It’s familiar territory for Barry, who has, both as a playwright and novelist, examined personal stories to reveal the complexities of modern Irish history. The story is that of Roseanne McNulty, a dying old woman whose life has preceded and spanned the birth and development of the Irish Republic, interweaved with the narrative of Dr Grene, the psychiatrist in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital where Roseanne has spent the best part of her adult life. Let’s not get into the nitty-gritty of it, but rather focus, perhaps, on why this seemingly flawed note was sounded by Barry. Amongst the almost universal praise for Barry’s novel, it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t have some reservations/complaints about the ending ( Asylum, The Resident Judge of Port Philip, DovGreyReader, and Lizzy’s Literary Life to name just a few). Indeed it seems that discussion about the novel’s ending was one – if not the sole – reason why Barry’s book did not win the 2008 Man Booker prize (without taking anything away from Aravind Adiga’s deserved winner The White Tiger).

It’s almost impossible, though, to talk about Sebastian Barry‘s The Secret Scripture without discussing the ending. What makes us choose one book over another is an area where the ending doesn’t come into play.Ī handy approach that also spares us the risk of ruining someone’s reading, by discussing in fine detail a cliff-hanger. This blog has often focussed on great openings to novels, interested particularly in that magical moment where you, the reader, accept an opening contract from the author.

The secret scripture book