HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Temporary Gentleman: A Novel by…
Loading...

The Temporary Gentleman: A Novel (edition 2015)

by Sebastian Barry (Author)

Series: McNulty Family (5)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3081684,414 (3.93)25
"In this highly anticipated new novel, Irishman Jack McNulty is a "temporary gentleman"--an Irishman whose commission in the British army in World War II was never permanent. Sitting in his lodgings in Accra, Ghana, in 1957, he's writing the story of his life with desperate urgency. He cannot take one step further without examining all the extraordinary events that he has seen. A lifetime of war and world travel--as a soldier in World War II, an engineer, a UN observer--has brought him to this point. But the memory that weighs heaviest on his heart is that of the beautiful Mai Kirwan, and their tempestuous, heartbreaking marriage. Mai was once the great beauty of Sligo, a magnetic yet unstable woman who, after sharing a life with Jack, gradually slipped from his grasp"--… (more)
Member:willowtree1990
Title:The Temporary Gentleman: A Novel
Authors:Sebastian Barry (Author)
Info:Penguin Books (2015), Edition: Reprint, 320 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:None

Work Information

The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 25 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)
Narrator Jack McNulty, an Irishman living temporarily in Ghana, tells two stories. One is the journal he is writing about his relationship with his wife and the other what is happening to him at present (1957). I had previously read Barry’s The Secret Scripture and loved it. I very much enjoy his writing style, so I thought I would try another. The Temporary Gentleman is written in the same expressive manner. For example, Jack describes his assistant, Tom:

“I looked at him. Though his eyes are hooded and nearly hidden, yet out through the folds of skin shine two slivers of emerald. I don’t know how sad he is, but I do know that he is sad. He has been extraordinarily kind, I was thinking. He is a dependable, decent man. There was goodness in him, yes, there was something of God in him. He is just a local man I employ to clean and see to the house, that’s one way of looking at it. But. Something about Tom Quaye’s care and loyalty, even if words like care and loyalty might usually suggest servility, is entrancing. He is like a big lump of medicine to me.”

This is a true character study. It is about Jack and the important people in his life. Jack is plagued by addictions, both gambling and drinking. He is not always a good influence on his family. By the end, the reader will come to know Jack and empathize with him, though recognizing his flaws and his tendencies to self-destruct. The tone is melancholy. There is a tiny thread of mystery that keeps the plot moving forward as we wonder what has happened with his wife, but I would not recommend it for anyone looking for action. This book is for readers who love a well-crafted novel of stunning prose. I liked this book immensely and will definitely be reading more of his work.

4.5
( )
  Castlelass | Oct 30, 2022 |
Really enjoyed but the African bit did not work for me. ( )
  adrianburke | Aug 30, 2020 |
Excellent ( )
  stevezalew | Aug 15, 2020 |
This is the most boring and repetitive tale of unrepentant alcoholism I've ever read.

Except for the torpedoed opening, it continues slowly and predictably, with no redemption.

I chose this for the Irish Challenge - what a letdown. ( )
  m.belljackson | Dec 17, 2018 |
Sebastian Barry is the only writer that I sometimes wish I could write like. His prose style is poetic and beautiful but does not distract from the narrative as I find many self-consciously poetic prose writers do. This is a heartbreakingly simple story of one man's life and his doomed failing marriage. Despite its simplicity, it manages to span over 50 years and include the struggle for Irish independence, the 2nd world war and African colonialism.
Its only drawbacks for me were the abrupt, unconvincing ending and a reliance on the stereotypical link between the Irish and alcoholism. ( )
  stephengoldenberg | Apr 6, 2016 |
Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Sebastian Barryprimary authorall editionscalculated
Doyle, GerardNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

Belongs to Series

Belongs to Publisher Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
hic amor, haec patria est
VIRGILE, Énéide
Souviens-toi de moi, oublie mon sort
NAHUM TATE, Didon et Énée
Dedication
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
À Jacquie Burgess
belle et avisée
First words
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
1

«Quelle nuit magnifique ! Ça, on peut le dire. On ne croirait jamais qu'il y a une guerre quelque part.»
[...]
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

"In this highly anticipated new novel, Irishman Jack McNulty is a "temporary gentleman"--an Irishman whose commission in the British army in World War II was never permanent. Sitting in his lodgings in Accra, Ghana, in 1957, he's writing the story of his life with desperate urgency. He cannot take one step further without examining all the extraordinary events that he has seen. A lifetime of war and world travel--as a soldier in World War II, an engineer, a UN observer--has brought him to this point. But the memory that weighs heaviest on his heart is that of the beautiful Mai Kirwan, and their tempestuous, heartbreaking marriage. Mai was once the great beauty of Sligo, a magnetic yet unstable woman who, after sharing a life with Jack, gradually slipped from his grasp"--

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.93)
0.5
1
1.5
2 2
2.5
3 14
3.5 6
4 36
4.5 11
5 10

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,212,936 books! | Top bar: Always visible