The Secret Scripture (McNulty Family) in Bound Together

Aug 04, 2012 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Catholic Church was all powerful, a time in Ireland when religious and political factions cause almost unceasing distress and death. A young beautiful woman, a protestant woman, dares to fall in love with a Catholic but will end up spending a great part of her one-hundred years inside a psychiatric institution. Why and how did this happen?

A story written down by a very old woman, an account of the priest uncovered by Doctor Grene who is charged with discovering which of the residents, patien ...more

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Sep 21, 2015 ❀Julie rated it it was amazing

I’m going with 5 stars since three days after finishing, I’m still thinking about how good this book was. It had me completely captivated from start to finish. The story was subtle but chilling, with many layers of tragedy and dark elements (a cemetery, rats, and a disturbing priest to name a few…not to mention the suspicion of the sanity of the main character). But the writing was beautiful and not a single word was wasted. I loved the gothic-like atmosphere that was created and how it tied in ...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Britany rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Really wanted to like this one-- the summary sounded like something I would fall right into-- but alas, I trudged, slugged, and finally finished this book. Disappointed that I never connected to the characters or the story at all, surprised to find myself at this end of the spectrum when so many others enjoyed this one.

Roseanne Clear has been living in Roscommon- a mental facility for the past 80 some odd years. Roscommon is being demolished and Dr. Grene is tasked with figuring out which patien ...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Ava Catherine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-books, favorite-authors, 2017

Sebastian Barry, an Irish author, who writes with a lyricism that makes his prose sing and fills the heart with joy.

Confined to an Irish mental institution as a young woman for social reasons, the reader meets Roseane Cleary McNulty as an old woman writing her life story in a journal, which she hides under the floor in her room. She has been a resident in the asylum for so long that no one remembers why she was committed or how old she really is. The "secret scripture" is the title of Roseanne's ...more

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Mar 03, 2017 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobooks, historical-fiction, 2017-books, irish-literature

4+ stars

"Friend or enemy, no one has the monopoly on truth -- not even myself. And that is also a very vexing and worrying thought."

The Irish have a deep and rich literary tradition. After Greek and Latin, Irish literature is the oldest literature in Europe. Not surprisingly, Dubliner Sebastian Barry adds to this heritage in the subtle yet moving novel The Secret Scripture.

Barry introduces readers to Roseanne McNulty, who at nearly 100 years old has spent most of her adult life at Roscommon Reg ...more

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Sep 23, 2015 ♥ Sandi ❣ rated it liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed the writing in this book, but felt it drug in many parts. I think about 100 pages could have been cut out and made it a better novel.
I liked the back and forth between the narrators, Roseanne and Dr Grene, and especially the memories of Roseanne. I was surprised at the ending as I had not expect that, altho I had determined who the babies father was.

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