MW introduced the book by saying that it was published in 2020 and was written as a sequel to ‘Days Without End’ which itself was published in 2016 and was read and generally enjoyed by the BBBC in May 2017. More recently the BBBC also read Barry’s ‘The Secret Scripture’.
‘Days Without End’ was narrated by Thomas McNulty whereas ‘A Thousand Moons’ was narrated by Winona, one of the other key characters in the first novel. The novel is set in the aftermath of the American Civil War and follows Winona as she settles into life on Lige Magan’s farm in a small town called Paris, Tennessee: ‘…a town of many eyes watching you anyhow, an uneasy place’.
JH, on a second reading enjoyed the book much more than the first reading. He understood the story much more as Winona’s story (rather than just a follow-up of John and Thomas’ story). He relished Barry’s rather quirky lyrical narrative style and his great use of language. There were some wonderfully drawn characters such a lawyer Briscoe, Peg in her yellow dress, Rosalee’s strength and care, as well as the cast of menfolk on the farm – Tennyson Bougueeau, Lige Magan, and the older Thomas McNulty and John Cole. He found it a troubling novel which made one reflect on the consequences of any war, and one in which Barry well captures the poverty and inherent violence, as well as the grim, often contradictory humanity, of the post-bellum South.
He found the narrative to be evocative and compelling – not hard work and he kept wanting to read more. He found that it worked on many different levels , for example capturing the love and friendship of those on the farm, but also painting a bleak picture of the prejudices and casual brutality endemic in South ten years after the Civil War ended – which he suspected to be common to any post-civil war community. He observed that Barry also draws on the terrible treatment of, and attitude to, Native Americans.
Overall, a wonderfully written book, but on reflection one that possibly tried to incorporate too many complex and demanding themes – racism, rape, revenge, attitudes to violence, slavery, role of the law, post-war communities and institutions, homosexuality, love and friendship, etc, etc. But it is also a story that concludes with a really powerful voice of optimism “that the world was strange and lost was not an argument…that I had souls that loved me and hearts that watched over me was a truth self-evident to hold.”
AA described the book as a tale of bigotry and hatred and othering and narrowness and poverty and white male power and lawlessness . He described Barry as a great storyteller with lyrical prose and characters he cared about, with Winona as first-person narrator. There was a lovely start with Winona reflecting on her life so far - could have been an info dump but her voice was strong and authentic-feeling so carried it off like the introductory voiceover to a film. She told how all her family were killed by white men whose genocidal slogan was 'kill them all' and how she ended up in the care of a gay couple who had taken part in the massacre of her family, and who are looked after by their former slave Rosalee.
I had the wound of being a lost child. Thing was it was they that healed me, Thomas McNulty and John Cole. They had done their damnedest I guess. So they both gave me the wound and healed it, which is a hard fact in its way.
Then there was the terrible rape, and the battery of Tennyson, introducing the growing themes of racism and the civil war and then the burning down of the lawyer’s house. There were beautiful descriptions and phrasing which felt authentic to Winona’s voice. He enjoyed the ending with the Lakota dream after Winona was shot which might have been her death and the end of the book but was followed by her return to her new family of guardian angels while her old family of guardian angels watch over her from their spirit place. It was a happy ending but with a warning that the world remains full of uncertainty and danger -
That the world was strange and lost was not in argument. That there was no place to stand on the earth that was not perilous was just the news of every moment. That I had souls that loved me and hearts that watched over me was a truth self-evident to hold.
CB really liked the book. He found it incredibly lyrical, almost a poem and maybe speaking in Winona’s voice and persona allowed Barry to do this more fully than otherwise. He was moved by the descriptions of love and hate and of the beauty of the natural world as well as Winona’s description of the traumatic effect of her rape. He liked the slowly building whodunnit sense of the book alongside the strongly evoked sense of trauma, shame and difficulty of expressing what happened to Winona that he felt many people feel. It was good to be reacquainted with Thomas McNulty and John Cole and the cast of characters evoked the period very well with down to earth people making the best of a hard life. Whilst the same sex couple and Winona’s subsequent love affair did not raise many eyebrows, there was a brooding menace from the apparent regression to a time of racist violence in the defeated confederate state. He did feel the book ended a bit suddenly as if he ran out of steam and just wanted the story resolved. But this was a small niggle. Overall, a message for our times!
CW suggested that enjoyment of this book depends what you are reading this book for and whether you are interested in a rather “lightweight“ easy read of post-Civil War America which is a medium for telling you about the racism and bigotry that existed at the time (but curiously not homophobia apparently). At first he really enjoyed the book and enjoyed the style of the narration by Winona and although he hadn’t read Days without End he found the characters were built up well as well as the historical background. However there was a point halfway through where he did stop and just think why was he bothering to read this book? it is really very simple and formulaic with a number of implausible events (the bear turning up and most incredible - the ending) and were there not more rewarding things to read?? But most implausible of all was the issue of sexuality which seem to be quite accepted although really they belonged to the latter half of the 21st-century rather than 1865 or thereabouts. In the end the completely unbelievable final jail scene left him very disappointed.
RV enjoyed the book a lot. He found the writing to be particularly good and the poetry came over. Interesting that Barry’s America of the 1870s is inhabited by gay people and no one seems to bat an eye. There were a number of loving relationships, in particular Thomas and John; Winona knows she is loved by her adapted parents. He particularly enjoyed the lyricism and the love of the parents and the different voices.
There were not too many missteps in the book although some of the grammar was a bit odd. Winona’s voice was very distinctive but he didn’t really understand Jas. Overall the book was enjoyable and he read it very quickly.
MT didn’t find it an easy read. He
found the book irritating and couldn’t really get into the writing style.
Although it got better towards the end he still felt it annoyed him. It was
interesting to read about the Civil War and the terrible racism that existed in
this period, particularly the awfulness of the white male power and the
complete lawlessness. He felt that the meeting between Winona and Peg could
have been explored better . The ending didn’t convince, in particular why
Wynkle would rescue Winona. Overall not really Mark’s fare.
SC had read the book before and found that he appreciated it more reading it for the second time. He quite liked it the first time but really enjoyed it the second. He liked the approach of having ordinary people as narrators in earth shattering situations. Although the book was readable, this was not an easy book to read because of the content. He was prepared to believe that the style created represented a blend of influences. It was interesting how the author searched for how to express some of the events that happened to her. The voice was simple, blunt and unambiguous. Most of the women came across as oppressed. The prose was brilliant and overall not a great book but a very good one. He really enjoyed it.
For MW, enjoyment of the book depended one one’s ability/willingness to get into the head of Winona, and to be convinced of the logic of her actions. Barry, as a middle aged white Irishman, attempting to write from the point of view of a young Native American girl must have been a real challenge. The interesting thing is that no-one can really say he is wrong.
As a plot the book is a bit thin but he was pleased by the ending because he felt he had invested a lot in getting to know Winona and didn’t really want her to come to a premature end. The saviour was however a bit unlikely, and this was probably a weakness.
Apart from Winona, the portrayal of the other characters was probably a bit thin but it certainly helped having read the previous book, where Thomas, John Cole and Lige were already well developed.
For Mark, the success of this book comes from the startling portrayal of the brutality of the post Civil War period, which he manages again, probably even better than the first book. Considering its such a short book, it is remarkable how he manages to paint such a vivid picture with such few words.
Overall, this book was enjoyed by most, although one or two did express some clear reservations. Scores as follows:
RV 7.5
WM 8.5
MT 5.0
SC 8.5
CW 6.5
MW 8.5
JH 7.5
AA 8.0
CB 8.0
