I am part Irish, and there was much in Amongst Women that appealed to the bit of me that responds to that - the Irish Catholicism, the old patriarchal family structure and the closeness of family, the beauty and harshness of the countryside, and how an intimate story can be told that encompasses a sweeping political backdrop.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME
McGahern's 'masterpiece: the sort of book which you can give anyone of any age and know that they will be changed by it' (Colm Tóibìn) by 'one of the greatest writers of our era' (Hilary Mantel).
'A book that can be read in two hours, but will linger in the mind for decades.' Sunday Telegraph
Once an officer in the Irish War for Independence, Moran is now a widower, eking out a living on a small farm where he raises his two sons and three daughters. Adrift from the structure and security of the military, he keeps control by binding his family close to him. But as his children grow older and seek independence, and as the passing years bring with them bewildering change, Moran struggles to find a balance between love and tyranny.
'McGahern brings us that tonic gift of the best fiction, the sense of truth - the sense of transparency that permits us to see imaginary lives more clearly than we see our own.' John Updike 'An overwhelming experience.' The Times
'Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.' David Mitchell
'I have admired, even loved, John McGahern's work since his first novel.' Melvyn Bragg
