Product Description

After years of freedom - and loneliness - Elizabeth marries into the enclosed Irish village of her upbringing. Moving between tragedy and savage comedy, desperation and joy, this was McGahern's first novel.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #340804 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 232 pages

Customer Reviews

One of the best Irish fiction pieces I have read.
I am writing from the United States. There was an article by Colm Toibin in The London Review of Books (10 August 2000) in which he stated that one of the best Irish fiction pieces in the 50's and 60's was the Barracks. So I scarfed up a copy. And I read it today, in two sittings. I was blown away. I have read many contemporary Irish writers and this book had to be placed in the top five. The main character, Elizabeth Reegan, was a woman of infinite wisdom. And the reader was allowed into her thoughts, that usually she did not allow to be voiced to her husband or his friends. She throughout the novel was dying of breast cancer and given this was written in the '60s and she ignored the early warning signs, one knew she was going to die from it. But the thoughts that she allowed me to hear from the beginning of her illness to the end were... (true)....her innermost fears, her beliefs, her lament of the unfairness of life, her loving attentions paid to her husband (bitter about his job) and her step-children... During and after reading this beautifully-written work of art (I would be surprised that this author matched this intensity of writing). I was worried in this day and age of pathetic fiction bestsellers that this book would be out of print. But it isn't. Thanks, Colm Toibin for telling me about this book. I would have liked to meet Elizabeth Reegan.....she was a woman trapped in a world that forced her into a subservient role....but she endured it with grace and class.

Remarkably confident first novel by a master writer
After years of freedom working as a nurse in war-torn London, Elizabeth Reegan returns to the remote Irish village of her childhood. Here she marries a widower and becomes step-mother to three young children.

The widower is the sergeant of a three-man barracks who longs to escape the police force. Bitter about his job, he runs a nice side business growing and cutting turf and does not seem particularly worried about being caught by the ever-prowling superintendent Quirke, who keeps a watchful eye on him.

In the claustrophobic surrounds of the barracks in which the police live and work, Elizabeth busies herself with the small but vital (and often unnoticed) tasks that are necessary for the smooth running of the household: cooking, cleaning, gardening, stoking the fire and minding the children.

But when she discovers a cyst in her breast, she uses the importance of these tasks as an excuse not to see a doctor. When, at last, she is diagnosed with cancer she finds herself dwelling on the past, finding comfort in the present while trying to contain the "scream in her mouth".

First published in 1963 (and banned from McGahern's local library), The Barracks is a remarkably confident first novel by a man who went on to become a giant of modern Irish literature.

McGahern's ability to write so effectively, authentically and eloquently about a middle-aged woman dying of breast cancer is quite stunning. Her interior monologues are heartfelt, swinging between joy and despair. And her metaphysical crisis seems all the more profound because she is unable to share it with anyone, not even the village priest whom she has never liked. As a result she finds herself thinking more and more about a past lover, a young doctor in London, who constantly asked her: "What is all this living and dying about anyway?"

While The Barracks explores some very serious themes -- life, death and our search for meaning -- McGahern is also a master at the minutiae of daily life, the tedium of housework, the ritual of nightly prayer, and how the changing seasons dictate the timeless rhythms of rural living.

He is also very good at capturing the humour and banter between policeman, using rich and fiercely Irish dialogue that had me laughing out loud more than once or twice.

Overall this is a dark and depressing Catholic novel, but it's poignancy and intelligence make it one of the most haunting reads you are ever likely to experience.

A work of understated genius
Brilliant review below says it all. However, I could not believe this book held my attention, it is all about the trivialites of everyday life & all the little rituals that give it structure. It also highlights the inner life that is within us all & about making sense of the boredom we suffer daily in striving to make sense of our existence. Found the book very moving & as in all good literature there are fundamental human truths that hit home and I could relate to Elizabeth slowly dying & Reegan trapped by his occuaption. Both equally desparate & ultimately alone facing a seemingly futile struggle.