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The old jest
In 1920, 18-year old Nancy Gulliver befriends a mysterious stranger and unwittingly becomes involved in the bloody conflict between the English and the Irish. (Nancy Pearl)
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First published January 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
December 16, 2021
4★
“‘Someone once said ‘Death is an old jest, but it comes to everyone.’”
The title comes from Grandfather saying this to Nancy. He guesses Kipling, and when she corrects him, saying Turgenev, he suddenly blurts out that he never liked the Russians.
This begins as a light-hearted, affectionate look at a young girl growing up in Ireland in 1920, after the end of WW1, but her childish, secret adventure turns serious and shows the dark divisions in Ireland.
Nancy was orphaned very young and has been raised in a friendly, loving household by her Aunt Mary, her befuddled grandfather (a retired Major), and the family cook (and philosopher), Bridie. Grandfather is in a wheelchair and keeps constant watch on the distant railway line with his ever-present binoculars.
Her journal introduces chapters in the first person. The rest is third person point of view. Today is Nancy’s eighteenth birthday.
“Today I want to start to become a person. My new year. My life is ahead of me, empty like the pages of this book, which I bought myself as a birthday present. It is not really a diary, more passing thoughts that give impressions of me, so that in forty years, if, as Bridie would say, I am spared, I can look back and see what I was like when I started out. It is so easy to forget. I have noticed that from watching Aunt Mary, not to mention Grandfather, but then he is a special case, being slowly devoured by extreme old age.”
. . .
“There always seems to have been a war. I suppose in forty years things will be much the same, in spite of what people say to the contrary. Even in this small village so many people have been killed.”
In spite of the “if you are spared” comments by Bridie and the family’s close connection with war, she thinks mostly about herself and maybe having a crush on a young neighbour who works in the city, and she likes to think she’s jealous of his girlfriend. But really, she doesn’t know what she thinks. She’s just itchy for LIFE.
She asks Aunt Mary, “’Don’t you ever need to tear yourself open and get out all that stuff that’s burning you inside?’
‘You sound as if you need a surgeon rather than a friend. Tut! It’s part of the mythology of youth that people go round burning themselves up inside. It’s not like that at all, pet. Most people lead and want to lead calm, equilibrious…’ She laughed and repeated the word … ‘equilibrious lives.’ She reached out and touched Nancy’s hand. ‘There’s no point in making life more difficult than it has to be.’”
But equilibrium is the furthest thing from her mind. She finds a little deserted beach hut and claims it as her own, taking some books and putting up a shelf, much the way a lot of us might have found a little hidey-hole of our own in the bush or up a tree.
One day, she discovers someone else has been in her hut. Still, she continues on her merry way, wondering about who her father was, wondering what her mother was like, wondering what she will do when she grows up. And then she meets a very different boy about her own age and has to grow up.
I enjoyed the Irish weather on the page but wouldn’t in real life. It’s sunny, then almost immediately wet. People are always soaked, having to race inside to dry off and get into a hot bath. But that’s what makes the Isle so Emerald.
“The wind was soft and rain promising, though the sun was shining brightly. Round the horizon great piles of clouds waited their moment.”
I also enjoyed the gentle humour, usually around Aunt Mary and her friends, two sisters with whom she played cards, drank whisky and gin and dressed up and went to the races. The sisters have returned from their trip to France.
“The tall Miss Brabazon moved over to their Daimler and began to pat its bonnet as if it were a horse.”
. . .
“Nancy wondered if she were about to offer the car an apple. ‘And dear old car behaved like a perfect gentleman. Didn’t he, George?’ The small Miss Brabazon nodded.”
. . .
‘He never even flinched at French petrol.’”
Bit by bit, piece by piece, war and conflicts intrude. Difficult times.
Thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Media for the copy for review from which I’ve quoted.
“‘Someone once said ‘Death is an old jest, but it comes to everyone.’”
The title comes from Grandfather saying this to Nancy. He guesses Kipling, and when she corrects him, saying Turgenev, he suddenly blurts out that he never liked the Russians.
This begins as a light-hearted, affectionate look at a young girl growing up in Ireland in 1920, after the end of WW1, but her childish, secret adventure turns serious and shows the dark divisions in Ireland.
Nancy was orphaned very young and has been raised in a friendly, loving household by her Aunt Mary, her befuddled grandfather (a retired Major), and the family cook (and philosopher), Bridie. Grandfather is in a wheelchair and keeps constant watch on the distant railway line with his ever-present binoculars.
Her journal introduces chapters in the first person. The rest is third person point of view. Today is Nancy’s eighteenth birthday.
“Today I want to start to become a person. My new year. My life is ahead of me, empty like the pages of this book, which I bought myself as a birthday present. It is not really a diary, more passing thoughts that give impressions of me, so that in forty years, if, as Bridie would say, I am spared, I can look back and see what I was like when I started out. It is so easy to forget. I have noticed that from watching Aunt Mary, not to mention Grandfather, but then he is a special case, being slowly devoured by extreme old age.”
. . .
“There always seems to have been a war. I suppose in forty years things will be much the same, in spite of what people say to the contrary. Even in this small village so many people have been killed.”
In spite of the “if you are spared” comments by Bridie and the family’s close connection with war, she thinks mostly about herself and maybe having a crush on a young neighbour who works in the city, and she likes to think she’s jealous of his girlfriend. But really, she doesn’t know what she thinks. She’s just itchy for LIFE.
She asks Aunt Mary, “’Don’t you ever need to tear yourself open and get out all that stuff that’s burning you inside?’
‘You sound as if you need a surgeon rather than a friend. Tut! It’s part of the mythology of youth that people go round burning themselves up inside. It’s not like that at all, pet. Most people lead and want to lead calm, equilibrious…’ She laughed and repeated the word … ‘equilibrious lives.’ She reached out and touched Nancy’s hand. ‘There’s no point in making life more difficult than it has to be.’”
But equilibrium is the furthest thing from her mind. She finds a little deserted beach hut and claims it as her own, taking some books and putting up a shelf, much the way a lot of us might have found a little hidey-hole of our own in the bush or up a tree.
One day, she discovers someone else has been in her hut. Still, she continues on her merry way, wondering about who her father was, wondering what her mother was like, wondering what she will do when she grows up. And then she meets a very different boy about her own age and has to grow up.
I enjoyed the Irish weather on the page but wouldn’t in real life. It’s sunny, then almost immediately wet. People are always soaked, having to race inside to dry off and get into a hot bath. But that’s what makes the Isle so Emerald.
“The wind was soft and rain promising, though the sun was shining brightly. Round the horizon great piles of clouds waited their moment.”
I also enjoyed the gentle humour, usually around Aunt Mary and her friends, two sisters with whom she played cards, drank whisky and gin and dressed up and went to the races. The sisters have returned from their trip to France.
“The tall Miss Brabazon moved over to their Daimler and began to pat its bonnet as if it were a horse.”
. . .
“Nancy wondered if she were about to offer the car an apple. ‘And dear old car behaved like a perfect gentleman. Didn’t he, George?’ The small Miss Brabazon nodded.”
. . .
‘He never even flinched at French petrol.’”
Bit by bit, piece by piece, war and conflicts intrude. Difficult times.
Thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Media for the copy for review from which I’ve quoted.
September 8, 2021
Free for Audible-UK Plus members.
This has got to be VERY short. I am not feeling well.
Nancy, the central character, is eighteen. She is living outside of Dublin, and it is the summer of 1920. It is thus during the Irish War for Independence. She is enjoying the summer with her family before beginning studies at Trinity College in the fall. She jots down her thoughts in a journal as the summer reaches its end and the tumultuous events of the civil war unfold.
View this as a coming-of-age tale. Nancy is a young woman raised by a loving aunt, but she is curious to know more of her parents. She needs to make sense of where her allegiance stands in the Irish conflict. Through her grandfather, aging is focused upon too.
The story feels short and incomplete, not fully developed. By the end I don't have a grip on Nancy's character. Perhaps because she’s still young and immature; she does not know who she is herself. There are, however, some good lines. Other lines left little impact on me. In relation to the title, we are told:
“Death is an old jest, but it comes to everyone.”
This line meant little to me. It led my thoughts nowhere!
The following are lines I do like:
“I love her, but I don’t want to be like her.”
“It is important to feel you have a reason to be alive.”
“I suppose when I married her, I was someone. I could have told you my name and address. In fact, I used to carry little cards around in my pocket and leave them around for people so they would know I existed.”
I see humor in this. Do you?
The book is narrated by Jennifer O'Neill. The narration is fine, but nothing special. Three stars for the narration.
The book isn't bad but could have been better. The characters and the ideas presented are not fully developed. We glimpse moments in the life of a young Irish lass the summer before entering college.
************************
*The Railway Station Man 4 stars
*The Captains and the Kings 4 stars
*Shadows on our Skin 4 stars
*The Old Jest 3 stars
*The Christmas Tree TBR
*How Many Miles to Babylon? TBR
*The Gingerbread Woman TBR
*Foolish Mls TBR
*Fool's Sanctuary TBR
*Grace And Truth TBR
This has got to be VERY short. I am not feeling well.
Nancy, the central character, is eighteen. She is living outside of Dublin, and it is the summer of 1920. It is thus during the Irish War for Independence. She is enjoying the summer with her family before beginning studies at Trinity College in the fall. She jots down her thoughts in a journal as the summer reaches its end and the tumultuous events of the civil war unfold.
View this as a coming-of-age tale. Nancy is a young woman raised by a loving aunt, but she is curious to know more of her parents. She needs to make sense of where her allegiance stands in the Irish conflict. Through her grandfather, aging is focused upon too.
The story feels short and incomplete, not fully developed. By the end I don't have a grip on Nancy's character. Perhaps because she’s still young and immature; she does not know who she is herself. There are, however, some good lines. Other lines left little impact on me. In relation to the title, we are told:
“Death is an old jest, but it comes to everyone.”
This line meant little to me. It led my thoughts nowhere!
The following are lines I do like:
“I love her, but I don’t want to be like her.”
“It is important to feel you have a reason to be alive.”
“I suppose when I married her, I was someone. I could have told you my name and address. In fact, I used to carry little cards around in my pocket and leave them around for people so they would know I existed.”
I see humor in this. Do you?
The book is narrated by Jennifer O'Neill. The narration is fine, but nothing special. Three stars for the narration.
The book isn't bad but could have been better. The characters and the ideas presented are not fully developed. We glimpse moments in the life of a young Irish lass the summer before entering college.
************************
*The Railway Station Man 4 stars
*The Captains and the Kings 4 stars
*Shadows on our Skin 4 stars
*The Old Jest 3 stars
*The Christmas Tree TBR
*How Many Miles to Babylon? TBR
*The Gingerbread Woman TBR
*Foolish Mls TBR
*Fool's Sanctuary TBR
*Grace And Truth TBR
March 7, 2022
Beautiful writing in a story that started out innocently and turned brutal.
November 14, 2012
This story of ten days in August 1920, in the Irish War of Independence, is the story of an ordinary girl, just turned eighteen. One of the things I like is that this is not a story about the war. It's a story about people whose lives intersect with it. Perhaps the coming of age metaphor is designed, as girl and country struggle toward autonomy. Nancy Gulliver is rather aimless and petulant, but not unlikable. She lives with her aunt and grandfather in a property that has become a burden. The fraying financial realities of the family are quiet and genteel, so clearly illustrated, and grandfather's dementia is not so complete as everyone thinks. Nancy is tentatively in love with Harry, who is eight years older and courting Maeve. Johnston patiently shapes a turning of the world that rotates Nancy away from her insular life, including her girlish crush on Harry, and she is changed by her encounters with revolutionaries. Her emergence into adulthood is a harsh one.
February 7, 2017
Another beautifully written, somber novel by Jennifer Johnston. In 1920, in the countryside near Dublin, Nancy Gulliver comes of age, anxious, tetchy for her life to start. She lives with her "potty" grandfather and aunt, in a country estate long past its prime. The fading affluence of her family and her own sheltered life make her aimless, and drawn to an unfamiliar man harboring in a seaside hut. Johnston writes of "bruised ghosts lurking in the corners" with subtlety, and in Johnston's novels, the past is always the future.
April 29, 2020
Review to follow
November 7, 2023
Every time I read anything remotely Irish I am confronted with the fact that I know absolutely nothing about the country’s history and politics 👍
April 15, 2019
A wonderfully poetic telling of a young woman during the earlier Troubles. The author, suggested by Sandra Davies, is now on my must-read list and I will seek out other titles. As an aside, I followed this with Milkman (or started the latter at least) and they are worlds apart. This won a minor prize and the other won two major ones. For my money, that should have been reversed. The Old Jest is by far the better and less pretentious title
January 25, 2025
I get the ghost thing now
August 14, 2023
“when you are young, they assume you know nothing”
November 12, 2020
"Death is an old jest but it comes new to everyone." ~ Ivan Turgenev
A few years ago I read an astounding novel by Jennifer Johnston called "Shadows on our skin", so I thought I HAD to add a novel by her to my "Reading Ireland month" selections. I chose "The Old Jest" because it won the Whitbread Book Award in 1979.
Set in late summer 1920, "The Old Jest" is an atmospheric and nostalgic look at the life of Nancy Gulliver, who has just turned eighteen. She never knew her father, and her mother died giving birth to her, so Nancy lives with her dear Aunt Mary and her 'potty' old grandfather who is suffering from dementia.
Nancy fancies herself in love with the much older Harry, a friend of the family. She is jealous that Harry and their neighbour, Maeve, seem to have eyes only for each other.
Nancy is exuberant, impetuous and impatient, all traits which belie her youth and naivety. She experiences dramatic emotional highs and lows, is introspective, and at times unwisely impulsive.
Nancy has just finished school and like most people of her age she is restless and eager to get on with her life. She seems very aware of the vast potential her life could offer, and she enthusiastically starts a journal where she records her emotions and day to day trivia so she won't forget. To escape the adults, she spends much of her time down on the beach where her only companions are the seagulls...
It is in an old beach hut that she frequents that she meets a stranger. Old (in her opinion) tired, and ill looking, she realizes he must be a soldier. They come to be friends, conversing on the beach about books, life, and death. She smuggles him books to read and food from the kitchen.
Over time, Nancy agrees to deliver a message for her new friend. A friend who, as she had suspected, is an IRA foot soldier. The results of her actions will prove life altering...
In my opinion, this novel is about youth, old age, and the chasm between the two. The young view the chasm as vast, whilst the old view the chasm as a mere dimple of years. It is also about change, that which we create ourselves, and that which is foisted upon us.
"The old jest" puts a human face on Irish history.
Written simply about a simpler time - turned tumultuous, "The old jest" is a thoughtful and ageless novel written by a master of prose.
I requested a digital copy of this novel from Open Road Integrated Media via NetGalley to be read and reviewed as one of my "Reading Ireland month" selections.
A few years ago I read an astounding novel by Jennifer Johnston called "Shadows on our skin", so I thought I HAD to add a novel by her to my "Reading Ireland month" selections. I chose "The Old Jest" because it won the Whitbread Book Award in 1979.
Set in late summer 1920, "The Old Jest" is an atmospheric and nostalgic look at the life of Nancy Gulliver, who has just turned eighteen. She never knew her father, and her mother died giving birth to her, so Nancy lives with her dear Aunt Mary and her 'potty' old grandfather who is suffering from dementia.
Nancy fancies herself in love with the much older Harry, a friend of the family. She is jealous that Harry and their neighbour, Maeve, seem to have eyes only for each other.
Nancy is exuberant, impetuous and impatient, all traits which belie her youth and naivety. She experiences dramatic emotional highs and lows, is introspective, and at times unwisely impulsive.
Nancy has just finished school and like most people of her age she is restless and eager to get on with her life. She seems very aware of the vast potential her life could offer, and she enthusiastically starts a journal where she records her emotions and day to day trivia so she won't forget. To escape the adults, she spends much of her time down on the beach where her only companions are the seagulls...
It is in an old beach hut that she frequents that she meets a stranger. Old (in her opinion) tired, and ill looking, she realizes he must be a soldier. They come to be friends, conversing on the beach about books, life, and death. She smuggles him books to read and food from the kitchen.
Over time, Nancy agrees to deliver a message for her new friend. A friend who, as she had suspected, is an IRA foot soldier. The results of her actions will prove life altering...
In my opinion, this novel is about youth, old age, and the chasm between the two. The young view the chasm as vast, whilst the old view the chasm as a mere dimple of years. It is also about change, that which we create ourselves, and that which is foisted upon us.
"The old jest" puts a human face on Irish history.
Written simply about a simpler time - turned tumultuous, "The old jest" is a thoughtful and ageless novel written by a master of prose.
I requested a digital copy of this novel from Open Road Integrated Media via NetGalley to be read and reviewed as one of my "Reading Ireland month" selections.
November 2, 2017
I had a hard time warming up to this novel which was in the first place due to the main character Nancy Gulliver, who comes across as an odd, disjointed mixture of all sorts of character traits that never seem to form an organic whole. Immaturity, some sort of rebelliousness, reflective skills occasionally, barely connected. It was difficult to imagine that Nancy was a living and breathing human being. She never really came to life, which made reading the book an ordeal at times. If it had been any longer, I wouldn't have finished it.
Another big issue to me was that most of the dialogue (and there's lots), apart from the conversations with the soldier which show some substance, was poorly written and not engaging at all, especially when it comes to Aunt Mary and Bridie. Plus, considering the serious topic the way they talked appeared to be much too light-hearted and banal overall.
In between there were beautifully written passages with philosophical touches, thoughtful remarks, original metaphors, but unfortunately they didn't take up that much space in comparison to the long-winded trifles exchanged inside Nancy's home, which is a pity.
Another big issue to me was that most of the dialogue (and there's lots), apart from the conversations with the soldier which show some substance, was poorly written and not engaging at all, especially when it comes to Aunt Mary and Bridie. Plus, considering the serious topic the way they talked appeared to be much too light-hearted and banal overall.
In between there were beautifully written passages with philosophical touches, thoughtful remarks, original metaphors, but unfortunately they didn't take up that much space in comparison to the long-winded trifles exchanged inside Nancy's home, which is a pity.
March 24, 2012
This is one of Jennifer Johnston's earlier novels--it is quite hard to fine now, I found a second-hand copy through Amazon--but it is amazing. I love her writing.
November 14, 2025
Beautiful novel which follows the life of a young girl, Nancy, described as "immature" by friend and neighbour Harry, but I would describe her as "uninformed, but curious".
It was ambiguous to readers whether Nancy knew what she was doing by helping the man, whom she nicknamed "Cassius," in delivering the letter to one of his fellow soliders. She doesn't appear utterly clueless as to the happenings; but she also doesn't appear to grasp the severity of her situation. In the third-person narration, she seems to only slightly acknowledge the division of Ireland, the soliders, and the constant deaths. However, in her diary entries, written in first-person narration, she appears too engulfed in her own life and fantasies to really wonder or worry about the happenings outside of it.
Perhaps this is what makes this a novel relatable to a teenage girl, or young adult, who has no idea where life will lead them next.
The writing was almost dream-like, and the imagery sublime. I do wish there was more depth to Nancy's character.
It was ambiguous to readers whether Nancy knew what she was doing by helping the man, whom she nicknamed "Cassius," in delivering the letter to one of his fellow soliders. She doesn't appear utterly clueless as to the happenings; but she also doesn't appear to grasp the severity of her situation. In the third-person narration, she seems to only slightly acknowledge the division of Ireland, the soliders, and the constant deaths. However, in her diary entries, written in first-person narration, she appears too engulfed in her own life and fantasies to really wonder or worry about the happenings outside of it.
Perhaps this is what makes this a novel relatable to a teenage girl, or young adult, who has no idea where life will lead them next.
The writing was almost dream-like, and the imagery sublime. I do wish there was more depth to Nancy's character.
June 14, 2019
Classic Johnston territory - the time: around the Great War/Irish War of Independence, the place: a genteel family estate just outside Dublin. The Dwyer/Gulliver family isn't explicitly Anglo-Irish as in "How Many Miles" but they occupy a high rung in society and their loyalties are divided. The story opens the day young Nancy Gulliver turns 18, and takes place over a few days along that stretch of Irish coast. She meets a grizzled rebel hiding out in her seaside shack, she runs errands for him, she meets young tykes from the wrong side of the tracks in racy Dublin, her inner life and outer life goes through violent turmoil, and inexorably she grows older over those few days, shedding youthful illusions and infatuations along the way.
All very nicely done. Especially the dragon-like character of the taller Miss Brabazon - now that woman could have a book or two all to herself!
PS There's an Anthony Hopkins movie based on the book, should look it up sometime.
All very nicely done. Especially the dragon-like character of the taller Miss Brabazon - now that woman could have a book or two all to herself!
PS There's an Anthony Hopkins movie based on the book, should look it up sometime.
March 7, 2021
I had recorded that I first read this book in 2009. I rated it 3 stars. I managed to get a copy of it from abebooks to reread. I didn’t remember the story at all. Hard to believe but perhaps because I didn’t own the book it went out of my mind.
It is another story about a young person (Nancy) finding solace in a secret friendship with someone older and, as in The Captains and the Kings, the decaying Big House is the setting. Ireland’s political and cultural tensions are here too, forming a background for the difficult transition from childhood to adulthood. Nancy, Aunt Mary, Grandfather, Harry, Maeve, Bridie and of course Angus Barry are all so well portrayed. Small details are used to evoke characters.
The author once remarked: ‘I’d like people to find small truths in my work and go on doing so.’ Her best novels, though brief in length, provide these in abundance. She uses references to Shakespeare, poetry and music throughout her work to help achieve this. The prose is economical and precise. I really enjoyed it.
5 stars.
It is another story about a young person (Nancy) finding solace in a secret friendship with someone older and, as in The Captains and the Kings, the decaying Big House is the setting. Ireland’s political and cultural tensions are here too, forming a background for the difficult transition from childhood to adulthood. Nancy, Aunt Mary, Grandfather, Harry, Maeve, Bridie and of course Angus Barry are all so well portrayed. Small details are used to evoke characters.
The author once remarked: ‘I’d like people to find small truths in my work and go on doing so.’ Her best novels, though brief in length, provide these in abundance. She uses references to Shakespeare, poetry and music throughout her work to help achieve this. The prose is economical and precise. I really enjoyed it.
5 stars.
December 19, 2023
An interesting look into a well to do household during the civil war, that is at the end of its heyday. The distance the family put between itself and the upheaval of war going on around then was astounding. Nancy, the main character, at 18 is trying to figure out what it all means, how she fits into the narrative and also her own background, which is swept carefully under the rug. The amount of fence sitting is laughable. However I enjoyed the story and the ending was sad but necessary, apart from the irritation I felt when some soldiers were shot, life in the rhododendrons went on as normal.
October 10, 2022
I didn't know what this book was about, I just got it as a gift and I decided to read it now. I mainly loved the cover.
After reading it, I have to say that I'm surprised that I liked. The story took us to Ireland after WWI when there was a war for the independence. The story is not political or anything like that but it was more about the story of some people and mainly an 18 years old Nancy.
I didn't think that I will love this story so much, I don't know why but I really enjoyed it even with such an ending.
After reading it, I have to say that I'm surprised that I liked. The story took us to Ireland after WWI when there was a war for the independence. The story is not political or anything like that but it was more about the story of some people and mainly an 18 years old Nancy.
I didn't think that I will love this story so much, I don't know why but I really enjoyed it even with such an ending.
October 24, 2023
I like the title, apparently from its a quote by Turgenov ("Death is an old jest but it comes new to everyone.") and of course the setting: Sinn Feiners against the Black and Tans in 1920. What a war-mongering nation England was! And how its past comes back to beat it! Anyway, that's not what the book is about mainly. It's a bit of a coming-of-age story - a young girl has a crush on a soldier and at the same time she finds a strange older man in the hut she thinks of as hers. And also about embracing change and making your own mind up about your society. I liked it a lot. Very readable.
March 12, 2025
This is a book of its era and moves at that pace. Don't expect lots of plot twist and cliff hangers on every page. Instead the tension is built, drop by drop until you are as wound us as the main character feels and as grief stricken with the end result. Masterfully done.
The protagonist is an 18 year old girl chaffing against the strictures of her place in society. Her character arc is a trip you will enjoy travelling.
The protagonist is an 18 year old girl chaffing against the strictures of her place in society. Her character arc is a trip you will enjoy travelling.
January 1, 2019
Coming-of-age novel set during the Northern Ireland conflict
Written from the point of view of an eighteen-year-old girl, this novel is believable and brought to life the conflict in Ireland. This is the first novel that I have read by this author, but I plan to read more.
Written from the point of view of an eighteen-year-old girl, this novel is believable and brought to life the conflict in Ireland. This is the first novel that I have read by this author, but I plan to read more.
June 13, 2019
This was surprisingly good. It started rather slowly, but once it picked up pace, it never slowed down until the grand finale. Subtle story with beautiful prose. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel.
September 9, 2024
I read this directly after The Captains and the Kings which I found powerful. I was disappointed in this one. Nancy's character just didn't draw me in. It all felt a bit pointless until the very end when things took a dramatic turn.
November 7, 2018
Nothing special.
Read
November 6, 2025Would have liked more of the Ascendancy vs national bourgeois property developer subplot.
April 8, 2022
I really had no idea I would ever pick up this book. I was made by the Irish readathon. And I am so glad I ended up with this book. It made me think, it made me feel, it made me want to read more Irish literature.
The book has the simple narrations line, but complex emotional background. The characters are well developed through small details and short dialogues. I liked the language of the novel, as it was descriptive and precise at the same time.
It is impressive, how much emotion, tension and colours are put in a such short book. It all started as a light story of a 18 year old girl, who is on the edge of beginning her exciting journey in life. And one by one, the threads of the bigger world, of more cruel and unfair world are starting to entwine into the narration, building up the depressive and hopeless picture.
I guess that I enjoyed the book more as I used audio format with Heather O'Neill as a narrator.
The book has the simple narrations line, but complex emotional background. The characters are well developed through small details and short dialogues. I liked the language of the novel, as it was descriptive and precise at the same time.
It is impressive, how much emotion, tension and colours are put in a such short book. It all started as a light story of a 18 year old girl, who is on the edge of beginning her exciting journey in life. And one by one, the threads of the bigger world, of more cruel and unfair world are starting to entwine into the narration, building up the depressive and hopeless picture.
I guess that I enjoyed the book more as I used audio format with Heather O'Neill as a narrator.
July 30, 2016
This tells the story of ten days in the life of Nancy, just turned 18 in 1920s Ireland, and her chance meeting with Angus Barry, an older IRA leader in hiding from the authorities. Set against the backdrop of Nancy's privileged Anglo-Irish life and her gradual and slow personal growth, this charts the short progress of their influence on each other.
I found this an interesting read. Nancy is a somewhat annoying character, though still likeable, and her growing development throughout this short novel is revealing. The only thing that jarred with me was that she was 18 but seemed so much younger so it was hard to accept some of her actions and thoughts and lack of reaction when older people would tell her what to do. I had to keep reminding myself that this was the 1920s when the age of majority was 21.
I enjoyed some of the other characters in the novel: Aunt Mary, the Grandfather and Bridie, though others less so as less well-written: Harry and Maeve. These characters were important in sketching for the reader Nancy's character and highlighting her gradual realisation of issues she had barely given a thought to before. Definitely worth a read.
I found this an interesting read. Nancy is a somewhat annoying character, though still likeable, and her growing development throughout this short novel is revealing. The only thing that jarred with me was that she was 18 but seemed so much younger so it was hard to accept some of her actions and thoughts and lack of reaction when older people would tell her what to do. I had to keep reminding myself that this was the 1920s when the age of majority was 21.
I enjoyed some of the other characters in the novel: Aunt Mary, the Grandfather and Bridie, though others less so as less well-written: Harry and Maeve. These characters were important in sketching for the reader Nancy's character and highlighting her gradual realisation of issues she had barely given a thought to before. Definitely worth a read.
August 29, 2013
This novel reminds me very much of Elizabeth Bowen's "The Last September" yet it was written nearly a half century later. A fine novel, but why does Johnston focus on the beginning of "the troubles" ca. 1920 rather than on more contemporary manifestations? Makes me wonder if Anglo-Irish writers still harbor nostalgia for the period when they were ascendent in Ireland--although on the cusp of losing power. Maybe it's the old Walter Scott formula for writing historical fiction, that its appropriate topic is the clash between two peoples or civilizations, when one is falling as the other rises.
February 17, 2017
I don’t think Jennifer Johnston could write badly if she tried, and this novella demonstrates her usual understated, spare and controlled style very well indeed. With never a word wasted, she conjures up an atmospheric and haunting episode in the life of a young girl who gets caught up in the Irish political turmoil of the 1920s. Having said that, this is not one of my favourites of her novels as I found the central character hard to engage with, but as a portrait of this turbulent time in Ireland's history it is both convincing and moving.
July 25, 2016
Anglo Irish orphan ingenue comes of age during the war of independence through encountering an ailing IRA mastermind along a no-man's-land stretch of beach... she is, of course, in the process changed utterly when the terrible beauty of our country endures one of its contractions before her very eyes.
All crisply written, but the stock characterisation (doddery Boer-veteran grandfather; kindly aunt maternal figure, sharp-tongued native housekeeper, etc, etc...) and aforementioned well worn scenario meant it didn't really engage.
All crisply written, but the stock characterisation (doddery Boer-veteran grandfather; kindly aunt maternal figure, sharp-tongued native housekeeper, etc, etc...) and aforementioned well worn scenario meant it didn't really engage.
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