Troubles (1970)

Major Brendan Archer, just released from treatment for shell-shock after the first war, is headed to the Majestic Hotel in Kilnalough, Ireland, to meet a young woman who may or may not be his fiancée. He's not quite sure what the agreement he made with Angela Spencer was that one time they met in 1916 and shared a drunken kiss, but she's written to him throughout the war in great detail about her family and their life at the Majestic Hotel, which is owned by her father, Edward Spencer, each time signing the letters as his betrothed. When he arrives at the hotel, he's surprised to find it in a state of utter disrepair and with no service or proper amenities to speak of. He sees Angela once or twice very briefly and has no chance to straighten things out with her before she's taken to her bed with a grave illness. As he gets better acquainted with the hotel's permanent elderly guests, who haven't paid for their stay in many years, and grows accustomed to the growing army of cats overtaking the place, he also befriends Edward and finds some sort of routine amid the wreckage of the once splendid resort. He shares his time with the bereaved Spencer family, who are mourning Angela's passing, with Edward sinking quickly into more and more bizarre behaviour, Angela's infernal twin sisters, and a local Catholic Kilnalough girl called Sarah, who may or may not be an invalid. All this amid the chaos of an Ireland shaken by mounting violence and terrorism as the Irish republicans, seek to free themselves from British rule and brutality. Filled with humour and amusing anecdotes, and interspersed with news clippings, this is a novel that gives plenty for the reader to reflect upon. Strongly recommended. ( )

The 1919 Ireland of J.G. Farrell’s Troubles is a country that seems poised to unravel, with tensions growing between the Protestant Anglo-Irish aristocracy and the Catholic Irish Nationalists. Against this background, WWI veteran Major Archer, arrives at the Majestic, a faded, crumbling hotel with a glorious history, occupied by the owner, Edward Spencer, and his family, and an array of quirky staff and elderly tenants. The immediate purpose of the Major’s visit is to rectify a misunderstanding with the owner’s daughter who mistakenly believes herself to be his fiancé. His purpose in staying on becomes a jumble of romantic attraction, obligation and a seeming lack of anything better to do. After months sleepily witnessing the decline of his romantic hopes, the Majestic and Edward Spencer, Archer’s sudden departure is forced by jarringly unanticipated violence committed against both edifice and individuals.

Farrell is a masterful creator of character and setting, who infuses even the most painful moments of the story with an understated humor. The Majestic and its residents come fully alive, despite being exaggerated caricatures of an entitled class, whose privileged lifestyle of elegance and leisure is vanishing, transformed by the times into a preposterous, crumbling existence. And there is prophetic irony in Archer’s near-doom and Farrell’s own final fate, at too young an age.

“People are insubstantial. They never last. All this fuss, it’s all fuss about nothing. We’re here for a while and then we’re gone. People are insubstantial. They never last at all.”

Farrell approaches the book’s title subject, the Troubles, with extreme subtly. Snippets of newspaper articles, written in a simple, folksy tone, are scattered throughout the narrative, introducing the political events that form the backdrop to the story. The articles serve to place the story's events in time, location and tradition, while revealing some of the early history of Sinn Fein, the similarities between Ireland and India in contributing to the dismantling of the British Empire, and the parallels between Sinn Fein and the Bolsheviks as revolutionary movements.

As farcical as the residents of the Majestic are, I could not help but feel that this novel presents a somewhat one-sided view of the conflict. The Irish in general are described as an unruly, troublesome lot, whose women are all plump. Although members of the occupying British Army are obnoxious, destructive drunkards, it is the anonymous “Shinners” who commit the most sadistic and inhumane acts, without regard to the victims’ guilt or innocence. Yet the poverty and hunger of the populace, left to starve at the whims of the privileged, are alluded to only lightly.

In the end, I was left wondering about Farrell's own political leanings and puzzled as to whether or not he was taking a political position of sorts in this novel, understanding that he was of both English and Irish ancestry. But I believe that the best literature leaves us with more questions than when we started, sending us off to pursue new areas of inquiry. As a window into my scant knowledge of Irish history and my own little-known Irish ancestry, Farrell’s Troubles succeeds brilliantly at that. ( )

The seriousness of the Anglo-Irish problems in the 1920s is lightened with a touch of whimsy in this entertaining historical novel. The Irish fight for independence from the English is highlighted through short news articles scattered throughout the book, providing a progressive timeline to the rebellion. But it's the characters that are the subtle gems in this book.

Having survived WWI, Major Brendan Archer makes his way to Ireland, to find out if, Angela, the woman with whom he'd been corresponding during the war, is indeed his fiance. When he arrives at Hotel Majestic, however, the pale and listless woman he is introduced to bears no resemblance to the woman he met and shared a kiss with before he shipped out. He meets Edward, the patriarch and conservative Protestant proprietor of the Majestic, Ripon, the wayward son and brother to Angela, and various elderly regular guests to the Majestic. The hotel is crumbling, sorely in need of repairs and mostly gloomy, giving the reader a sense of claustrophobia. By the by, the Major also meets and is fascinated by Sarah, an Irish girl.

One gets the feeling of being on a train when reading this book, slowly pulling out of the station, gradually building up speed, and then hurtling towards a final destination. It's such a pleasure reading Farrel's beautiful prose. His injection of humor and whimsy in the characters from time to time only serves to contrast sharply with the darker metaphors represented. ( )

"Troubles" appears to be symbolically describing the complex relationship between Britain and Ireland through characters who stay at the Magestic hotel. It's a little like the Eagle's "Hotel California"--the visiting English travelers have a tendency to stay there for much too long. Humorous, very well written, and engaging, but feels long--not for a lack of interesting events, so much as the main characters are often unlikeable (in realistic ways). A very interesting book; one that I probably would have gotten more out of, if I had a greater knowledge of the English-Ireland "troubles." ( )

Phenomenal! See my full review: http://www.bostonbibliophile.com/2011/03/review-troubles-by-jg-farrell.html ( )