Tuesday 24 March 2009

Famine by Liam O' Flaherty - Review

Níl aon suáilce gan a duáilce féin
There are no unmixed blessings in life.

Old Irish proverb

It has been said that at the height of the great Irish Famine between 1845 and 1852 the population of that country was reduced by around 20 percent. Whilst the famine was caused mainly by a potato disease, there were also economic, social and political factors that played a major role in the tragedy.

It is against this grim backdrop that Liam O' Flaherty sets his novel 'Famine' that first saw the light in 1937. The book follows three generations of the Kilmartin family as they attempt to ride the wave of despair and desolation that surrounds them. Brian Kilmartin is the paterfamilias who keeps a strong hand on finances and the running of the household. His wife, Maggie, is the traditional Irish housewife armed with a stern character and a personality moulded on the hardships life has thrown at her. Martin Kilmartin is Brian and Maggie's elder son and who is also married to Mary (née Gleeson). Mary's own family tree occupies a prominent role in the novel. Her father, Barney Gleeson, is the local weaver. The Kilmartins also have another son, Michael, who unfortunately dies later on in the novel.

From the outset O' Flaherty sets the tone for the whole book: dark and thundering skies, dimly-lit interiors and embittered conversations full of rancour and bile between the dwellers of the Kilmartin house. The atmosphere is suffocating and oppressive. This is not the Ireland featured in 20th- and 21st-century tourist brochures with its green pastures and emerald landscapes. This is the Ireland of the potato blight, of English landlords often called 'absentee landlords' on account of them leaving their affairs behind to be managed by agents. Moreover, this is the Ireland of the plague and infanticide (there is a harrowing scene towards the end of the novel where a mother kills her three children in order to be arrested and thus ensure she is fed in jail).

The plot revolves around Brian Kilmartin and his clan, first doing his utmost to save his potato harvest, then ceding power to his son, Martin, and later from the latter to his wife, Mary, when Martin has to flee to the mountains after he is wrongly accused of murdering the English landlord, Mr Chadwick.

Liam's style is descriptive and journalistic, the latter can be seen more specifically in the passages where he uses historical references as a backdrop for a particular scene. The novel's rhythm is fast-paced with short words and sentences. There is not much introspection, with most of the action happening externally. And as befits a novel set in Ireland the majority of his characters are devotedly pious. This religious aspect gives him plenty of room in which to depict the battle between the Catholic and Protestant faiths, an element that underpins most of the novel and that acts as one of the catalysts in the decision to get rid of the English administrator towards the end of the book.

My only criticism of this superb novel is that Liam O' Flaherty falls into clichés sometimes. The English agent, Mr Chadwick, is a good case study to illustrate my point. He is evil to the point of caricature and although there might have been many Mr Chadwicks during this terrible time in Ireland, sadistic men who gloried in their own power and exerted it without second thoughts, a more rounded personality would have made him more believable, at least for me.

This comment, however, should not detract the future reader from the fact that this is a magnificent book with a very strong narrative and an ending that (please, look away now if you are thinking of reading it because a spoiler is about to appear) is as happy as one can imagine in the dire circumstances in which the novel takes place. Mary Kilmartin gives birth to a baby boy at the height of the potato blight. With all around her decaying and people dying she embarks on a ship to the US clandestinely after Martin arranges her, their son and his passage. So, there's a happy ending after all. There are no unmixed blessings in life as the old proverb goes but for Mary and Martin life proves to be the blessing they rightly deserved.

Note: This review is the first of a few post with an Irish theme in them. I know that St Patrick's Day was a week ago but this blog operates in its own time and pace, as you all know. My usual column 'Living in a Bilingual World' will have an Irish flavour this week and the Sunday section 'Song for a Spring Sunday Morning' will feature my latest musical discovery from the Emerald Isle. Many thanks.

Copyright 2009

32 comments:

  1. Ah, the world is an endlessly fascinating place and dipping into another culture's literature is a wonderful way to visit.

    You are on a well-timed Irish tour, and I have been visiting Portugal through the writing of Jose Saramago.

    OK, former history major aside:

    It has always fascinated me that the potato (which was native to South America and not introduced to Europe until the 1600's) should become so central a food in Ireland only 200 years later than a blight could savage a whole nation.

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  2. Thank you for the review. Reading you is like reading mini books.

    Have you read 'Trinity' by Leon Uris. I read it a million years ago and it may be well before your time, but it is an excellent book about Ireland.

    Love Renee xoxo

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  3. Hello C in L-

    thanks for this review. I am in need of some new novel stock so will look for it at my bookstore.
    happy days

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  4. Thanks for the review of an important novel... Have you read Swift's satirical essay "A modest proposal" which also hits home about the Irish famine and absentee landlords... I have also featured an irish writer today!

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  5. Many thanks for your kind comments.

    Cecile, indeed that is most interesting, isn't it? It shows you that globalisation did not start in the 1990s.

    Renee, no, I have not read it yet but I will definitely give it a butcher's on amazon.co.uk.

    Catherine, I read Swift's book back in uni. Sorry, correction. I studied Swift's book back in uni. I did not read it, that's probably why I cannot remember it very well. I have made a point to go back to the books that were part of my syllabus in uni and read them as what they are works of art in their own right.

    Many thanks to all.

    Greetings from London.

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  6. Thanks a lot for your article. I went to Ireland some years ago and I love the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant Causeway... and Dublin of course... and the"Dubliners" by James Joyce...
    I will follow conciously your words...
    See you soon Mr Writer!

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  7. I love that!!! And how true.......there are NO unmixed blessings in life.
    Much of life is like a double edge-ed sword no?

    Steady On
    Reggie Girl

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  8. Miren, I have 'Ulysses' by Joyce in the queue of books to read. I read the first short story of 'Dubliners' and liked his style.

    Midlife, that Irish proverb is very true.

    Greetings from London.

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  9. As always, an in depth, well written review.

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  10. Greetings from the Frrench Alps!
    Great review - thanks - off to find this on amazon (you ought to be sponsored by them; you always make me want to read the books you review so well!!)

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  11. Great review! You brought that novel and that time period to life. It puts into perspective the economic hardships we are facing now. There are a lot of Irish Catholics in Maine whose ancestors immigrated here due to the potato blight.

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  12. This is a book I may have to consider for my summer reading list - Spring around here is reserved for mindless cheap paperbacks... My brain doesn't operate fully until the snow melts and the water drains away....

    thanks for the review

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  13. Many thanks for your kind comments.

    It's Just Me, I thought of taking this book with me on holidays to Cuba and thankfully do not regret my decision to put it in my suitcase. Though the ending is uplifting both the beginning and the middle are not. But if you don't mind your books casting a cloud over your head every now and then, it's a perfect read. Ta muchly.

    Greetings from London.

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  14. truly fantastic! i enjoyed this post. cheers.

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  15. Excellent review! Sounds like a book I would be interested in. Thank you, Mr. Cuban.

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  16. Well, I did look away, as you instructed, because I can't resist a harrowing tale! When I think of bone deep poverty, I remember "The Grapes of Wrath".
    Thanks for the excellent revue.
    Lyn

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  17. Many thanks for your kind comments.

    Greetings from London.

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  18. gracias por pasar a mi blog, apenas pude ver el tuyo, y es bastante interesante. prometo entrar seguido a leerte.

    un saludo desde un lugar ignorado y lejano al tuyo

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  19. My, we have so much to be grateful for looking back on the suffering of diseases, famines and geo-political and religious conflicts. (of course, it is still present in our world)I found Leon Uris's Trinity to be rich in revealing the Ireland of that period. Reminds me of his other novel,Exodus written in 1958. Renée commented about this same thing. Thanks for the continued Irish posts! Salut

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  20. Cuban, I have read so much Joyce that I probably will avoid that land for years to come. Which is not to say I did not enjoy reading your review, because I did, very much.

    The past year or two, I have been absorbing books regarding the migration of my own Norwegian and German ancestors to America, including considerable material original to the 19th Century. Fascinating stuff.

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  21. I have been visiting Paris these pasts weeks through this quiet gem, The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Rene, the main character, is absolutely lovable. It is a lovely story and one that you might enjoy. I did! BTW, did you like Australia? I'd love to hear what you thought.

    I love the new widget! It's been my favorite addition.

    Saludos de la florida!

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  22. Many thanks for your kind comments.

    dancing, Trinity has been recommend to me by a few people so I decided to include it in my books' wishlist.

    Fram, as I get older I am becoming more and more interested in geopolitics and migration. My own ancestors came from three different parts of the world. Brought from Africa, arrived on boats from Spain and travelled all the way from Canton, China. You can imagine the extraordinary mix we have in our family.

    Greetings from London.

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  23. You are 37 and your intelligence astounds me.

    Have a wonderful day.

    Love Renee xoxo

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  24. Thanks, Renee.

    Greetings from London.

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  25. Me encanta leer tus book reviews... lo explicas todo de maravilla y siempre me dan ganas de leer los libros que comentas!

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  26. Muchas gracias, Susana. Paso poor alla horita.

    Saludos desde Londres.

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  27. Fantastic review, thank you! Since I don't read novels I depend on thoughtful critics like you to keep me up to date.

    Ireland - what a history that country has. Wow.

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  28. Yes, Reya, indeed, a lot of history.

    Greetings from London.

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  29. I've read 'The Informer' as well as a collection of O'Flaherty's short stories, but I've yet to read 'Famine'. Thank you for an excellent review - and yes, I did read the spoiler which made me want to read the book even more!

    (On the subject of Ireland - and a more contemporary novel - I wonder if you've read Tim Winton's 'The Riders'?)

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  30. No, Tessa, I confess to having read few books by Irish writers and Ireland, a shortcoming I am trying to address as soon as possible. I will put your recommendation in my books' wishlist.

    Greetings from London.

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  31. Dios mio...
    esta parte "there is a harrowing scene towards the end of the novel where a mother kills her three children in order to be arrested and thus ensure she is fed in jail" hizo que se me pararan los pelos, literalmente.
    me lo tengo que leer.
    gracias por la reseña.
    después te mando unas foticos que tienen que ver con el tema

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  32. Te lo recomiendo, A. Muchas gracias.

    Saludos desde Londres.

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