The Secret Scripture Sebastian Barry
This book interweaves the sad history of Ireland, its civil war and independence with the prejudices of religion and the tragic consequences for Roseanne about whom the story is written.
It attracted a great many positive comments e.g. : fantastic; really enjoyed; very good; beautifully crafted descriptions; most beautiful prose, lyrical at times; perfectly crafted phrases; a work of great imagination; wonderful description of Roseanne’s childhood and home life; a beautifully written book.
A couple of examples of the author Barry’s, turn of phrase are: … my mother’s wits were now in an attic of her head which had neither door nor stair, or at least none that I could find;
… in a country of cupboards every one with a skeleton in it, especially after the civil war, no one was exempt;
These positives were tempered by other comments, often from same readers, e.g.: I have forgotten a lot of the plot; the story didn’t really stick; absolutely a case where the sum is less than the parts; ephemeral; felt distanced from the characters; wanted to be incensed by the horrible events, but wasn’t; it did not appear realistic that as a modern trained psychiatrist Dr Grene did not come down more in favour of the “truth“ that Roseanne recounted rather than accepting that the “truth” as seen from Father Gaunt’s account.
Roseanne suffered tragically from the misogynistic and prejudiced Father Gaunt, and It seemed surprising that she had accepted her lot so easily and had not done more to fight her committal. She was simply forgiving of all that had gone on in the past which gave an added sadness to her story with the loneliness that she had experienced in her long incarceration. However other comments recognised Roseanne’s remarkable resilience and that, despite the cruelties and tragic loss, the human spirit’s ability to accept and survive shone through.
The dual diarists format generally was seen as working quite well. The voices of Roseanne and of Dr Grene were both powerful. Although Roseanne appeared accepting of her life, she may have been deliberately or unconsciously mis-remembering some crucial parts of it. Roseanne seem to gain clarity and fulfilment from setting down her memories on paper whereas Dr Grene found more and more confusion examining his past relationship with his wife and guilt for his alleged single sexual misdemeanour. Although Dr Grene seemed more feeble and incompetent (especially as a trained psychiatrist), he too was trying to understand his own character.
All readers were impressed by the many strata disclosed within the basic story e.g. the complexity of family and societal relationships; the dead hand of religion at that time; the complicated politics; the ubiquity of betrayal; how perceived infidelity destroyed relationships and lives; passionate hatreds; extreme, cruel and violent behaviours generated by social and political beliefs; the degree to which an individual or society considers its extreme beliefs or behaviours to be simply normal; the unreliability of memory; how we mis-remember as a self-protective mechanism; the covering-up of mistakes or misdeeds, and the difficulty of resisting the urge to do so. The story illustrates how there is no definite truth - only the experiences of different people about the same event - “nobody has a monopoly on truth”
As so many layers were exposed, also, so many were easily overlooked. Several readers found it difficult to grasp who was who in the civil war, and why they were fighting and killing each other. Also the closeness of Irish familial ties and the destructive consequences of these ties being shattered.
The group having just finished ‘Milkman’ about the complexities of near contemporary Catholic/Protestant relationships in Belfast it was very interesting to read about the history of this earlier time in the same century. Another comment was made as to the degree Ireland had changed within a few years e.g in the treatment of unmarried pregnant women and orphans; the lessening power of the church; the move towards a middle ground in politics, although of course there remain many unresolved political differences within the Republic of Ireland as well as between the Republic and Northern Ireland.
In some parts, the plot seemed highly unlikely or verging on magic realism by the serendipitous occurrence of events. Readers were not expecting the ending. Some thought however, whether this denouement was really necessary, and did it add anything to the story? Nevertheless, if one applied the ‘So, what?’ question to the whole novel, it would have to be agreed that the exposition of personal and social history, tragedy, survival, as well as the psychological insights, and some wonderful prose, would serve as examples of the learning as well as enjoyment that this book provides.
It was noted that this is a book that would sustain a second reading, and several members of the group had done so, at least in part.
