Readers first visited County Slingo, Ireland and met the McNulty family in The Whereabouts Of Eneas McNulty where they met the three McNulty brothers, Eneas, Tom and Jack. In this novel, Sebastian Barry returns there to tell the story of Roseanne McNulty. Rose grew up poor, the daughter of the town's gravedigger and later town ratcatcher. She is exposed early to the violence and turmoil of the Irish Troubles where neighbor fought neighbor and the penalty for a traitor is death.
Rose was the most beautiful woman in the area and many men wanted her. She married Tom but his family always disapproved and the marriage fell apart. She comforted Eneas on the night before he left his native land for years. She spent years along and destitute and then was put into a mental hospital where she has spent decades. The hospital is about to be closed and it falls to the head doctor to establish which patients should be transferred to the new one and which should be set free.
He is fascinated by Rose and there is little in the records to go on. He has to research her story through other hospitals and those who may have known her. Some tell the truth, some repeat the lies they have always told about Rose. This latter group includes the man who was the town priest and who later rose in the Catholic hierarchy. Slowly, Rose's story is teased out and what a story it is!
Sebastian Barry is an Irish writer who is one of my absolute favorites. His work has been nominated for the Booker Prize five times which is amazing. His novels document Irish history and troubles as few other authors have with the details being slowly revealed and often ending in a surprise revelation. The language is amazing and his understanding of human nature is what makes the works so interesting to read. This is the second novel in the McNulty family trilogy and very rewarding. It is recommended for literary fiction readers.
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