(spoiler-free review) At a glance, this novel seems to tread in the footsteps of a current favourite of UK TV drama – that of a police procedural investigation of a cold case from decades ago. But this initial impression is rapidly dispelled. Sebastian Barry shows us a retired police sergeant, Tom Kettle, alone in his rented flat, endeavouring to keep his mind a blank. He’s a widower and has 2 adult children, Winnie and Joe who is away in the States. Kettle is visited by two serving officers from his old station. Are they after some information that Kettle has or is this a sort of friendly call?
Immediately we step away from the typical world of TV drama and into a world of menace and uncertainty, reminiscent of Flann O’Brien, Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett. For example, Tom is invited to attend the station for an interview and we learn how ‘Although he hadn’t phoned to say he was coming in, he thought he had better phone to say he wasn’t, and that he would make it in tomorrow, God willing.’ – a sure nod to ‘Waiting for Godot’.
This novel is slow-paced – we spend a lot of time with Tom and gradually learn of appalling cruelties and complicities undertaken under the cover of supposedly caring love by the Catholic Church. These truly appalling deeds are told in undramatic language making it even more dreadful.
But the author’s storytelling allows us to learn of these events through a slow and gradual unfolding. We don’t know what’s going on but we keep reading because of the extraordinarily skilful prose of the author where every other line has a brilliant metaphor and where every paragraph is a prose-poem.
This is an important novel because it brings to life and makes plain the abusive practices in children’s homes in Ireland in the second half of the 20th century. Yes, this has been covered by the media through news reports but this novel makes the lived reality only all too real. This novel does a service in making sure that these abuses are not forgotten or covered up.
If you’re looking for an easy read crime thriller, then this novel may not be for you. But if you’re interested in reading some of the finest prose being written in English today and have the stomach to read of harrowing situations, then certainly give this novel a try.