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The Anatomy School
Book by Mac Laverty, Bernard
355 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2001
37 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Bernard MacLaverty
52 books205 followersBernard MacLaverty was born in Belfast in 1942 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 Glasgow. He is a member of Aosdana in Ireland and is Visiting Writer/Professor at the University of Strathclyde.
Currently he is employed as a teacher of creative writing on a postgraduate course in prose fiction run by the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen.
He has published five collections of short stories and four novels. He has written versions of his fiction for other media - radio plays, television plays, screenplays. Recently he wrote and directed a short film 'Bye-Child'
After living for a time in Edinburgh and the Isle of Islay he now lives in Glasgow. He is a member of Aosdana in Ireland and is Visiting Writer/Professor at the University of Strathclyde.
Currently he is employed as a teacher of creative writing on a postgraduate course in prose fiction run by the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen.
He has published five collections of short stories and four novels. He has written versions of his fiction for other media - radio plays, television plays, screenplays. Recently he wrote and directed a short film 'Bye-Child'
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 20, 2012
This 'coming-of-age' novel, set in Northern Ireland in the 1960s, asks the tough existential questions. To-wit:
Mary Lawless cleared her throat. 'A thing I've always wondered is this,' she said. 'If you had two weighing machines and you put a foot on each one, what would you weigh? Can we assume that the sum of the two scales would be your weight? Eh Martin, a bright boy like you should know that. What do you think?'
'Martin', the bright boy, would be Martin Brennan, raised by his widowed mother, who places the Catholic Church, and the priests who run it, above all else. So, Martin must decide whether he 'has the calling'. He doesn't. But to answer that he is off to a 'silent' retreat, or forced to attend weekly dinners at his home with his mother, her two lady friends and the local priest. Martin would rather hang with his two friends, Kavanagh and Foley, who, together, form a trinity of 'bright boys'. Part One of this novel follows them as they shed their adolescent skins and, with that, unveil the absurdity around them. This Part gets a little Seinfeld-y as the boys conspire to steal the questions for their upcoming examinations. But school teaches absurdity, in Ireland and elsewhere, as rutting boys, who would rather smoke in the daffs are given Milton instead. Milton? Really?
Why did students have to put up with this? If you lined up everybody in Ireland and pointed a gun at their head and said How important is it to be able to discuss Milton's Paradise Lost with a modicum of intelligence and insight? and there were two boxes marked IMPORTANT and NOT VERY IMPORTANT. If you shot everybody who ticked NOT VERY IMPORTANT it would be a lot worse than the Famine.
Martin will slowly lose his Faith, even as he retains the Guilt. This is comically demonstrated when Martin imagines his mother being notified of his death while hiding 'the worst wank magazine':
Mrs. Brennan, we're obliged to return Martin's effects. I've looked through them. I'm dreadfully sorry. Of course he may have just found this filthy magazine in a waste bin at a bus stop. And the bus hit him before he could get around to having a wank. Of that we're definite. So, he's probably in heaven.'
'Thanks be to God for small mercies.'
By Part Two, Martin is in the eponymous 'Anatomy School' spending one memorable night among the cadavers, dissecting rats and exchanging accents with an Australian girl. It's a lovely dialogue they share, even as they conduct their own experiments.
'Bright boys', like Martin, get past the tight white t-shirt, the faded jeans, and see this:
The girl in the library reading her book suddenly smiles. What was funny on the page lives in her eyes momentarily. A woman walking down the street completely by herself remembers something said, something done and can't hold back laughing and puts her hand up to cover her lower face. She knows she is giving away too much in front of strangers. Maybe she's had a drink too many; maybe she just left a good conversation in a pub or a coffee place. Whichever way it was, she gave her loveliness away to Martin as he waited for his bus one evening.
This novel was fine, but pedestrian compared to MacLaverty's wonderful Grace Notes and Cal.
One odd thing. It's weird, as a reader, how we add layers of knowledge that often do not wait to be used. I very recently read The Inventor and the Tycoon about, in large part, the life of 19th Century photographer Eadweard Muybridge who, when he wasn't killing his wife's lover, liked to photograph people engaged in quotidian acts (like smoking a cigarette) while they were nude. Somehow, Martin comes across a copy of Muybridge's photo book, allowing MacLaverty to tell Muybridge's story. The book gods play their jokes.
And one annoying thing. In a 1960s dinner, the adults are lamenting youth's fascination with 'disco, disco, disco'. Which, I didn't think was 'invented' until a decade later.
Mary Lawless cleared her throat. 'A thing I've always wondered is this,' she said. 'If you had two weighing machines and you put a foot on each one, what would you weigh? Can we assume that the sum of the two scales would be your weight? Eh Martin, a bright boy like you should know that. What do you think?'
'Martin', the bright boy, would be Martin Brennan, raised by his widowed mother, who places the Catholic Church, and the priests who run it, above all else. So, Martin must decide whether he 'has the calling'. He doesn't. But to answer that he is off to a 'silent' retreat, or forced to attend weekly dinners at his home with his mother, her two lady friends and the local priest. Martin would rather hang with his two friends, Kavanagh and Foley, who, together, form a trinity of 'bright boys'. Part One of this novel follows them as they shed their adolescent skins and, with that, unveil the absurdity around them. This Part gets a little Seinfeld-y as the boys conspire to steal the questions for their upcoming examinations. But school teaches absurdity, in Ireland and elsewhere, as rutting boys, who would rather smoke in the daffs are given Milton instead. Milton? Really?
Why did students have to put up with this? If you lined up everybody in Ireland and pointed a gun at their head and said How important is it to be able to discuss Milton's Paradise Lost with a modicum of intelligence and insight? and there were two boxes marked IMPORTANT and NOT VERY IMPORTANT. If you shot everybody who ticked NOT VERY IMPORTANT it would be a lot worse than the Famine.
Martin will slowly lose his Faith, even as he retains the Guilt. This is comically demonstrated when Martin imagines his mother being notified of his death while hiding 'the worst wank magazine':
Mrs. Brennan, we're obliged to return Martin's effects. I've looked through them. I'm dreadfully sorry. Of course he may have just found this filthy magazine in a waste bin at a bus stop. And the bus hit him before he could get around to having a wank. Of that we're definite. So, he's probably in heaven.'
'Thanks be to God for small mercies.'
By Part Two, Martin is in the eponymous 'Anatomy School' spending one memorable night among the cadavers, dissecting rats and exchanging accents with an Australian girl. It's a lovely dialogue they share, even as they conduct their own experiments.
'Bright boys', like Martin, get past the tight white t-shirt, the faded jeans, and see this:
The girl in the library reading her book suddenly smiles. What was funny on the page lives in her eyes momentarily. A woman walking down the street completely by herself remembers something said, something done and can't hold back laughing and puts her hand up to cover her lower face. She knows she is giving away too much in front of strangers. Maybe she's had a drink too many; maybe she just left a good conversation in a pub or a coffee place. Whichever way it was, she gave her loveliness away to Martin as he waited for his bus one evening.
This novel was fine, but pedestrian compared to MacLaverty's wonderful Grace Notes and Cal.
One odd thing. It's weird, as a reader, how we add layers of knowledge that often do not wait to be used. I very recently read The Inventor and the Tycoon about, in large part, the life of 19th Century photographer Eadweard Muybridge who, when he wasn't killing his wife's lover, liked to photograph people engaged in quotidian acts (like smoking a cigarette) while they were nude. Somehow, Martin comes across a copy of Muybridge's photo book, allowing MacLaverty to tell Muybridge's story. The book gods play their jokes.
And one annoying thing. In a 1960s dinner, the adults are lamenting youth's fascination with 'disco, disco, disco'. Which, I didn't think was 'invented' until a decade later.
January 2, 2013
I'm adding Bernard MacLaverty to my list of writers who do not disappoint. That decision is based on six books, and I know I have at least three more to acquire and savour. He's a writer who engages thoughtfully with ordinary things. In this case, the setting is an all-boys Catholic school, for most of the book, and the protagonist is Martin, an only child with a single parent. Martin has to navigate the last year of school, make decisions about who he is and what he wants to be, figure out integrity, friendship, and sex. It sounds dull. But it is not. MacLaverty writes it remembering that when we live those years and confront those things, they are not dull in the least. The story is set in Belfast in the late 1960's, but it is not consumed by Belfast in the late 1960's. Ordinary things went on there, then. Martin is a solid, engaging guy, smarter than his grades suggest, less confident than his friend Kavanagh, less reckless than Blaise. I was taken with him from the start and followed his progress with real tension because MacLaverty shows how a single misstep in those ordinary things can change everything.
October 1, 2025
This was a lovely coming of age story. I felt it accurately captured the awkwardness of being an adolescent boy growing up in 1960’s Belfast, with the backdrop of the troubles and the political tensions. There were no dramatic twists, but there were shifts and revelations throughout. The friendships between the 3 boys was lovely and the depictions of his Mother’s tea parties were hilarious! I was left with a lovely warmth and overall satisfaction with this book.
February 22, 2017
A portrayal of an adolescent's search for identity written with great warmth and respect for human life. The dialogue between the affectionately-drawn characters will make you chuckle and the attention to detail to the protagonist is moving because there is a total absence of judgement of this boy, whatever situation he gets himself into. All the awkwardness of being a teen is lovingly depicted and this is what makes this an outstanding and beautiful novel for me.
November 1, 2016
I'm in two minds about this book. At one level it is a Bildungsroman, and at another it is a picture of a period. Martin Brennan is a teenager in his last year of high school. He attends a Catholic school in Protestant Belfast, where being Catholic is a badge of identity. Martin has two friends, Kavanagh, who is an athlete, and a new boy at the school, Blaise Foley, who rejects everything that the school stands for.
At home his pious mother regularly entertains three friends of her age, oen of them a priest, and Martin helps to serve them, hears their conversations, and is sometimes himself the subject of their conversations.
The book opens with Martin at a silent retreat with his contemporaries from the school, where the expectation is that he and the others will consider a possible vocation to the priesthood. Martin's conscience is troubled by moral and venial sins of thought word and deed, throughout the retreat, and when he gets back to school, after deciding that the priesthood is not for him, he is severely tempted to mortal sins by his new friend Blaise Foley.
After leaving school he works as a technician in the anatomy school of the university, where his friend Kavanagh is a medical student.
It was a bit difficult to work out the period in which the book is set. One clue was a reference to the blowing up of Nelson's statue in Dublin in earl;y 1966. It was clearly after that event, but close enough for it still to be a talking point, so as far as I could determine from such clues in the story, it took place in 1966-68. It was a time when I was in the UK as a student, though I was never in Belfast.
One feature of the book is the very detailed descriptions of everyday life -- the composition and making of sandwiches for tea, noises and sounds like lift doors clanging. In that it reminded me of A touch of Daniel by Peter Tinniswood. That book was set somewhere in north-west England, and gave a very vivd picture of the place and period, and the foibles of the people, though with considerably more humour than The Anatomy School. But A Touch of Daniel was published closer to the time, and The Anatomy School was published in 2001, which makes some of the close detail suspect, and one of the anachronisms that stood out for me was when Martin tells someone that he had a job "at the Uni". I never heard anyone call a university a uni during my time in the UK, and only learnt of it much later, via the internet. It may be that it was a peculiarly Irish term, that started in Belfast before reaching other parts of the UK, but for me it made much of the fine detail throughout the book rather suspect.
On the other hand, there were some things that reminded be very strongly of when I myself was Martin Brennan's age. I went to a Methodist School, not a Catholic one, and in Johannesburg, not Belfast. But I hung out a lot with two or three friends, as Martin did, and our conversations were not all that dissimilar. I enjoyed reading it, but I think it might have been better if some of the superfluous (and suspect) detail had been dropped -- it would have made the characters and their intreractions stand out better.
At home his pious mother regularly entertains three friends of her age, oen of them a priest, and Martin helps to serve them, hears their conversations, and is sometimes himself the subject of their conversations.
The book opens with Martin at a silent retreat with his contemporaries from the school, where the expectation is that he and the others will consider a possible vocation to the priesthood. Martin's conscience is troubled by moral and venial sins of thought word and deed, throughout the retreat, and when he gets back to school, after deciding that the priesthood is not for him, he is severely tempted to mortal sins by his new friend Blaise Foley.
After leaving school he works as a technician in the anatomy school of the university, where his friend Kavanagh is a medical student.
It was a bit difficult to work out the period in which the book is set. One clue was a reference to the blowing up of Nelson's statue in Dublin in earl;y 1966. It was clearly after that event, but close enough for it still to be a talking point, so as far as I could determine from such clues in the story, it took place in 1966-68. It was a time when I was in the UK as a student, though I was never in Belfast.
One feature of the book is the very detailed descriptions of everyday life -- the composition and making of sandwiches for tea, noises and sounds like lift doors clanging. In that it reminded me of A touch of Daniel by Peter Tinniswood. That book was set somewhere in north-west England, and gave a very vivd picture of the place and period, and the foibles of the people, though with considerably more humour than The Anatomy School. But A Touch of Daniel was published closer to the time, and The Anatomy School was published in 2001, which makes some of the close detail suspect, and one of the anachronisms that stood out for me was when Martin tells someone that he had a job "at the Uni". I never heard anyone call a university a uni during my time in the UK, and only learnt of it much later, via the internet. It may be that it was a peculiarly Irish term, that started in Belfast before reaching other parts of the UK, but for me it made much of the fine detail throughout the book rather suspect.
On the other hand, there were some things that reminded be very strongly of when I myself was Martin Brennan's age. I went to a Methodist School, not a Catholic one, and in Johannesburg, not Belfast. But I hung out a lot with two or three friends, as Martin did, and our conversations were not all that dissimilar. I enjoyed reading it, but I think it might have been better if some of the superfluous (and suspect) detail had been dropped -- it would have made the characters and their intreractions stand out better.
April 5, 2020
Probably the most boring book that I ever managed to read the whole way through. Long book about a boy, Martin Brennan, growing up in Belfast in the late 60's and early 70's.
Two separate books the first about his school life the second about his first job working in the anatomy lab at at University. Despite its length the only things that happen is that he steals some exam papers in the first book and ‘gets his hole’ with a girl in the second.
Interminably long descriptions of everyday actions and long discussions between his mother, her friends and the parish priest. Lengthy, lengthy accounts of discussions and events that had nothing at all to do with the larger story.
A couple of other annoying points. Firstly the author appears to have an anal fixation. Long drawn-out discussions arise frequently of the excretory process, once again with no relevance whatsoever. Secondly the Australian female character introduced in the second half of the book is so transparently fake. Within the first few pages of her introduction she has used every cliche of Aussie language - gidday, drongo, tucker, etc. etc.
Given the possibilities of the geographic and timing setting of the book a great disappointment. Only read cos I bought it at full price and dome interest in reading the Belfast slang from my youth.
Two separate books the first about his school life the second about his first job working in the anatomy lab at at University. Despite its length the only things that happen is that he steals some exam papers in the first book and ‘gets his hole’ with a girl in the second.
Interminably long descriptions of everyday actions and long discussions between his mother, her friends and the parish priest. Lengthy, lengthy accounts of discussions and events that had nothing at all to do with the larger story.
A couple of other annoying points. Firstly the author appears to have an anal fixation. Long drawn-out discussions arise frequently of the excretory process, once again with no relevance whatsoever. Secondly the Australian female character introduced in the second half of the book is so transparently fake. Within the first few pages of her introduction she has used every cliche of Aussie language - gidday, drongo, tucker, etc. etc.
Given the possibilities of the geographic and timing setting of the book a great disappointment. Only read cos I bought it at full price and dome interest in reading the Belfast slang from my youth.
June 7, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed this coming of age novel set in Belfast amongst the Troubles. It is in effect 2 separate stories set in Belfast. The first an account of school life and 3 friends through the eyes of Martin. The tea evenings with his mother's friends are wonderful & random. School life is at times horrific but hilarious. The capture of adolescence is terrific. This is subtle with awakening sexuality totally present but never overstated & Martin with his disappearing but very obvious innocence a delightful narrator. This is a story of normal school life with the shadow of violence very much a presence but not at the fore. Humour is always close by.
The second part is a night in a University laboratory where the 3 friends reunite after a night of discovery for Martin & a young Australian woman. It is wonderfully bizarre as Martin continues his friends experiment in the Anatomy school where dead bodies abound. The violence of the Troubles is less understated but there is much more important business to be experienced.
This is intriguing & constantly interesting. An investigation into the very normal which of course is never that normal. I love coming of age books and this is one of the best I've read. Excellent.
The second part is a night in a University laboratory where the 3 friends reunite after a night of discovery for Martin & a young Australian woman. It is wonderfully bizarre as Martin continues his friends experiment in the Anatomy school where dead bodies abound. The violence of the Troubles is less understated but there is much more important business to be experienced.
This is intriguing & constantly interesting. An investigation into the very normal which of course is never that normal. I love coming of age books and this is one of the best I've read. Excellent.
March 13, 2018
"If it matters at all, it must matter completely."
The Anatomy School by Bernard MacLaverty is the story of Martin Brennan, an Irish Catholic school boy repeating his final year in school. Knowing he must pass this time around, he and his two friends Kavanagh and Blaise Foley decide to take a big risk that will hopefully help them to pass their final exams. The book revolves around the boys witty conversations, tea time with Martin's mother and her friends, and the silent retreat Martin attends in the beginning of the novel. The book's plot, like another book I have read titled White Noise by Don DeLillo, is somewhat invisible and consists mostly of day to day activities that metaphorically speak for the book. The themes of sleep, photography, education, and the pressures from the Catholic faith push this story forward and make it impossible to not be able to relate to Martin's struggle in some way.
I bought this book in Oswego, New York at a dollar store. I am always drawn to the book section in stores but it isn't often that the dollar store has books I want to read. This book caught my eye initially because of the title. At the time, my friend was struggling with her anatomy class and I thought the book would be something great to give her. But this book is not really about anatomy school. The title seems to point more to what happens at an anatomy school that changes the main character Martin in the end.
The first 2/3 of this book were good for me. I didn't love it but I found it engaging. I had read some reviews of the book on goodreads.com and saw a lot of people had stopped reading after 60 pages because they were bored but I was never bored while reading The Anatomy School. One thing I loved about the book was how peaceful it was. It consisted of everyday nights where you have trouble falling to sleep and everyday school days with your friends. This peacefulness helped me connect greatly to the main character. I also really liked Martin for most of the book because I related greatly to him. His experience in school, the emotional aspect, I could relate to very well. That feeling of being accepted and being scared to speak out and being afraid to have your own opinion about something. That being said, the last 1/3 of the book was a real let down for me. For one, the book randomly jumped a few years forward and confused me for a good fifteen pages. It also did not fully address what the result was of the first 2/3 of the story. I mean, sure it addressed it in a subtle way that wasn't overly obvious but the story was building up and, in my opinion, deserved a better reveal of the outcome of the boys struggle from the first part of the book.
There were a few other things I did not like about this book. In the first part of the book, a lot of scenes take place in the classroom at the Catholic school. One scene is in a religious class in which is required for the students to take so they can understand what it means to be a Catholic. In the scene, Martin's friend Blaise decides to push the rules and states, what if someone doesn't believe in God. The priest/teacher wants to discuss this issue but, like most classes, the boys are too afraid to speak their true feelings aloud in front of the class. I was excited to read about future classes but this did not happen. Never again did the book visit this class and it was disappointing. I wanted to see the debates and hoped it would have challenged not only the students but the priest/teacher. Another thing I did not like was the climax. The climax is the title of the book...meaning what happened at the anatomy school. What happens you ask? Here is a spoiler...Martin loses his virginity to an Australia woman he just met and never sees again. Not only was this cliche but it was such an anticlimactic climax. This entire story led up to Martin having sex for the first time? That was the climax for this book about religion that could have said a lot more? It implies that sex is ALWAYS the most important thing that changes a person for the better. In fact, when Martin had sex (another spoiler), he was neglecting a promise he made to a friend. His friend, Kavanagh from school, had to do a science experiment at the anatomy school but was going to be away for the night and asked Martin to cover the night-shift for him which Martin did. Every hour Martin had to kill a mouse and record what time he did it. The times mattered. Having sex, Martin missed many of the hours and so killed the mice all at one time and wrote down false times. He then went on to blame his friend for this mishap, claiming that his friend was changing because of his girlfriend wanting him to commit to his faith and it was all Kavanagh's fault. Martin needs to grow up and start taking responsibility. I much liked first part of the book Martin, not second part Martin who grew cocky and just plain stupid and annoying.
Overall, the book seemed to be saying that you don't need religion which I agree with but it also said you don't need God at all. You need to rely on yourself. My favorite part of the book though is a quote from Kavanagh in part two when he talks about his girlfriend. He says, "Her Christianity is so important. It's not a superficial thing - like music or how you wear your hair. It's her whole life...I have to promise I'll try to...believe more. It's no good just living a life of correctness. She says it has to come from [my heart]...she wants me to accept the Lord as my Savior. I have to accept I'm a sinner." This is where I was hoping the book would go and it didn't at all. Martin was instead left as a guy who was cocky and just a glass half-empty sort of guy and he developed as a character but seemed to move backwards instead of forwards. I will give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I liked the first part a good deal but the second part/ending was a huge letdown and the book did not seem to go much anywhere.
If you liked this review and want to read more, check out my blog @ http://thereader101.blogspot.com/
The Anatomy School by Bernard MacLaverty is the story of Martin Brennan, an Irish Catholic school boy repeating his final year in school. Knowing he must pass this time around, he and his two friends Kavanagh and Blaise Foley decide to take a big risk that will hopefully help them to pass their final exams. The book revolves around the boys witty conversations, tea time with Martin's mother and her friends, and the silent retreat Martin attends in the beginning of the novel. The book's plot, like another book I have read titled White Noise by Don DeLillo, is somewhat invisible and consists mostly of day to day activities that metaphorically speak for the book. The themes of sleep, photography, education, and the pressures from the Catholic faith push this story forward and make it impossible to not be able to relate to Martin's struggle in some way.
I bought this book in Oswego, New York at a dollar store. I am always drawn to the book section in stores but it isn't often that the dollar store has books I want to read. This book caught my eye initially because of the title. At the time, my friend was struggling with her anatomy class and I thought the book would be something great to give her. But this book is not really about anatomy school. The title seems to point more to what happens at an anatomy school that changes the main character Martin in the end.
The first 2/3 of this book were good for me. I didn't love it but I found it engaging. I had read some reviews of the book on goodreads.com and saw a lot of people had stopped reading after 60 pages because they were bored but I was never bored while reading The Anatomy School. One thing I loved about the book was how peaceful it was. It consisted of everyday nights where you have trouble falling to sleep and everyday school days with your friends. This peacefulness helped me connect greatly to the main character. I also really liked Martin for most of the book because I related greatly to him. His experience in school, the emotional aspect, I could relate to very well. That feeling of being accepted and being scared to speak out and being afraid to have your own opinion about something. That being said, the last 1/3 of the book was a real let down for me. For one, the book randomly jumped a few years forward and confused me for a good fifteen pages. It also did not fully address what the result was of the first 2/3 of the story. I mean, sure it addressed it in a subtle way that wasn't overly obvious but the story was building up and, in my opinion, deserved a better reveal of the outcome of the boys struggle from the first part of the book.
There were a few other things I did not like about this book. In the first part of the book, a lot of scenes take place in the classroom at the Catholic school. One scene is in a religious class in which is required for the students to take so they can understand what it means to be a Catholic. In the scene, Martin's friend Blaise decides to push the rules and states, what if someone doesn't believe in God. The priest/teacher wants to discuss this issue but, like most classes, the boys are too afraid to speak their true feelings aloud in front of the class. I was excited to read about future classes but this did not happen. Never again did the book visit this class and it was disappointing. I wanted to see the debates and hoped it would have challenged not only the students but the priest/teacher. Another thing I did not like was the climax. The climax is the title of the book...meaning what happened at the anatomy school. What happens you ask? Here is a spoiler...Martin loses his virginity to an Australia woman he just met and never sees again. Not only was this cliche but it was such an anticlimactic climax. This entire story led up to Martin having sex for the first time? That was the climax for this book about religion that could have said a lot more? It implies that sex is ALWAYS the most important thing that changes a person for the better. In fact, when Martin had sex (another spoiler), he was neglecting a promise he made to a friend. His friend, Kavanagh from school, had to do a science experiment at the anatomy school but was going to be away for the night and asked Martin to cover the night-shift for him which Martin did. Every hour Martin had to kill a mouse and record what time he did it. The times mattered. Having sex, Martin missed many of the hours and so killed the mice all at one time and wrote down false times. He then went on to blame his friend for this mishap, claiming that his friend was changing because of his girlfriend wanting him to commit to his faith and it was all Kavanagh's fault. Martin needs to grow up and start taking responsibility. I much liked first part of the book Martin, not second part Martin who grew cocky and just plain stupid and annoying.
Overall, the book seemed to be saying that you don't need religion which I agree with but it also said you don't need God at all. You need to rely on yourself. My favorite part of the book though is a quote from Kavanagh in part two when he talks about his girlfriend. He says, "Her Christianity is so important. It's not a superficial thing - like music or how you wear your hair. It's her whole life...I have to promise I'll try to...believe more. It's no good just living a life of correctness. She says it has to come from [my heart]...she wants me to accept the Lord as my Savior. I have to accept I'm a sinner." This is where I was hoping the book would go and it didn't at all. Martin was instead left as a guy who was cocky and just a glass half-empty sort of guy and he developed as a character but seemed to move backwards instead of forwards. I will give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I liked the first part a good deal but the second part/ending was a huge letdown and the book did not seem to go much anywhere.
If you liked this review and want to read more, check out my blog @ http://thereader101.blogspot.com/
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2020
The Anatomy School (the title of which only makes sense about two thirds of the way through the book) is a coming of age novel largely set in Belfast in the 1960s, with a long final chapter which revisits the three main characters at the height of the Troubles. Bernard MacLaverty is always excellent when it comes to portraying the hectic, confused, risk-taking lives of adolescent boys and in Martin Brennan and his friends Kavanagh and the mercurial new boy Blaise Foley he is on great form. Nevertheless, The Anatomy School sometimes felt overlong and lacking in focus. I’ve absolutely loved everything else he has written, particularly the novels Grace Notes and Midwinter Break, which were published before and after The Anatomy School, but this did feel like a less successful exercise.
September 17, 2024
Thought, like others, it was slow to start but I'm glad I stuck with it as the second half flew by. I went to the school he described and it was very similar from the descriptions, I'm glad the book eventually went further into the human relationships that make a good MacLaverty book. He never disappoints.
March 25, 2019
Quite good but would not reread
May 12, 2019
An introspective look into a boy's journey into manhood. Some of the simplest observations will have you reliving your own experiences with laughter and tears.
November 30, 2020
DNF, which rarely happens for me. Just not feeling it.
March 18, 2021
Seventeen year old Martin Brennan has failed his exams and is retaking the year, in his new class he finds himself befriended by the popular and athletic Kavanagh, a friendship that surprises but also pleases Martin. This is Belfast in the 1960s, troubled times for that city, but also for Martin, a Catholic boy whose mother hopes might choose the priesthood, who is under pressure to pass his exams, a rather naive boy who has a lot to learn about much including sex and friendship.
With Kavanagh's help Martin makes progress, a progress accelerated with the appearance of a new boy in school, Blaise Foley. The mysterious and irreverent Blaise attaches himself to Martin and Kavanagh with potentially disastrous results as among other things they hatch a scheme to pass their exams.
We follow Martin and Kavanagh later at the anatomy school where we find Martin helping his friend, but also where Martin also finally discovers much to his delight some more earthly pleasures.
Interspersed with Martin's schooling are episodes in his family life where his mother's regular weekly evenings at home to the local priest and a couple of opinionated parishioners provide further humour.
Frequently very funny, The Anatomy School is a very entertaining account of a likeable young boy finding his way through the uncertainties of life discovering the value of friendship and eventually the delights of the flesh.
With Kavanagh's help Martin makes progress, a progress accelerated with the appearance of a new boy in school, Blaise Foley. The mysterious and irreverent Blaise attaches himself to Martin and Kavanagh with potentially disastrous results as among other things they hatch a scheme to pass their exams.
We follow Martin and Kavanagh later at the anatomy school where we find Martin helping his friend, but also where Martin also finally discovers much to his delight some more earthly pleasures.
Interspersed with Martin's schooling are episodes in his family life where his mother's regular weekly evenings at home to the local priest and a couple of opinionated parishioners provide further humour.
Frequently very funny, The Anatomy School is a very entertaining account of a likeable young boy finding his way through the uncertainties of life discovering the value of friendship and eventually the delights of the flesh.
January 4, 2009
I heard the author Bernard Maclaverty read from this book during the Flatlake Literary Festival - it was a fantastic experience which made me want to read it for myself. I am enjoying it even though it is a sort of typical 'awakening story' in late 60s Ireland with all the saga attached to provincial life there...the wit and compassion save the day in it as at times it becomes a bit predictable. The dialogue is first rate though and I hope to finish it in a day or so as am itching to move on to pastures new.
May 21, 2015
Picked this up from the laundry room shelves, author unknown to me. Nice depiction of Ireland in the late 60s. First half takes place over a semester in a boys school run by priests, second half occurs over one night a couple years later. I liked the balance. Second half is something of a male fantasy, but it worked for me.
November 25, 2007
Great book. Growing up in NI I could somewhat relate to this story, however it did fill in an awful lot of gaps that I had in my own knowledge & experience, given that I didn't go to a catholic all boys school.
March 16, 2010
It was an interesting read, i liked the dialogues a lot, esp. between the three friends (Blaise was really interesting) but i wasn't so sure about the talking circle of Martins mother, maybe they sounded a bit too cliché to me from time to time.
Anyway, i enjoyed the book on a whole.
Anyway, i enjoyed the book on a whole.
June 4, 2008
I started reading this book some time ago but found it lost my interest after 3 chapters, a case of same ol same ol yawn!!
January 23, 2011
I made it to about 3 chapters and i just couldn't finish it. the conversation was dull and lifeless, and it seemed to much like any other Irish book.
August 10, 2011
Like previous readers of this book, I got to page 60 and got bored. I didn't finish.
November 29, 2012
Hugely rewarding, as are all Bernard MacLaverty's novels, but possibly this one more than the others I've read.
May 31, 2013
Not a lot happens - a little long to support the amount of plot, but beautifully written and utterly authentic and convincing dialogue and characters.
March 16, 2014
Really not bad - rebellious Catholic boys cracking wise on their way to manhood - but done much better in his shorter breakthrough book, Cal.
March 25, 2014
It was a very slow read and I'm quite disappointed with Maclaverty. It had potential but it didn't live up to my expectations. 2/5
December 11, 2014
Blech.
July 1, 2022
A bunch of boys getting into trouble at their school and learning through those consequences, essentially. A good read. Closer to 3.5 stars.
October 11, 2024
Totally run on with words book, too much detail, got one quarter way through and couldn't stand it, nothing grabbed me to continue reading.....you could skip major paragraphs and not miss anything
July 13, 2017
2.5 Stars
May 1, 2017
Review can be found on blog @ http://scifisstrs.blogspot.com/2017/0...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews