Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... The Anatomy Schoolby Bernard MacLaverty
None Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Martin Brennan, the hero of The Anatomy School, faces all the traumas of an older adolescent—over-bearing mother, lack of money, pressure about his future, girls, and sex—plus the traumas associated with living in a strict Catholic home in Belfast during “The Troubles.” Martin is basically a good kid who drifts through his life by not drawing attention to himself. During his last year of high school he becomes friends with two classmates who, each in different ways, challenge and stretch him as a person. Much to his mother’s dismay, Martin decides not to pursue the priesthood. He struggles academically and barely finishes school. It is Martin’s interaction with his friends and mother and his keen internal observations that keeps this story moving and ultimately worth reading. no reviews | add a review
This is the story of the growing up of Martin Brennan: a troubled boy in troubled times, a boy who knows all the questions but none of the answers. This is Belfast in the late sixties. Before he can become an adult, Martin must unravel the sacred and contradictory mysteries of religion, science and sex; he must learn the value of friendship; but most of all he must pass his exams - at any cost. A book that celebrates the desire to speak and the need to say nothing, The Anatomy School moves from the enforced silence of Martin's Catholic school retreat, through the hilarious tea-and-biscuits repartee of his eccentric elders to the awkward wit and loose profanity of his two friends - the charismatic Kavanagh and the subversive Blaise Foley. An absorbing, tense and often very funny novel which takes Martin from the initiations of youth to the devoutly wished consummation of the flesh, Bernard Mac Laverty's new book is a remarkable re-creation of the high anxieties and deep joys of learning to find a place in the world. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
With Kavanagh's help Martin makes progress, a progress accelerated with the appearance of a new boy in school, Blaise Foley. The mysterious and irreverent Blaise attaches himself to to Martin and Kavanagh with potentially disastrous results as among other things they hatch a scheme to pass their exams.
We follow Martin and Kavanagh later at the anatomy school where we find Martin helping his friend, but also where Martin also finally discovers much to his delight some more earthly pleasures.
Interspersed with Martin's schooling are episodes in his family life where his mother's regular weekly evenings at home to the local priest and a couple of opinionated parishioners provide further humour.
Frequently very funny, The Anatomy School is a very entertaining account of a likeable young boy finding his way through the uncertainties of life discovering the value of friendship and eventually the delights of the flesh. ( )