One by One in the Darkness
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Product Description
Product Description
One by One in the Darkness is an account of a week in the lives of three sisters shortly before the start of the IRA ceasefire in 1994, undercut with the story of their childhood in Northern Ireland of the 1960s and 1970s. The history of both a family and a society, One by One in the Darkness confirms Deirdre Madden's reputation as one of Irish fiction's most outstanding talents.
'Her authority when writing on her native Northern Ireland is supreme . . . beautifully written . . . an author with a rare talent . . . haunting and beautiful.' Literary Review
'No other book has left me with such a lasting impression of the hurt of Northern Ireland.' Sunday Tribune
'Ambitious and wide-ranging . . . skilfully constructed . . . particularly good at the way in which the past constructs the present, how intense memories transfigure current experience . . . A quiet and effective psychological realism.' Independent on Sunday
About the Author
Deirdre Madden is from Toomebridge, Co. Antrim. Her novels include The Birds of Innocent Wood, Nothing is Black, One by One in the Darkness, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and Authenticity. Her most recent novel is Molly Fox's Birthday, which was also shortlisted for the Orange Prize. She teaches at Trinity College, Dublin and is a member of the Irish Arts Academy Aosdana.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Wonderfully engaging book written in a very typical deprecating "Norn Iron" tone.
I was born in NI in the same timescale as the book and left in my mid 20's and I found this book to be so similar to my own upbringing and the characters so real and identifiable - I completely related to them...this for me is an achingly accurate portrayal of the lives of middle class country catholic girls in the 70's and 80's.
The convent schooling, the masses, the mad relations; the army; the checkpoints; the violence...it's all there.
This book made me weep and laugh....the sheer honesty and depth of Deirdre's writing is almost too painful to bear at times.
If you really want to understand the era of the "troubles" then this book is a must read.
I was born in NI in the same timescale as the book and left in my mid 20's and I found this book to be so similar to my own upbringing and the characters so real and identifiable - I completely related to them...this for me is an achingly accurate portrayal of the lives of middle class country catholic girls in the 70's and 80's.
The convent schooling, the masses, the mad relations; the army; the checkpoints; the violence...it's all there.
This book made me weep and laugh....the sheer honesty and depth of Deirdre's writing is almost too painful to bear at times.
If you really want to understand the era of the "troubles" then this book is a must read.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Deirdre Madden's novel is a wonderous thing. It's heartwarming, frightening, saddening, joyful, trivial, vital, and alive. It's a book about the family, the individual, love, hate, forgiveness, unforgiveness, betrayal, hypocrisy, marriage, parenthood, war, peace and more. What's more, it is one of the best novels of Irish Catholic life I have yet read, up there with John McGahern's Amongst Women. Madden differs from McGahern, however, in that her portrayal is of a warm, tender family with much humour and compassion, destroyed by a single, shocking, act of violence. The depiction of Northern Ireland society from the 60s to the 90s is affectionate and bitter by turns, but always honest. This book really is one of the best things I have read this decade. Do yourself a favour and read it too. You won't be disappointed. Unless you're an arse.
Format:Paperback
A slim, but extremely rewarding novel about Northern Ireland during the heyday of the IRA, and about three sisters who, resist though they might, become caught up in their country's turmoil. Madden alternates between the story of the sisters in the present day as they cope with their grief over the death of their father, killed by a hit-man, and get used to the idea of Cate, the middle sister, becoming a single mother, and the story of their childhood and adolescence, growing up on a Northern Irish farm in a close-knit family. There are some wonderfully painterly descriptions of the Irish countryside, and even of Belfast. All three sisters: intense, workaholic Helen, glamorous Kate/Cate whose elegance hides a thoughtful and rather melancholy personality, and Sally, home-loving but also emotionally strong and steady, are beautifully brought to live, as are other members of their family. There is a great deal of shocking but also fascinating information about terrorism in Northern Ireland, and about growing up Catholic in a predominantly Protestant country. And Madden writes more beautifully than almost any other contemporary writer. Best of all, there's a sense that, even at the worse times, the human spirit is indomitable and finds ways to survive. An excellent book from one of the greatest writers of today.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
It blows away on the wind
If you're looking for a novel of the Troubles, this will tell you very little.
Although I was born and grew up not twenty miles from the part of Northern Ireland Deirdre... Read more
Although I was born and grew up not twenty miles from the part of Northern Ireland Deirdre... Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2009 by Tom in London
A Gem of a book to be treasured
This is a excellent book for any and all readers.
I normally wade thro Crime\Travel\Thrillers but this book is something quite different. Read more
I normally wade thro Crime\Travel\Thrillers but this book is something quite different. Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2004 by J. Stack
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