by Brian O ' Doherty (Author)
In a London pub in the 1950's, editor William Maginn is intrigued by a mention a the strange - and reputedly shameful - demise of a remote mountain village in County Kerry, where he was born. Maginn returns to Kerry and uncovers an astonishing tale: both the account of the destruction of a place and the way of life which once preserved Ireland's ancient traditions and the tragedy of an increasingly isolated village where all the women mysteriously die - leaving the priest, Father McGreevy, to cope with insoluble problems. As war rages through Europe, McGreevy struggles to preserve what remains of his parish, against the rough mountain elements and the grief and superstitions of its people, and the growing distrust of the town below.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 314
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Arcadia Books
Published: 19 Apr 2000
ISBN 10: 1900850486
ISBN 13: 9781900850483
Prizes: Shortlisted for Booker Prize for Fiction 2000.
'O'Doherty s powerful and sometimes magical writing keeps a reader closely involved'
-- Julian Moynahan * New-York Review of Books *'O'Doherty's eloquent proses conjures up snow and cold and isolation as clearly as it does small town spite and gossip...bone-chilling'
* Atlantic Monthly *'Eerily compelling'
* Elle *'Magical to the core. Read it and be smitten by this masterpiece as I was'
-- Walter AbishBrian O'Doherty was born in County Roscommon in 1934. His novels include The Strange Case of Mademoiselle P. (1992) and The Deposition of Father McGreevey (1999), which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2000. Also known as the conceptual and installation artist Patrick Ireland - he changed his name in reaction to the Bloody Sunday killings in Derry in 1972 - he has served as editor of Art in America and was the on-air art critic for NBC. Currently, he is professor of fine arts and media at the Southampton College campus of Long Island University. He is the author of numerous works of art criticism, including his book American Masters and the influential essay Inside the White Cube. and American Masters: The Voice and the Myth . He lives in New York City and Todi, Italy.