false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171033736m/82961.jpg 82961 5 A few years ago, Ireland was forced to confront its conscience when a 14-year-old girl, the purported victim of rape, sought an abortion in England. The ensuing legal and moral battles exposed the Emerald Isle's centuries-long struggles over religion, sexuality, and the position of women. Irish writer Edna O'Brien revisits this embattled territory in her novel <I>Down by the River</I>, a bleak, uncompromising chronicle of poverty, unwanted pregnancy, and despair. O'Brien's protagonist is Mary, almost 14 years old and pregnant by her widowed father. In a repressed, judgmental rural world, Mary can tell no one of her plight. Eventually she tries to drown herself, only to be rescued by a neighbor, Betty. When Betty learns the reason for Mary's suicide attempt, she arranges to take her to England for an abortion. Before the operation can occur, Mary is coerced into returning to Ireland and there she becomes the focal point in a ferocious nationwide debate about abortion. <P> O'Brien is unsparing in her depictions of the economic and emotional poverty in which her characters live, yet she can be surprisingly empathetic toward even the least likeable among them, showing, for example, the tender side of Mary's father even as she exposes his brutality. The book's language is rich and laden with imagery, at times in shocking contrast to the parched lives she describes. <I>Down by the River</I> is just the latest in a long line of fiercely honest books by a fearlessly honest author. 985832 1996 Down by the River total:80|5:23|4:30|3:18|2:8|1:1| 80 306 124 16 4 0 false false Sat Apr 18 11:30:24 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 17:48:03 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 18 11:30:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Feb 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 08:49:29 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 06:19:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 13:08:04 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 13:11:56 -0700 2008 By Jim Ruland

This summer, instead of slogging through all 250,000 words of Ulysses (as well as the shelf-cracking row of books you’ll need to decipher it), read Ireland’s other modernist prose stylist and genius storyteller: Edn...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Mon Mar 31 20:15:22 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 20:15:51 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Dec 09 13:45:58 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 09 13:46:20 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Mon Jun 09 15:39:59 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 15:44:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 1997 Thu Feb 07 13:23:59 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 07 13:30:36 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 23 00:18:02 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 00:20:36 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Jul 21 03:09:52 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 20 12:41:28 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Wed Jul 02 07:31:10 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 07:32:29 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Mon Jul 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 09:33:49 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 09:37:11 -0700 2008 It was a good read and you kept hoping they would get the ......... and put him away.]]> 5 0 false false Tue Feb 19 05:19:56 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 22 04:20:35 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Oct 09 19:22:34 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 09 19:24:31 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Feb 09 07:09:13 -0800 2007 Fri Feb 23 07:48:12 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Mon Sep 29 20:29:32 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 29 20:31:12 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Tue Jul 07 04:37:06 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 04:38:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 14 05:26:48 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 05:26:48 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 13 02:20:45 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 02:20:45 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Nov 11 23:45:17 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 23:45:17 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 17 13:31:53 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 13:31:53 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=82961