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48th out of 296 books
—
64 voters
Cal
For Cal, some of the choices are devastatingly simple... He can work in an abattoir that nauseates him or join the dole queue; he can brood on his past or plan a future with Marcella. Springing out of the fear and violence of Ulster, Cal is a haunting love story in a land were tenderness and innocence can only flicker briefly in the dark.
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
May 7th 1998
by Vintage
(first published 1983)
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Although I liked the writing style, I felt this book was a sad tale of a man who's life was going nowhere. His guilt was all that he lived for. MacLaverty is a good writer, that's not the issue. The issues is that the book was nothing more than a sad story.
Personal opinion, I guess.
Personal opinion, I guess.
This is a powerful book about being caught between two worlds: the Catholic IRA of the 1980's and the Protestants of Northern Ireland. It is a mighty book, right through to the last page.
This book is certainly an emotional undertaking. I read it for a Northern Ireland class, and I just flew through it. It's one of the best insights I've ever had into the possible mindset of an IRA member who doesn't quite have the stomach for it, but gets lost and tangled in everything he's done and everything he wishes he could do.
A good, quick, entertaining summer read that also asks some good questions about love and loyalty. Cal's complicated character took on a depth that's deceptive, given the fast pace of the narrative and the short length of the book. Against the backdrop of sectarian violence in Ireland, and amidst a context of people seemingly passionate about one side or another, Cal's conflicted feelings and relationships highlighted the more muddled reality behind a visage of unswerving devotion, or a set of p...more
Fine, fine novel about the Troubles in the mid 60's. The blurbs call it a classic, the "Passage To India" of the era and though I don't unfortunately know the Forester book very well, it's easy to see why.
Cal McClusky is a teenager on the dole, the only son of an abbatoir man who is in the midst of some serious turmoil- physical (puberty), political (he's the only son of a widowed father who is stubbornly staying in a hostile Ulster neighborhood, a bitter Roman Catholic among aggressive Protesta...more
I like McLaverty's writing a lot. This is the first one I read - I thought I'd put it on GR but apparently not. A tense, superior novel set in Northern Ireland during the troubles in the 70s. Try his stories - recently read 'Matters of Life and Death' which has two great stories. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74...
bugger it I don't know how to put links in or italics come to that
bugger it I don't know how to put links in or italics come to that
The style of a short story that MacLaverty uses captures the reader and makes this realistic story even more believable. I do recommend, though, that you reference the IRA and the RUC as part of ongoing Irish history. This would help your understanding of the novel and what Cal is going through. While I wish I could have seen more into Cal's head, this short novel is an excellent read.
This novel poignantly addresses the complexity of being caught in cultural hubris. Cal's struggle is one that preexisted him... one that will outlive him.
This one made me cry, and I don't do that often.
P.S. If you gave this novel anything less than five stars, ask yourself: Do I have a heart? Just kidding... kind of.
This one made me cry, and I don't do that often.
P.S. If you gave this novel anything less than five stars, ask yourself: Do I have a heart? Just kidding... kind of.
This was my book at the oral finals in high school. Well, I didn't pick it, my English teacher did. Unfortunately I couldn't remember as much about the IRA as he expected me to, but all in all I did well. And it's a really good book, one I probably wouldn't have read if I it hadn't been required.
I read Cal as part of a literature course. I hated reading at the time and knew very little of the Northern Ireland conflict (shame on me). I ended up passing that part of the course with 100% - for the first time ever ^-^
I couldn't believe the intracies in the writting and the amount of effort a writer would go to set a scene.
I couldn't believe the intracies in the writting and the amount of effort a writer would go to set a scene.
It's not that I didn't like Cal. I just didn't love it. I feel like I've read the "I'm stuck in the IRA but don't want to be" story before and done better. I didn't much care for Cal or Marcella, and their motivations struck me as a little shallow.
A very entertaining read about an ordinary young man in an extra ordinary situation.
The movie, based on the novel, and featuring Helen Mirren is also worth a watch - if you can find it these days.
The movie, based on the novel, and featuring Helen Mirren is also worth a watch - if you can find it these days.
Cal is a young Catholic living in a Belfast neighbourhood where all the Catholics have been driven out. He and his father have been threatened and refuse to go. A young Catholic in Belfast, in the Troubles, is probably on the dole, and Cal is a republican, but he has no interest in being part of the IRA. That doesn't stop the IRA from having an interest in him, and he gets drawn into some actions which irrevocably change his life. This story is simply told, and the plot is a plausible one. Cal i...more
This book was SO well written. The pace i found a bit slow at the start, but as you got into it more the choices Cal has to make are devastating and it really gives you insight into the fact that things are never as cold, simple and objective as they seem to be, especially in the case of conflict, and especially in the case of this conflict.
Slow, matter of fact, tragic, gorgeous and painful. Something about the tone and and descriptions were just so understated, but you understand that the text...more
Slow, matter of fact, tragic, gorgeous and painful. Something about the tone and and descriptions were just so understated, but you understand that the text...more
This was a book I was made to read during my fourth year of high school for my English class and at the time I really disliked it a lot. If I hadn't been recquired to read it, I would never have picked it up. However I did read the novel again (a couple of times) afterwards and I found that I was able to appreciate the story more when I wasn't being forced to study it and that's why I've given it 4stars now.
I am writing my master's thesis on this book. It's awesome!...but in a "literature-that-epitomizes-the-conflict-of-Northern-Ireland" kind of way.
It is a good read. The ending was kind of telegraphed and was not a total surprise.
You know it won't end well, but you still root for Cal.
Actual grade: 0
With no plot and bad insta-love, Cal was the most boring and meaningless book I've ever read.
With no plot and bad insta-love, Cal was the most boring and meaningless book I've ever read.
It misses true suspense and action.
1 like · like · see review
Cal is young, unemployed, and a reluctant participant in the Northern Irish "troubles" of the 1980s. He strives to do the "right" thing despite the complex and violent situation in which he is enmeshed. MacLavery deftly captures the tension and conflicting feelings of a small cast of intertwined characters.
Of course, I was predisposed to like this book, having loved this melancholy movie when it was released in 1984. The music of Mark Knopfler's soundtrack wafted through my memory as I read. Mus...more
Of course, I was predisposed to like this book, having loved this melancholy movie when it was released in 1984. The music of Mark Knopfler's soundtrack wafted through my memory as I read. Mus...more
An intensely psychological book, centering on the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I consider the book mostly a tragedy, with the characters unable to escape the weight of the history of conflict and the present world it has created for them. They live in a world that does not allow any gray area, meaning the choices are truly life and death. Its a quick read, but probably best for someone who has an interest in Irish literature and history. I have more thoughts here at some point.
Was made read it in school.
Jul 28, 2011
Nick
added it
Beautiful and harsh
Dec 11, 2009
Katrina
added it
:)
A great novel that deals with the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Cal falls in love with Marcella, the widow whom he participated in killing her Protestant husband. A tragic and passonate novel that you can't let down.
This is a really wonderful story about an Irish Catholic, Cal, living in Belfast in the 70's. Cal becomes involved in a murder and falls in love with the wife of the man murdered. MacLaverty has really spun a fine tale here.
Not really my type of book so I didnt like it that much
This book was good and totally uncomfortable to read. Its a love story that takes place in Ireland, but it is not a typical book at all.
A young Catholic man in Northern Ireland falls in love with the Catholic widow of a British Protestant policeman whose murder he was involved in.
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Bernard MacLaverty was born in Belfast (14.9.42) and lived there until 1975 when he moved to Scotland with his wife, Madeline, and four children. He has been a Medical Laboratory Technician, a mature student, a teacher of English and, for two years in the mid eighties, Writer-in-Residence at the University of Aberdeen.
After living for a time in Edinburgh and the Isle of Islay he now lives in Glasg...more
More about Bernard MacLaverty...
After living for a time in Edinburgh and the Isle of Islay he now lives in Glasg...more
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Jun 19, 2011 06:34am