Down by the River
by Edna O'Brien
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DOWN BY THE RIVER begins, deceptively, in an idyllic rural setting somewhere in Ireland. By the end, its consequences have addressed and divided the political and judicial fabric of the nation. A crime of passion results in an emotional battlefield for one and all, with opposing factions taking militant sides. In the centre, a young girl struggles with the conflicts of mind and body, the teaching of her faith and her mounting bewilderment at what she might do. This is her rite of passage, a show more stark progress from the role of child to that of woman; an initiation into terror and beyond it to wisdom. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Bij de rivier, gesitueerd in Ierland, is een onderzoek naar de donkere en benauwende zijde van bloedverwantschap. Mary wordt verkracht door haar vader en raakt zwanger van hem. Op het moment dat ze besluit het kind te laten weghalen wordt ze prooi van de media en wordt de mogelijkheid zelf een beslissing te nemen haar geheel ontnomen.
This is based on a true story and as I read it I found myself recalling the media coverage of the case.
Edna O'Brien has a very individual style of writing. She doesn't so much tell as imply. Though her prose is quite poetic, it is can also be hard to follow. There were many of these short chapters that I had to re-read to make sure I had got the point. Sometimes I couldn't work out what the point was. Though I think I just about got the story, it sort of fluttered at the edge of my vision like a dream straight after you wake up. An acquired taste in literature I think!
Edna O'Brien has a very individual style of writing. She doesn't so much tell as imply. Though her prose is quite poetic, it is can also be hard to follow. There were many of these short chapters that I had to re-read to make sure I had got the point. Sometimes I couldn't work out what the point was. Though I think I just about got the story, it sort of fluttered at the edge of my vision like a dream straight after you wake up. An acquired taste in literature I think!
suspense; contemporary issues: incest & abortion; ultradepressing
12.97
12.97
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Straordinaria capacità di questa scrittrice nel ricreare vividi paesaggi e, al pari, nel portare sulla scena narrativa una delle espressioni più odiose del bigottismo cattolico. Ispirato ad un fatto di cronaca degli anni novanta (anni recenti per una vicenda da medioevo), il romanzo racconta degli abusi sessuali subiti dalla giovanissima Mary, vittima del padre.
Nel 1992 effettivamente l'Irlanda fu scossa dalla vicenda di una quattordicenne vittima di stupro, a cui il tribunale proibì di abortire oltre frontiera, dal momento che in patria l'interruzione volontaria era illegale. "X Case", così viene ricordato, aprì un tormentato dibattito e mise in luce finalmente la straziante condizione di centinaia di donne vittime di violenze e show more abusi.
In un Irlanda cattolica Mary è costretta a subire un'altra violenza, quella del fanatismo antiabortista e di una chiesa cieca e ipocrita. Edna O'Brien modula e piega con assoluta padronanza e naturalezza un linguaggio ora evocativo ora affilato e analitico. Sembra doveroso evidenziare anche la bravura della traduttrice, che ha assicurato all'opera fluidità linguistica ed espressività descrittiva. show less
Nel 1992 effettivamente l'Irlanda fu scossa dalla vicenda di una quattordicenne vittima di stupro, a cui il tribunale proibì di abortire oltre frontiera, dal momento che in patria l'interruzione volontaria era illegale. "X Case", così viene ricordato, aprì un tormentato dibattito e mise in luce finalmente la straziante condizione di centinaia di donne vittime di violenze e show more abusi.
In un Irlanda cattolica Mary è costretta a subire un'altra violenza, quella del fanatismo antiabortista e di una chiesa cieca e ipocrita. Edna O'Brien modula e piega con assoluta padronanza e naturalezza un linguaggio ora evocativo ora affilato e analitico. Sembra doveroso evidenziare anche la bravura della traduttrice, che ha assicurato all'opera fluidità linguistica ed espressività descrittiva. show less
Nov 24, 2014Italian
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Fiction (Non-Fantasy) by Irish Authors Set in Ireland
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Author Information
85+ Works 10,514 Members
Writer Edna O'Brien was born in Clare County, Ireland, in 1930 and attended Pharmaceutical College in Dublin. O'Brien, winner of the Kingsley Amis Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Price and the European Literature Prize, has written short stories, novels, plays, television plays and screenplays. She has also written for such magazines as show more Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal and The New Yorker. (Bowker Author Biography) Edna O'Brien's previous works of fiction include "Down by the River", "House of Splendid Isolation", "Time & Tide", & "Lantern Slides", which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction. Her book about James Joyce was published in 1999 & excerpted in "The New Yorker". An honorary member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters, O'Brien grew up in Ireland & now lives in London. (Publisher Provided) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Tu ne tueras point
- Original title
- Down by the River
- Important places
- Ireland
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- 308
- Popularity
- 104,672
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.77)
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- 5 — Dutch, English, French, German, Italian
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- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
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- ASINs
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