- Hardcover: 446 pages
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd; First Edition edition (8 Oct 1970)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0224619004
- ISBN-13: 978-0224619004
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 935,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Troubles
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland - to the Majestic Hotel and to the fiancee he acquired on a rash afternoon's leave three years ago. Despite her many letters, the lady herself proves elusive, and the Major's engagement is short-lived. But he is unable to detach himself from the alluring discomforts of the crumbling hotel. Ensconced in the dim and shabby splendour of the Palm Court, surrounded by gently decaying old ladies and proliferating cats, the Major passes the summer. So hypnotic are the faded charms of the Majestic, the Major is almost unaware of the gathering storm. But this is Ireland in 1919 - and the struggle for independence is about to explode with brutal force.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
J.G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in 1935 and spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France and North America, and then settled in London where he wrote most of his novels. In April 1979 he went to live in County Cork where only four months later he was drowned in a fishing accident.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 80 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'Troubles' is JG Farrell's masterpiece. Set in the months leading up to the Irish Civil War, in a remote hotel by the sea, it concerns the fortunes of a First World War veteran, the Major, on a visit to Ireland, gradually drawn into the declining fortunes of the Anglo-Irish. The Major's inner conflicts mirror the increasingly precarious political situation which steadily impinges on the lives of the characters, with a vivid conclusion. Farrell's control of the narrative is first-class, moving from the bizarre to the sinister in a matter of sentences, and the book is full of memorable images that linger on the retina long after you've finished reading: the sheep's head in the hotel bedroom, the burning hotel, the overgrown palm court. It's haunting, melancholic, very funny, political, intimate, and beautifully written. There is no-one quite like Farrell writing in Britain today; such a pity his untimely death cut him off in his prime. Treat yourselves.
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Troubles is the second part of what is a loosely-linked trilogy about the decline of the British Empire. Running through them all to provide some continuity is Major Brendan Archer, a rather weak but quite lovable man who arrives in Ireland in 1921 having retired from the Army in which he served in WW1. He is engaged to a woman he barely knows, Angela, who soon dies. However, rather like the British in Ireland, despite the disappearance of the original reason for his presence, he does not leave. Rather he lingers at Angela's father's Majestic Hotel. The country is being swept by the Home Rule movement, and even the rural area which is the backdrop for Troubles is not immune; Republican freedom fighters are seen on the grounds and the aristocratic residents are in mortal fear at times. The characters are very strongly portrayed in Troubles and the splendid descriptive narrative - particularly of the hotel and its grounds - provide a tangible sense of decay one can almost smell. Of course, since the Hotel is a grand metaphor for the British Empire itself, this is wonderfully appropriate. When Archer arrives, the place is already crumbling and the exotic plants in the conservatory are overgrown and jungular, threatening to block out all the light - perhaps representing the Imperial decline in Asia - by the time he leaves, it is no more. There is a wonderful, glittering hiatus when there seems, for a time, a chance to salvage what is left and turn the clock back, and the reader is swept up in this hopeful optimism, only to have those hopes dashed along with the characters' own - a perfect representation of the interwar years. Troubles can be read on a number of different levels. Even if you are not interested in history, this is still a good read; if you're not interested in the trilogy, it is a freestanding novel in its own right and can simply be read alone. However, if you are familiar with British imperial history, you will find this an erudite and moving story of metaphor. It is a worthy text and I'd highly recommend the other parts of the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur and The Singapore Grip.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was a revelation to me. The reader swiftly becomes immersed in the amazing world of 1919-21 Ireland. Action is centred on the fictive run-down Majestic Hotel in County Wexford. The establishment is emblematic of the last days of English rule. Owned and managed by an eccentric Unionist, the hotel caters for guests that are largely of that political hue, though there are a few notable exceptions in the character list. The Majestic is an enclave of the ascendancy in an Ireland on the verge of civil war. Life here is viewed through the prism of a young, liberally-minded major just returned from the Great War and planning to marry the proprietor's daughter. His plans are however thwarted by fate. One of many scenes that intrigued me was when a group of Oxford undergraduates stay at the hotel. The proprietor Edward Spencer expects them to support his bigoted, racist views of the native Irish. The visitors, despite their privileged backgrounds, side with indigenous population's wish to break free of the colonial power. Spencer is livid.
The book was awarded the 1970 Man Booker prize in May 2010 because there was no award made that year - something to do with a mix-up in qualification dates. Anyway, unlike most Booker awards, the decision of the judges - in this case, the reading public - was overwhelming. I can see why. It's very funny, quirky, sad, wise and yet analogous of the troubled Ireland of the Nineteen-Seventies, when the book was written. I read the last 250 pages in one sitting. Sadly the author, JG Farrell drowned in a fishing accident in Cork in 1979. He had a reputation for being something of a curmudgeon on colonialism and capitalism. But for all that, the text never preaches and is concerned above all with the intrinsic humanity of the characters. 'Troubles' is part of Farrell's 'Empire Trilogy", the rest of which I cannot wait to savour.
The book was awarded the 1970 Man Booker prize in May 2010 because there was no award made that year - something to do with a mix-up in qualification dates. Anyway, unlike most Booker awards, the decision of the judges - in this case, the reading public - was overwhelming. I can see why. It's very funny, quirky, sad, wise and yet analogous of the troubled Ireland of the Nineteen-Seventies, when the book was written. I read the last 250 pages in one sitting. Sadly the author, JG Farrell drowned in a fishing accident in Cork in 1979. He had a reputation for being something of a curmudgeon on colonialism and capitalism. But for all that, the text never preaches and is concerned above all with the intrinsic humanity of the characters. 'Troubles' is part of Farrell's 'Empire Trilogy", the rest of which I cannot wait to savour.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The End of Empire
The Majestic Hotel has seen better days and is mostly inhabited by a cast of magnificent elderly women and feral cats. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Merlin's Owl
OURSELVES ALONE
Sinn Fein only means `Ourselves', but the slight over-translation `Ourselves Alone' is really better, perhaps even in characterising the movement in real life, but certainly as it... Read more
Published 1 month ago by DAVID BRYSON
Satisfied customer
The book arrived on time and was in good condition. This was important to me, as I need to read this novel for my book group and I have very little time, given the fact that... Read more
Published 5 months ago by jausten
Fascinating, Brilliant and Claustrophobic
J. G Farrell's Troubles focuses on Major Brendan Archer, a retiree from the Army in WW1 who has moved from London to Ireland to reconcile with fiancé, Angela Spencer, a... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Shauna Mahoney
Enjoyable and gripping in a gentle way
I would have given this book a 3.5 if I could, as I enjoyed it and found that it kept me interested despite nothing much happening the majority of the time. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Manda Moo
Troubled
Well written, but am still not sure if I liked it or not! It deals with a troubled time in Ireland's past and really brings this to life, but tells this in quite a different way... Read more
Published 6 months ago by bookworm
missed opportunity
The book is well written - very well written - interesting and readable. However, the characters are unengaging dreary and fail to grip the imagination. Read more
Published 7 months ago by robert james Barton
Convoluted
I tried very hard to read this book as it had been recommended for my book group. However I had to give up. It really seemed to have no purpose. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mrs L E Baker
The End of Empire
TROUBLES is a superb novel about a British ex-Major called Brendan Archer who travels to Ireland in 1919 and finds himself staying in a decaying hotel as the bitter Irish War of... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Hereward
A good book
This book was great, I liked the major character very much, it was funny in places yet disturbing in others, enchanting, entertaining and clever. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. Fenn
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