, Barry gave her a more powerful voice at his reading.
I do agree with you about the ending – knocks half a star off an almost-perfect book. I have his previous Booker shortlisted A Long, Long Way in my tbr pile.
Thanks for your comment on mine. !Short inventive posts” –
Quite! I must take a lesson from your blog – the desert island books sounds a good one to start with. Next week I will turn over a new leaf (one way or another)
This has just been announced as a finalist for the Costa Prize. I hope it wins after that awful comment by someone on the Booker panel about it being more well written than The White Tiger but not chosen as there’d been enough Irish literature wins lately.
Great review. I agree the ending was a bit of a cop-out. A very enjoyable, cleverly-plotted cop-out but one that makes me wonder whether her story was only important (ultimately) because of the link to his.