The fruit of many years reading, teaching and research on the subject by a leading and highly respected academic in
Trade Review
“In addition to developing intellectually bold arguments, Reading the Contemporary Irish Novel is also enjoyable to read – an enviable achievement for any academic book. There is an ease to Harte’s style and a lightness of touch in the way he deals with an expansive range of socio-historical contexts that makes this book deserving of a broad readership beyond the walls of the university.” (Irish Studies Review, 18 March 2015).
“It offers an excellent primer in each chapter that I can easily imagine being of great use not only to students of literature, but also to those of us engaged in the work of teaching and studying such works.” (New Madrid, 1 October 2015).
“Students and scholars of Irish literature, history, and culture will find much to admire in this wide-ranging book; not only is it an insightful complement to Harte’s other monographs but also it is especially valuable to those teaching the Irish novel.” (College Literature, Summer 2018).
“All in all, an accomplished and insightful critical success. Harte brings wide reading to his analyses and great light to the novels he discusses in depth. Reading the Contemporary Irish Novel is must reading for Irish Studies scholars.” (New Hibernia Review, Spring 2016).
“Harte’s readings demonstrate the kind of fluency and comprehensiveness that one has come to expect of his criticism.” (South Carolina Review, Spring 2016).
“As a guide to some of the major issues and concerns of Ireland in the last thirty years and how writers have dealt with them, this is a substantial engagement with the field.” (Breac: A Digital Journal of Irish Studies, 19 March 2015).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ix Introduction: Reading the Contemporary Irish Novel 1987–2007 1
1 In the FamilyWay: Roddy Doyle’s Barrytown Trilogy (1987–1991) 23
2 House Arrest: John McGahern’s Amongst Women (1990) 51
3 Malignant Shame: Patrick McCabe’s The Butcher Boy (1992) 75
4 Uncertain Terms, Unstable Sands: Colm T´ oib´ýn’s The Heather Blazing (1992) 105
5 Unbearable Proximities:William Trevor’s Felicia’s Journey (1994) 127
6 History’s Hostages: Edna O’Brien’s House of Splendid Isolation (1994) 151
7 Shadows in the Air: Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark (1996) 173
8 The Politics of Pity: Sebastian Barry’s A Long Long Way (2005) 197
9 Mourning Remains Unresolved: Anne Enright’s The Gathering (2007) 217
Bibliography 243
Index 259
