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Loading... The Secret Scriptureby Sebastian Barry, Sebastian Barry
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This is a lovely book in many ways and I enjoyed it. The writing is striking and poetic in places, and the two main characters - an institutional psychiatrist and his 100-year-old resident patient - are complicated, sympathetic and believable. The story is engaging, and there is a mystery that propels you to the end. But the revelation of the mystery was a little incredible, and while very clever, it had a slightly saccharine fairytale quality to it that wasn't really needed and somewhat betrayed the more ambivalent and sometimes tragic weight of the rest of the book. ( ) A heartbreaking story told in 2 voices: Roseanne, nearing her 100th birthday having spent over half her life in an insane asylum, is secretly recording her shadowed past. Roseanne's psychiatrist Dr. Grene is trying to uncover her story to determine if she had been rightly committed. In alternating chapters, slowly two very different stories emerge as they circle the "truth". Beautifully written. While the story of the book wasn't all bad, from a historical perspective I kind of liked it, I really hated this book. I just could not get over the poetic ramblings by Barry. The fact that Sebastian Barry felt like he had to describe every little thing in his book as if it was a melancholic painting just made me angry. So it didn't matter what happened in the book, everytime when he so much as described a ray of sunlight my eyes involuntarily started to roll. I think this book had a nice premise with an average story which was thoroughly ruined by a writer trying to be dramatic. Told from two different angles, both of whom are unreliable narrators.[return][return]Roseanne, an elderly woman of not-quite-determined age has been living in an Irish mental hospital for at least 60 years. Dr Grene, nearing retirement, tries to assess Roseanne as the hospital is about to be relocated and he needs to assess where she should go. [return][return]In secret Roseanne starts to write her history, and running along side this you get to hear what Dr Grene finds out about her from various sources. It's a turbulent time in Ireland, the civil war is raging to be followed by WW2. Non Catholics are viewed by suspicion, the population are in thrall to the Catholic priests, who in turn believe their word is law and they are not to be ignored. Women who do not submit and conform (especially if they are pretty or sexually aware) are to be downtrodden, and if necessary committed to an asylum.[return][return]Roseanne tells her own version of her young life and what led to her committal to the asylum. Grene finds the alternate version, and in himself finds that he has put his own version of the truth, so recognises that noone's recollection is perfect. He also learns some shocking and surprising truths in the end.[return][return]Lovely, occasionally painful (it reminds me of my cultural heritage, and pushes a set of buttons in me that makes me very angry - primarily directed against the Catholic church and Irish priests in particular!), this has been catching my eye several times over the last few years and am now glad have read it Nearing her 100th birthday, Roseanne faces an uncertain future, as the mental hospital where she's spent the best part of her adult life prepares for closure. Over the weeks leading up to this upheaval, she talks often with her psychiatrist Dr Grene. This relationship intensifies as he mourns the death of his wife. Roseanne and her family had a lot of sadness and tragedy in their lives. It was often due to the decisions of the Catholic priest who was a powerful man in their county. The author has a beautiful lyrical style of writing despite all the tragedy. There was a surprise at the end that provided a bit of happiness. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesMcNulty Family (4) Belongs to Publisher SeriesEuropese literatuurcollectie (dl. 3) Gallimard, Folio (5172) Mirmanda (65) AwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Roseanne McNulty, once one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland, is now an elderly patient at Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. As her hundredth year draws near, she decides to record the events of her life, hiding the manuscript beneath the floorboards. Meanwhile, the hospital is preparing to close and is evaluating its patients to determine whether they can return to society. Dr. Grene, Roseanne's caretaker, takes a special interest in her case. In his research, he discovers a document written by a local priest that tells a very different story of Roseanne's life than what she recalls. As doctor and patient attempt to understand each other, they begin to uncover long-buried secrets about themselves. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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