Claire O’Connor is a poet and lecturer in creative writing. She lived in London for about a decade with Tom but soon after the death of her mother she left him and returned to “the West of Ireland” – Athenry. She decides to stay in the family home, a bungalow built beside the original farmhouse, now derelict.
The novel by Elaine Feeney focuses on Claire’s relationship with her siblings, her dead parents, and with Tom, who reappears some years after the split. We delve into the past, both Claire’s childhood and the earlier history of the family and region. A brutal encounter with the Black and Tans during the War of Independence is a key moment.
The history of colonialism in Ireland, and the particular socio-economic culture of east Galway are dealt with. In the fields of Athenry, horses vault the class divide. Hunting “was far from being a sport of kings around these parts”. “The women with wizened faces and men with booming voices, their riding style slightly at odds with the locals” join the farmers for the hunt. The queen of England wants to buy a mare from the O’Connors!
The colonial legacy is one of the novel’s thematic strands and is linked to the story of domestic intergenerational trauma. John, Claire’s father, is capricious and violent. Her mother and the children live in terror. The unravelling of the mystery surrounding the mother’s death is shockingly disclosed towards the close of the novel.
Gender issues are also dealt with at a local and universal level. Claire follows Insta posts by Kelly Purchase, one of those awful American “tradwives”. She finds Kelly absurd but compelling. Ironically, by the end of the novel, she hosts a splendid party (Pinteresque, naturally), revealing that Kelly has exerted influence. “The crab was set on a bed of baby gem lettuce, dressed with some hard shell, samphire, cracked black pepper and fresh parsley.”
The novel is written in transparent, unshowy prose. Not linear, the narrative maintains its focus on Claire and despite several time-shifts never confuses. The main themes are handled with insight and real depth, and the depiction of the peculiarities of east Galway society is ethnographically interesting and convincing. An ambitious, thoughtful, nicely layered book.
- Éilís Ní Dhuibhne is a writer and critic. She is a member of Aosdána
