In the Forest

Edna O'Brien's novel, , is based on a triple murder in the west of Ireland in 1994 that received extensive media attention and horrified the entire country. Upon publication, she was accused of using the events for her own profit. She defended her book, saying, "Is someone going to say Picasso should not have painted Guernica? I have written a book to commemorate and perpetuate the story of this almost Greek tragedy which took place in a forest I happened to know."

O'Brien's writing has the feel of poetry about it. She's not interested in the blood and gore, so much as the inner lives of the people involved, beginning with the Kinderschreck himself, Michen O'Kane, who grew up lost and rebellious after the death of his mother. His acting show more out sends him, as a young child, into reformatory schools, where priests punish and other children either bully Michen or train him in the ways of crime. Then there's the free-spirited Eily, who moves to a remote house with her young son and tries to make a life for herself, teaching at a kindergarten, painting and joining in the artistic community of the area. As their paths converge, Michen imagines a life with her, while Eily is unaware of her stalker.

Is In the Forest exploitive? It lacks the lurid details and unseemly avidness found in "true crime" paperbacks. It also lacks the structure of a crime novel; she is not solving a crime or even explaining motivation, rather she is presenting a picture of rural Ireland, through the story of the lives affected by the events.

This is an odd book. It has a lyrical, almost stream-of-consciousness tone which is at conflict with the subject matter, leaving the reader to peer through dusty glass and shifting dust motes at the story behind the words. I don't think the results were entirely successful, but I am interested in reading more by this author. Her voice is distinct and interesting. show less

This book was very well-written, but still I can hardly help but be angry that I read it.

Based on true events (or inspired by?) In the Forest is the story of a boy destroyed by the system intending to help or "correct" him. Only after a few glimpses at this destruction, we meet him as an "adult," when he returns from a recent stint in prison to his hometown, where he will murder a young mother and her child, along with a priest.

There are many reasons why I am angry with this book. The first is that once O'Kane's fascination with the mother became clear, I was propelled to keep reading, quickly, as if the fact that I didn't put the book down would mean that the searchers would find her in time (whether or not the victims died is left in show more suspense for many chapters, until close til the end of the book), that she and her son would be tired, and dehydrated, maybe wounded, but alive. But all of that suspended hope was for nothing. There was no redemption for the victims, no redemption for the killer, I hated the villagers for not reporting the abduction... The book was about hell. Hell on earth. And I just didn't realize that was what I was signing up for when I started the book, somehow.

Others may not find this book so upsetting. Indeed, most of the reviews I have seen for this book are overwhelmingly positive. But as the mother of a young child, this isn't the kind of experience I want to walk into unknowingly. show less

"Darkness is drawn to light but light does not know it, light must absorb the darkness and therefore meet its own extinguishment."

This novel is based on true events. Imelda Riney and her son Liam along with a local priest were murdered by crazed Brendan O'Donnell in 1994. When the book was first published in 2002 it caused some controversy as many people felt that not enough time had elapsed and that O'Brien was exploiting the grief of those involved. However, what a novel does that a newspaper article or court reports can never do is unemotionally look at the circumstances leading up to the crime.

Michan O'Kane, on release from prison in England, returns to his childhood environs. Once there he sets out on a course of delinquency, show more menacing the inhabitants and leaving a trail of thievery and destructiveness. He cuts an almost mythical presence. All the community's wrong doings seem to have been rolled up into one individual. The locals, including the Guarda, are afraid to either challenge or tackle him even leaving gifts of food outside their homes almost like they were making religious offerings to him.

In contrast the female victim, Eily Ryan, isn't totally a virtuous woman. She is a single mother with a young lover who teaches in a local school but also likes to drink, play pool and generally socialise in the local pub and going skinny dipping in the local lake with a group of youths. When the local Police commander discovers her diary he is rather scandalised by her thoughts about love and sex. Eily, is something of a free spirit in a religiously conservative country.

Eily moves out of a town apartment in to an isolated cottage which was the former hideout of Michan. He is initially infuriated with her but becomes infatuated. Michan lost his mother as a young boy and is schizophrenic, he has been in and out of various institutions most of his young life where he was brutalised by his fellow residents and those in charge alike. Haunted by voices, shunned by those around him, he has no idea to build relationships. He is demented and vicious and a storm is building within him.

This is a grim tale but the author's economic and at times lyrical style means that she manages to portray the horror whilst avoiding glamorising violence. So much so that I ended feeling almost as sorry for the the murderer, who was badly failed by the authorities, as I did the victims. This is my first O'Brien book and I enjoyed her writing style. I found it hard to put down once I got into it yet somehow felt that it lacked that little something which would have really made it stand out in a crowd. show less

In Ireland, Michen O’Kane suffers through a sad childhood of abuse. Returning to County Clare on the west coast after a stint in prison, he is now a psychopath, and begins to menace and terrorize the residents of the area. Even the police are afraid of him. He stalks Ely, a young free spirited mother of four-year-old Maddie, who have taken up residence in a ramshackle remote cottage. When they go missing, Ely’s friends immediately suspect O’Kane (aka “the Kinderschreck,” or “children scarer”) but the authorities are slow to react.

The story is told through the eyes of many characters who witnessed the events. This is the books strength, but also its weakness, as in the beginning it was difficult to figure out what is show more happening and how it relates to the story. For example, when Ely and Maddie are introduced, I have no idea what gender Ely is, and that Maddie is her son. But after a while everything clicked and then the technique worked well. (I wish authors would do a better job of giving readers some markers, and not be so damn cryptically clever.). Apart from that criticism though, I enjoyed this novel. O’Brien doesn’t spend much time with flowery descriptions or melodrama—for such a dark, creepy story, it’s rather understated.

In the Forest is based on a similar story that actually happened in Ireland in the 1990s, and apparently many in the country were outraged by this novel, as they saw this ex-pat writer as simply cashing in on their local tragedy.The Guardian calls In the Forest one of those “state of the nation” books, and so this book is not just a retelling of horrific murders, but a story about modern Irish society as well. I’m sure that made some people there uncomfortable.

Recommended for: not sure—I liked it, and it garnered some good reviews, so if it sounds interesting, give it a try. show less

To be frank, I was on the verge of DNFing this book; it is slow paced and can get very dark for no obvious purpose, but over half way through, the true story emerges.

O'Kane is an absolutely insane and unhinged character, who becomes almost a mythical legend in the town, with everyone terrified of him, and rightly so. At times, some things he says are quite comical, but you can't overlook that he's a truly dangerous man. I enjoyed that ominous vibe, as though he was the devil himself (as he is occasionally referred to), come back to haunt the community and make them pay for their sins. Their sins being the poor 'care' O'Kane received growing up, involving horrendous abuse and bullying in correctional schools, after he committed a crime. show more

As usual, I went into this story blind but eventually found out that this book is heavily based on the true story of a murderer in Ireland who killed a woman, her son and a priest in 1994. After finding that out, this book definitely comes across as though it's trying to portray the making of a murderer, so it might be a good choice of book for those interested in, not only true crime, but the factors that can shape a person into a deranged murderer.

The narration took a bit of time to get used to, due to the accent, but it really brought the story alive, and O'Brien's writing style is truly beautiful. The last chapter and last line (Magic follows only the few.) didn't make much sense to me, so I'd be interested to know how others interpreted it. show less

Last year I read another of O'Brien's books, August is a Wicked Month, and was happy to get my hands on more of her books.

The author takes real events from the '90s and weaves her own narrative. The result is a compelling, yet unnerving book.

O'Kane is a disturbed young man, in and out of state institutions and recently released from prison in England. His return to his native Ireland sparks a seemingly inevitable downaward spiral of fear and violence. As a young boy, he committed a murder and is sent to a brutal, priest-run institution where he is abused by both the other boys and priests.

Newcomers Elie and her son Maddie unwittingly put themselves in his path by moving into a house in the woods which O'Kane had previously occupied. show more Elie is viewed with some suspicion, an outsider, unmarried mother, an affair with a younger man, a Buddhist.

It is easy to think of O'Kane as a monster, the Kinderschreck as he is named by a man early in the bok, but as his own brother says, he is a monster made. Can a child born of violence avoid being violent? Even towards those who try and help him? I don't think O'Brien is to gain sympathy for her own devil, but it does explain the fear and shame of the villagers in their dealings with him. It is this fear and shame which prevents them from shopping the situation from escalating.

This was one of those books that you want to read, but yet, I kept putting it down, just for a few minutes, ever hopeful to see some light at the end of the long dark tunnel. The book is compelling, sucking you are in. The switch of narrators helps to keep up the tension and also reveal the plot slowly. Highly recommended. show less

I have only read the short stories of O'Brien in the past. This novel was interesting in that there were dozens of narrators all taking turns in telling their insight into the life of Michen O'Kane who becomes obsessed with a single mother, Eily who lives alone in the woods. The setting is described well as are the lives of these townsfolk who know the unfortunate circumstances of this youth gone wrong, but even those circumstances do not quite add up to the psychopathic behavior of Mich. O'Brien writes well. I enjoyed the narrative style and the portrayal of the Western Ireland country.