Swallowing the Sun

by David Park

In the museum Martin stands watch over the past. He has travelled a long way from his brutal childhood in the Loyalist heartlands of Belfast and built a life he never imagined he would have - a devoted wife, Alison, two children, Rachel and Tom, a respectable job. But the happiness he has found feels brittle. Rachel's academic success is launching her out of her proud father's orbit. Tom, eclipsed by his sister, has withdrawn into a fantasy world. Martin's gratitude to Alison is a gulf between them. He feels unworthy of his wife, his life, his luck. Returning home one night to find police cars waiting, Martin feels his sins must have finally caught up with him. But their news is wholly unexpected, a senseless tragedy. And in the face of this devastating trauma, which tears his fragile family apart, Martin finds the violence of the past is not gone but merely dormant; its call must be answered at last. David Park's new novel is a gripping and unforgettable portrait of a man for whom, like the city in which he lives, peace can only be uneasy and imperfect. Deeply moving, humane and full of sombre beauty, it proves him a unique Irish voice.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Family, Grief, Irish Literature, Contemporary

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Rob Twinem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Waring is the curator of the Ulster Museum in Belfast. He is married to Alison and they have two children Rachel and Tom. Rachel is the apple of her father's eye and he is overjoyed when he learns that his daughter has acquired 10 top grades, ten stars, and is destined to be accepted into one of the great institutions of learning....Oxford or Cambridge beckons. One night both Martin and his daughter make wrong decisions the outcome of which alters their lives, in a way that I as a reader did not see, and what follows is both harrowing and heart-wrenching in equal measures. It is difficult to actually discuss Swallowing the Sun without disclosing the plot and indeed the final outcome. We learn of a tough and abusive childhood with a vicious and drunken father and a mother too weak to protect the innocence of her sons; Martin and his brother Rob. In Belfast Martin has associations with loyalist gangs and sympathizers from the early hard days of his youth. As the story progresses he finds himself drawn back to his connections in an attempt to find answers as his life begins to unravel, spiraling out of control. The ending is a stroke of pure genius as the curator of the museum struggles to make sense of what has happened, creating a space that will forever act as a reminder of his loss and pain.

The characters in this story like all of us are flawed and the repercussions of decisions taken will always have a ripple effect on members of the family. Martin Waring openly displays his frailties yet as the novel progresses I began to develop an admiration for him as both he and his wife Alison learn to cope with a heartache that will forever remain. David Park has written a sublime novel, the open wounds of pain and regret on every page and every word and expression he uses adding to the feeling of hopelessness and sadness..."where the past is cared for and preserved, where nothing is allowed to decay or be destroyed"...."So why doesn't he come in now, sit on her bed and give her some advice? Tell her the things he knows. About how you find someone to love"....."He feels only the stirring of his doubt now, a loss of confidence, wonders if she will be able to read in his body the drive of his desperation, the depth of his need"....."where the past is cared for and preserved, where nothing is allowed to decay or be destroyed"....

If I were to choose one book that is both lyrical and thought provoking my choice would be this brilliant novel by David Park. Highly Recommended.

[Rachel OA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very tele-visual/filmic.
Powerful (violent) opening pages. Convincing characterisation. Dynamic story-telling.

[Adri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contemplative, thought-provoking. A book of introspection, filled with private terrors, remorse. Very well written, but very painful.

[CanadianReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uneven early novel from Park, Swallowing the Sun focuses on Martin Waring and his family in early 2000s Belfast. While the Troubles may be technically over, the marks of sectarian violence are still to be seen and felt everywhere in the city. Paramilitaries have transitioned to organized crime, including drug trafficking—something that will turn out to be relevant to Park’s novel.

Martin, who grew up alongside younger brother Rob in a rundown Protestant neighbourhood off the Shankill Road, carries the guilt of having himself participated in acts of brutality against Catholics with Loyalist “warrior” gangs of young men. He also bears traumatic memories of having grown up with a violently abusive alcoholic father and a passive bystander mother. Deeply grateful to his wife Alison, the only person to ever love him, he nevertheless is unfaithful to her one afternoon. In his work at a large Belfast museum, he meets a younger sympathetic artist, and goes off with her—a shameful act, which he is unable to come clean about. Not long after, tragedy strikes the Warings, which Martin views as punishment for his betrayal. Martin and Alison’s academically gifted daughter Rachel dies suddenly after a single, first use of Ecstasy provided by a friend at a nightclub. Martin, Alison, and their struggling, bullied, and overweight son Tom are overcome by profound grief, which threatens to destroy the family unit. Martin attempts to cope by punishing former paramilitary associates whom he holds responsible for his family’s loss.

Swallowing the Sun has some strong writing. It’s introspective and insightful about the long-lasting effects of early abuse in Martin’s family of origin—the way childhood trauma informs the ways a life unfolds. Having said that, I believe the novel would’ve benefited from a significant paring back. There are far too many sequences about each family member’s personal experience of grief; thirteen year-old-Tom’s sophisticated and metaphorical reflections are particularly hard to credit. I also found some of Martin’s actions—his forays into his childhood neighbourhood and his threats of violence towards the friends of youth—farfetched and unconvincing.

I appreciated Park’s book, but it’s my view that it’s not his best by a long shot.

[Lone Damgaard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Måske burde jeg give denne bog 3 stjerner. Jeg var lige ved at tude over det tab hovedpersonerne lider halvvejs i bogen og den indledende historie om de to omsorgssvigtede brødre er også fængende men jeg orkede ikke at læse bogen færdig. Så megen elendighed og ondskab. For mig var den på højde med en af de tilfældige krimier vi ser på tv og som vi har glemt 10 minutter efter den er slut. Den var ikke dyb nok, den gik for stærkt og så er det som om bogen vil for meget. Den vil vise alles problemer og ingen har bare små problemer, de er alle ødelæggende. Nå men jeg er gået videre til næste bog og denne roman ryger direkte på genbrugsen.

[Nina Wegner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hjertegribende irsk fortælling om en familie, hvor Martin mister sin 17-årige teenagedatter på grund af ecstacy. Martin og hans bror Rob vokser i en voldsramt familie, og den opvækst præger Martins sorgforløb. Romanen udvikler sig til næsten at blive en thriller, hvor Martin ønsker hævn og opsøger narkobagmanden.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what an incredible book. Set after the Troubles in Northern Ireland it details a life of a family before and after a tragedy where the past also emerges to haunt the living. The book was so powerful there were times when I had to put it down as the raw emotion was too painful. But also incredibly gripping, I couldn’t put down for long.

[MRS NA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the ending but I don't really like his writing style.

[Jamie Laws · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read to get me back into the swing of things.

Was a captivating read and although fiction, offered some really good life lesson insights

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all I won this book in a competition held by this rather fine blog http://theasylum.wordpress.com/ (for some strange reason the hyperlink button is not working here) so I thought it would be prudent enough to review the book.

One thing I’ve been obsessing about ever since I hit my 30th year is how my perceptions have changed. If I won this book ten years ago I would have chucked it there and continue ploughing through my Vonnegut and Bukowski novels. However, now I read ‘Swallowing the Sun’ and furthermore I liked it.

Martin Waring is clearly a man with issues. Due to his rigid and frightening childhood he has a cloistered view of life (furthermore punctuated by the fact that Martin works in a museum). His family, with the exception of his overweight son, Tom are in the peak of their lives. His daughter Rachel is an A student and his wife, Alison does a good job in keeping the family as a unit.

That is until, Martin has a one night (or to be precise afternoon) stand and then a serious event happens which makes him have to re-asses his past, present and future. This takes him on a small journey to purge himself from every thing which has held him back.

Park is a very delicate writer, whereas any other hack would have focused on the depressing aspects of the book, but here it’s more on Martin and his family’s way of dealing with their drastically altered life. There is great subtely and allegorical signs pop up now and then (the title refers to the way the Egyptians believed that the sun was swallowed). This is clearly no kitchen sink drama but a look into values and mores. In fact if this if there is any talk of ‘Swallowing the Sun’ being adapted into a film I can only imagine Ken Loach (maybe Shane Meadows) directing it.

My only qualm is that I felt that some events towards the end of the book are not that clearly linked and more episodic in feel, which makes the last third feel rushed but this is a small quibble for it did not hinder my enjoyment. This was my first Park novel and I will definitely check out more in the future

[Will Hillier · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read better, I've read worse. I picked this book up off the street, thinking it would be an interesting introduction to Ireland and the Troubles. In truth, besides some name dropping, it could have been set anywhere.

I also found the book a little bit slow going and none of the characters were particularly memorable, or even very likeable. I'm happy with a bit of introspection while reading, but this book really needed more action. I found it hard to keep up with the sense of melodrama within each character's internal monologue. Although I am generally a meticulously close-reader, I found myself skipping over paragraphs and occasionally even pages while the characters verbalised in numb detail their internal struggles... Frankly, it got a bit boring.

The book was also written from the third person. I think this may have contributed to the lack of depth with the characters, and although it should have provided some respite to read passages from the perspective of different members of the family, I didn't really feel they were distinct enough from each other for this to work.

Besides the slightly unbelievable inner monologues, the marginally self-pitying recollections of child abuse, I did enjoy the bleak cross-section of family life, which suggested that every family is screwed up in its own way. I also think that David Park has a nice descriptive style - however, he could do with reining it in a bit and I would prefer to see this style being applied to action rather than self-indulgent internal melodrama.

Needless to say... the book will be going back where I found it.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This becomes a surprisingly affecting story about repressed family darknesses and the muted but continuing dangers of the Troubles-era past in peacetime Northern Ireland. The narrative is absorbing throughout and builds to a moving and appropriate conclusion.

[Mel Padden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really very little here to do with the Troubles, more about Ireland and its people, the experiences and thought processes of the people who grew up there at a certain time. I found it very affecting, well written and sympathetic. also quite liked the ending...

[Crimzon Ruyol · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far its a very good read... so far its one of those books u gotta force urself to put down or ur done... lml

[a. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I just don't care for his writing style. I like the ideas behind his books, but not the writing itself.

[Mary Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a page turner. Depressing but very convincing. The family dynamics and descriptions of teenage life were excellent.