Days Without End

by Sebastian Barry

Paperback, 2017

Status

Available

Series

McNulty Family (6)

Genres

Description

From Sebastian Barry, a two-time finalist for the Man Booker Prize, comes a powerful and unforgettable novel chronicling a young Irish immigrant's army years in the Indian wars and the American Civil War.Thomas McNulty, having fled the Great Famine in Ireland and now barely seventeen years old, signs up for the US Army in the 1850s and with his brother in arms, John Cole, goes to fight in the Indian Wars-against the Sioux and the Yurok-and, ultimately, in the Civil War. Orphans of terrible hardships themselves, they find these days to be vivid and alive, despite the horrors they see and are complicit in.Moving from the plains of Wyoming to Tennessee, Sebastian Barry's latest work is a masterpiece of atmosphere and language. An intensely poignant story of two men and the makeshift family they create with a young Sioux girl, Winona, Days without End is a fresh and haunting portrait of the most fateful years in American history and is a novel never to be forgotten.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member msf59

Thomas McNulty flees Ireland, as a child, after his parents die and his home country is crippled by famines. He ends up in America and becomes a soldier, at barely seventeen, first in the Indian wars and then as a Union soldier.
This is my first time reading Barry, and I was swept away with his

beautiful prose. I have read many books, about the Old West and the Civil War and I was impressed by this Irish author's confident narrative style and fine understanding of this period in American history.
This is no rosy, puff piece, though. It is a tough, rugged, wickedly violent story and the descriptions of McNulty's time as a POW in Andersonville, will have the reader cringing and sobbing.
I will now be on a quest to read more of Barry's work. Great introduction.

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LibraryThing member mdoris

This is one of the most unique books I have read in a long time and I was hugely impressed. The language is glorious and the story and themes are HUGE. It is the story of 2 men, a couple who move around the U.S. over time as soldiers for the government (fighting the Sioux) and then fighting as

Union soldiers in the Civil War and then as prisoners of war in the south and then as actors in local productions in towns where they lived between soldiering. Themes are of love, family, survival, revenge, heart of darkness (many dark deeds), allegiances, commitments. There is movie style panorama of brutal battles and fighting with massive hardships, slaughter and heartaches and the undercurrent of love and commitment of the couple to one another thrown in! It’s just a BIG book but short, only 250 pages! The language is simply stunning and could be quoted over and over of how the author gets things said perfectly, said and felt. It reads like music and words needed to be said aloud to self while reading, to hear the fabulous writing and dialogue. Oh but Barry takes on a bleak period of history.

Sebastian Barry is Irish and considered to be one of the best contemporary writers right now in Ireland. He started out as a poet and then playwright and novelist and has been short listed twice for the Booker and twice won The Costa Book of the Year award. His son is gay and it is from his son’s telling that he developed the wonderful relationship in this book between Thomas and John. (Wikepedia)

p. 232 (on a train) Out front the snow-guard parts the snow just like a ship through blustering foam. The snow thrown up pours back across the roofs and in it comes through glassless windows to be brother to soot and sister to choking smoke. …..We go so fast I believe we leave our thinking parts back the line, only our battered bodies hurtling forward. Dizzy and frozen.

This is what the Costa Award judges said "“A miracle of a book – both epic and intimate – that manages to create spaces for love and safety in the noise and chaos of history.”

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LibraryThing member ClareRhoden

I wish I could give this amazing book 6 or more stars. I'm not doing spoilers, so feel free to read on.
Sebastian Barry writes brilliantly. Every sentence is perfectly crafted, and many of them so quotable. He has quite a succinct but sharp style. Every word counts, but it's not poetry, it's

narrative. His insight and mastery of character is asonishing.
Yes, I have read other Barrys and been very impressed. Here we are with another of the vast and complex McNulty clan, young Thomas McNulty out of Sligo, bringing all the resilience and anguish of famine-cursed Ireland in his fearful, brave heart. The voice which Barry creates for Thomas is convincing and unique.
It's a bit Brokeback Mountain (Proulx), and a bit Red Badge of Courage (Crane), and a tiny bit Gone with the Wind (Mitchell), and a slice of Caleb's Crossing (Geraldine Brooks), but the sum is very much greater than any of these echoes. There are some very distressing scenes in this book, but once again, the overall sum of human love is greater than the misery, at least in my view.
While I'm not one for stories of the massacre-clearing of the west, or the civil war, as a regular read, I will keep coming back to this novel. I think it says something important about the conflicted, raging, wonderful, difficult country that is America. As Thomas McNulty notes, "I know I can rely on the kindness of folk along the way. The ones that don't rob me will feed me. That is how it is in America."

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LibraryThing member sprainedbrain

This book is fantastic. It’s told very simply, from the perspective of our narrator Thomas, and it’s filled with atrocities that he was a part of during the American Indian Wars and the Civil War. Parts are painful to read, but at the same time the writing is gorgeous and the story of Thomas

and John’s love for each other and their adopted daughter got me right in the feels.

Narration on this audio version was so good!

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LibraryThing member charl08

"Sometimes you know you ain’t a clever man. But likewise sometimes the fog of usual thoughts clears off in a sudden breeze of sense and you see things clear a moment like a clearing country. We blunder through and call it wisdom but it ain’t. They say we be Christians and suchlike but we

ain’t. They say we are creatures raised by God above the animals but any man that has lived knows that’s damned lies. We are going forth that day to call Caught-His-Horse-First a murderer in silent judgement. But it was us killed his wife and his child."

Brilliantly sharp account of a young Irish migrant to America caught up in tragic events of US policy, from the Civil War to massacres of Native Americans. Barry introduces his character smitten with John Cole, a fellow dancer and soldier, and it is part of the charm of this book that their relationship is such a happy one amidst the horrors if war. Recommended.

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LibraryThing member Cariola

Once again I am in disagreement with the majority. In the past I've quite enjoyed some of Sebastian Barry's novels, but others have been less satisfying. This one falls into the latter category. One reason may be that I am just not much interested in the "Old West." This is the story of Thomas

McNulty, a teenage immigrant from County Sligo, and his lover, who is always referred to with an adjective: "handsome John Cole." The two boys are sent to Wyoming and parts further west with a troop of US soldiers to hunt down Indians, and the scenes of slaughter are truly appalling--not just shooting and stabbing and clubbing, but frightened women and children huddling in huts that are burned down with them inside. And yes, we get full descriptions of the remains. Once the Civil War begins, they are sent to Tennessee where they slaughter rebels and more Indians--more of the same. Early on in the book, the boys are paid to dress as women and dance with lonely men; I guess this is Barry's way of setting up their gay romance, but it's pretty tacky. Thomas and John Cole later adopt an orphaned Sioux girl that they name Winona--their way of setting up a gay family. How contemporary of Mr. Barry! Eventually the boys get in troubles that they can't easily talk their way out of.

So why didn't I like this book? Well, as one reviewer on Amazon pointed out, there are many, many HUGE geographical, historical and common sense errors (such as the cavalry reaching California without having to cross the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada; or Winona being bitten by masses of mosquitos in Tennessee--in December while also being "raw with the cold"). This is sloppy research and sloppy detailing, and no amount of good writing can redeem it. I also felt the descriptions in the book were overwrought; I would have liked more character development instead. I'm sure it was the author's intention to maintain a kind of flat narration in a story that could easily fall into the maudlin, but it was so flat that it was boring. In the end, for all the reasons stated above, I simply could not suspend my disbelief or engage with any of the characters. I suspect that a lot of the praise the book has received is due to its difference from most of Barry's earlier novels, but it just didn't work for me.

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LibraryThing member Wickabod

"Things that give you heart are rare enough, better note them in your head when you find them and not forget."

DAYS WITHOUT END is the latest entry from Sebastian Barry in his loose, multi-generational McNulty family series, and it's his best one yet. With this one, he takes us to a completely

different time and place: the American West, the Indian Wars, and the Civil War. It's a surprising and wholly original take on men in wartime.

There is harrowing violence and suffering: battlefields, massacres, a POW camp, famine in Ireland (and hellishness on ships escaping from it). But there's no sentimentality, and few false notes in Barry's descriptions. His characters are honest and true, and full of real-life contradictions. Good people do some very bad things. In his depiction of war, we see heroism and cowardice, stupidity and wisdom, terror and exhilaration, brutality and compassion. Mostly these soldiers just get on with it: "Nothing too tricky about dying for your country. It's the easiest item on the menu."

Barry's novel has received some attention for its depiction of homosexuality and cross-dressing among American soldiers. (I hope that's not a spoiler; it's revealed very early in the book.) But for all the fuss about that, the book is really about so much more. It's about love and compassion in the toughest of circumstances. Yes, there's romantic love . . . but also parental love, platonic love, and the unique bonds that men in combat share with each other. And it's also a fresh and important take on the Irish experience in America.

As powerful as Barry's story is, his economy is even more striking. He seems to have packed a whole world into this slender novel.

The story is tough and tender in equal measure. It's also witty and funny. I'm not sure I've read anything quite like it. It's a truly unique and unsettling work of fiction. Barry's prose is clean and lovely, and the first-person narration is pitch-perfect. He has captured the voice of Thomas McNulty just so.

"Time was not something then we thought of as an item that possessed an ending, but something that would go on forever, all rested and stopped in that moment. . . . You look back at all the endless years when you never had that thought. I am doing that now as I write these words in Tennessee. I am thinking of the days without end of my life. . . . I am wondering what words we said so carelessly that night, what vigorous nonsense we spoke, what drunken shouts we shouted, what stupid joy there was in that, and how John Cole was only young then and as handsome as any person that has ever lived. Young, and there would never be a change for that. The heart rising, and the soul singing."

This extraordinary novel gave me heart, and I won't forget it.

Here's a glass raised to Sebastian Barry and his McNulty family. I hope there are many more of their stories to come.

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LibraryThing member lydia1879

This book feels impossible to rate.

Or, rather, it feels impossible to give it a universal rating. This book feels like a white person's book. Man-Booker nominated and all that. It's about two soldiers fighting in conflicts pre civil war.

They're lovers, with the main narrator, McNulty, feeling

more at home in dresses than soldier's garb. I could hardly believe my heart. A story about a trans woman in 1776. With their beau, John Cole, also known as Handsome John Cole. Mysterious and dark as his hair.

I fell in love with the writing. The lilt, the tone, and there were passages in here that were stunning in their execution.

"And on the other bank the tribes did seat themselves in a silence such as you might know just before a thunderstorm, where the land draws in its chest and holds a limitless breath, and across the valley drifts the voice of the colonel."

And then there's the usual historically-accurate-racism that I'm pretty tired of. And then I noticed a pattern. The main characters only refer to First Nations people during conflict. We only ever see the First Nations people in conflict. In strife. We never hear from their perspective, except a side character who is 'saved' from that conflict.

McNulty renames her, because he can't get his tongue around her Indian name.

I understand that this book would have some racism in it. But to omit all but one token character, when the entire book is centred around a war with First Nations people feels disingenuous, lazy and whiteness at its best.

I am grateful this book allowed me to closely examine my privilege, because any time I enjoyed it, I reckoned with the fact that there would be many others who couldn't get through it, or who'd hate it.

I thought this would be a five star read for sure, but I don't want to rate this. I can't add a star for writing and dock one for racism, not just within the story but within a writer's choices to erase a multitude of voices from an otherwise seemingly accurate historical fiction novel.

As I've learnt by being in the community, being queer doesn't absolve one of one's racism.

So tread carefully when you read this, it is a tragedy in more ways than it is intended to be.

Or, at least, if you do read it, turn off the critical part of your brain that likes to dissect characters and choices and words, much like some people do when they watch television they know to be terribly problematic.

This, at least for me, is an ever-present reminder that we shouldn't hold up literature to the accolades that we do.

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LibraryThing member CarltonC

I have been mulling this enjoyable read over since finishing it and wondering where to “place” it. It is a first person narrative, written in a punchy colloquial style that sets it apart from other historical fiction about the US that I have read recently. It is not tricksy (along the lines of

Phillip Meyer’s The Son), but has a more straightforward story (more like Lonesome Dove). However, although the language is colloquial, it is precise, well chosen and full of unusual images, whilst being believable direct.

Having the main character as an Irish immigrant, continues to create a depth to the writing (an ability for the character to reflect upon his experience) that would not otherwise exist and also to place the horrors of creating the American West in the nineteenth century in the context of the poverty from which immigrants were fleeing.

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LibraryThing member Niecierpek

One of the best novels I have ever read.

LibraryThing member Carmenere

Just when I thought this novel would be a rehash of Dances with Wolves and Brokeback Mountain it suddenly became a story unto itself. A story of devotion, love and humanity in mid 1800's America where there is so much to discover about the country and humans of different ethnicity and sexual

preference. It is where enemies come face to face and where their honor, loyalty, morality and dignity are tested.
Thomas McNulty relates the story to us in his own affable words starting with how he and John Cole met and became fast friends. During their years of menial labor, military duty in the Indian and Civil Wars and as farmhands they adopt a family of acquaintances and some who are not friends but seek justice.
The author's prose is exquisite! His literary landscape, mesmerizing and his take on race, emigrants and sexuality in 19th century America puts a different and thought provoking spin on what,otherwise, would be an old story.

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LibraryThing member dooney

I am not fully certain of my thoughts on this book yet. It is the kind of book that sinks in slowly and I think more reflection is required. In many ways the book unfolds the way a life unfolds, the way the American prairie unfolds. The time and the place are captured in a way in a way that

perfectly conveys the sense of place and yet in a way that perhaps no modern American could, suffused as we are with our own history, our own sense of being American. Of course we have to remember that "America" as experienced by McNulty and John Cole is itself a more elusive concept than the more defined nationalism we carry today. The book is unflinching in the brutality that occurs, but also equally open-handed with love and community building, in its tenderness, yes, its tenderness. The writing is deceptively simple, and although the book is at times shocking, what might be most important about this story is what is not said, or more exactly the way it is not said. This is the story of one man's journey. It deals with his life, with the complexity of what it means to be human, and with the dangers of seeing people as the other, with gender fluidity, with race, poverty, and love. And yet the novel doesn't actually address any of these things and this may be its greatest strength, the way it seeps under you skin -- subtly, quietly, and with humanity.

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LibraryThing member alanteder

Woe To Live On Brokeback Blood Meridian

I thought of this as a mash-up of the 19th century language & setting of Woodrell's "Woe to Live on" (filmed as "Ride with the Devil" (1999) by dir. Ang Lee) with the unconventional romance of Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain" and the relentless war horror of

McCarthy's "Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West" with all the good and the bad those entail. Definitely mostly the good.

Barry's story of a poor young Irish immigrant forming a lifelong friendship with a similarly down-and-out American is more expansive though than Woodrell's story of the Missouri-Kansas border war between irregulars in the American Civil War. Barry makes an epic sweep through Gold Rushes, Plains Indian wars, and the Civil War. As I recall, Woodrell limited his use of the often formal, but also vernacular, Victorian-American English to his dialogue. Barry writes the entire book in that style as it is a first-person narrative by the Irishman Thomas McNulty. It doesn't feel stiff and awkward though. It often approaches real poetic beauty as if this was the only proper way to describe the land and its people at that time.

McNulty's love relationship with the American John Cole is treated very casually and naturally. The fact that no one seems to remark on it (assuming McNulty is not playing unreliable narrator in his account) is perhaps the only odd thing about it. You would think someone would at least say something. Perhaps that is the only open-minded 21st Century view that seems to step in somewhat. On the other hand, this may have been more common on the frontier than we are led to believe in puritan-minded accounts.

The relentless horror of slaughter in both the Indian and Civil Wars is as shockingly portrayed as it was in McCarthy's "Blood Meridian," but at least there is less of it here.

Of the several books that I've now read of the 2017 Booker Longlist, I would put Barry's "Days Without End" into the Top Two along with Ali Smith's "Autumn". I hope to see them both in the Shortlist (due Sept. 13, 2017) and would be happy to see either of them win it (Final Oct. 17, 2017).

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LibraryThing member vancouverdeb

Thomas McNulty , aged barely 17 , flees the Irish famine for the USA. In the 1850's, he joins the US Army , fighting in the Indian Wars- the Sioux and Yurok . With his brother in arms, John Cole, he goes on to join the Civil War. In between battles scenes is the touching story of two young men, and

the makeshift family that they create with a young Sioux girl .

The battle scenes far outweighed the more interesting and touching story of Thomas, John and young Winona. The three led an unconventional life, which was by far the more interesting part of the book for me. I suppose I learned some details of the American Indian Wars as well as the Civil War, but overall, this was not the book for me.

3.5 stars.

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LibraryThing member chrisblocker

The following review contains a few potential minor spoilers. In my opinion, these details do not spoil much and are established fairly early in the narrative, but I feel it's only fair to mention their inclusion for readers who desire a clean slate.

...
Initially, I struggled with believing a word

of this novel. Told from the perspective of Thomas McNulty, Days Without End illustrates the setting and period in a manner that feels extremely authentic. The problem had to do with the story itself: two gay men, one who commonly wears dresses, along with their daughter, fight in the biggest American battles of the 1850s and 60s, and are generally well liked. It sounds ludicrous, does it not? Because, frankly, how many such people could there have been in those years? The more I thought about it and the deeper I read, the more I began to question my original doubt. It's not at all ludicrous. Even the part about being well liked seemed accurate as I got to know these characters. This is the biggest compliment I can give Sebastian Barry and his most recent novel—Barry took a very hard-to-sell story and made it not only convincing, but enjoyable.

Evocative of Cormac McCarthy in its blend of lyrical prose and brutal western themes, Days Without End is a different kind of story all together. It's an improbable historical novel of epic proportions in a small package. Its blend of a less-educated vernacular with gorgeous and insightful passages is hard to believe at times, but like the story itself, it works surprisingly well. Perhaps it is exactly because of the implausibility of language and story that this novel excels. Without the unique perspective and the powerful lyricism, this novel would likely be just another addition to the long list of fictional accounts of the American Civil War without anything to set it apart.

Days Without End is constantly immersed in tales of war and of family. The “war” in the novel perhaps drags on a big too much, especially considering the brevity of the novel. For my benign tastes, there were a few too many conflicts. By the time I arrived at the fourth or fifth major conflict, I didn't much care about the results. I suspected the outcome would be similar to all those that preceded it. I'd have preferred a little more time spent on the family aspect, though surely the two overlap considerably. Another reader may have hoped for the opposite.

Days Without End is one of those novels that seems so simple in so many ways that you can imagine the author whipped it out in a matter of weeks and didn't need to look back. It's short and it's straight-forward. But you can also imagine the author spent considerable time with each and every sentence. They're painstakingly beautiful, yet they smack of the language of the time and place. Whether Barry labored over the making of Days Without End or not, the talent is obvious. Here is a story that glosses over some of the rough edges of mid-nineteenth century America, but sharpens others. The result is a gritty but beautiful novel, a fable where uncertainty melts away one page at a time.

Man Booker Prize 2017:
Days Without End stands a good chance of making the shortlist, in my opinion. It's an excellent contender with a strong historical narrative. Though some readers may be turned off by its implausible themes, it is because of the superb handling of these themes that this book rises above other well-written Civil War novels. Perhaps the greatest deterrent for shortlisting Days Without End is that it is yet another book about America in a year where perhaps there are too many nominees about the American experience. I feel confident that Days Without End will be shortlisted and will be an excellent contender for the top award, but I have doubts that Barry will bring home the prize this year.

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LibraryThing member Opinionated

I'd been struggling to find a way to describe this whale of a book, until I came across a review by Peter Parker that described it better than I could. Here then, is Parker's POV paraphrased

Teenage Thomas McNulty sails from famine-blighted Sligo to America with nothing but a mouthful of poetry.

There he meets "Handsome John Cole" with whom he enlists and their remarkable love story unfolds without fuss against the savage background of The Indian Wars and the American Civil War. They and their adopted Native American daughter fight for survival in a world that is as full of wonder as it is of horror

Parker is right; the richness of the language is as lush as the landscapes of the mid West through which they charm, slog, fight and sometimes, yes, slaughter their way, hoping for nothing but a little peace and tranquility. Most comparisons of this book are with Brokeback Mountain; I can't say, I haven't read that book. But for me it was more resonant of Little Big Man or even The Last Confederate Widow Tells All. Its an astonishing and poetic work that will stay with you

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LibraryThing member LARA335

Eventful but slow-moving story of a boy leaving the Hunger in Ireland for America. Dressing as a woman to put on shows, signing up and massacring Indians, enduring the hardships of the civil war, adopting an Indian girl. And all the time a quiet, understated love affair with his comrade in

arms.

Arresting similes & thoughts: we can live 50 years, only clearly remembering 100 days.

Two unimportant, uneducated young men who nevertheless live their lives without prejudice and with kindness, love and a strong appealing moral compass.

A beautifully written novel and original story about a fascinating period of history, but a harsh 3-stars from me as until the final few pages I sadly didn't find it a page-turner.

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LibraryThing member BookConcierge

Two young immigrants – Thomas from Ireland, and John from England – meet under a shrub during a sudden downpour and become fast friends, and more. The time is the mid 19th century in America, and the boys go from working in a frontier saloon as “dancers” dressed as girls, to joining the

Army and serving in both the Indian and Civil Wars. They take on an orphaned Indian girl as their servant, and treat her as if she were their own child, forming a family of sorts.

This is a very atmospheric novel. Barry makes the landscape practically come alive, from the wide vistas of the western plains, to the bloody battlefields of the Civil War, and the horrendous conditions of Andersonville Prison.

The narration is done by Thomas, a poorly educated young man, who speaks in a unique dialect (which is made that much more challenging to read by Barry’s lack of quotation marks). Yet I feel privileged to have heard his story in his own words … of love, war, regret, pride, adventure, death and peace. He may have had a very limited education, but he told his story in words that were at times sheer poetry.

I found myself jotting notes and quotes, and reading aloud to my husband passage after passage:
We see a country whose beauty penetrates our bones … the the far distance, we see a land begin to be suggested as if maybe a man was out there painting it with a huge brush.

A man that only got noughts to count, can’t get 1 for an answer.

Words so black they were blacker than dried blood. Remorse not a whit. Killing hurts the heart and soils the soul.

The train moves like a giant dancer for all its bulk.

The palms of her hands like two maps of home, the lines leading homeward like old trails.

Several people in my F2F book club questioned the relationship between John and Thomas, feeling that it was gratuitous and unnecessary. And yet, I found it loving and tender and genuine. Clearly, they meant the world to one another, and felt strongly that Winona was “our daughter.” I was touched by their affection and loyalty. That they could find some joy in their relationship amidst all the horrific experiences of war … well, how could I possibly object to that?

All in all, this is beautiful, poetic, powerful writing that tugs at my heart and alternately disturbs me and cradles me in a loving embrace.

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LibraryThing member infjsarah

Another reading group book that bored me to death. I got to the end but it was hard work. For me the writing was like treacle, the story was dull and the characters didn't have any character. Yawn.

LibraryThing member MarilynKinnon

A great read- a realist depiction of frontier existence for Irish immigrant/ survivor/soldier/vaudeville dancer in mid 19th century USA

LibraryThing member Carmenere

preference. It is where enemies come face to face and where their honor, loyalty, morality and dignity are tested. Thomas McNulty relates the story to us in his own affable words starting with how he and John Cole met and became fast friends. During their years of menial labor, military duty in the Indian and Civil Wars and as farmhands they adopt a family of acquaintances and some who are not friends but seek justice. The author's prose is exquisite! His literary landscape, mesmerizing and his take on race, emigrants and sexuality in 19th century America puts a different and thought provoking spin on what,otherwise, would be an old story.

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LibraryThing member Storeetllr

I really, really, REALLY wish people wouldn't give entire plots away with their reviews. I also wish people who don't finish a book wouldn't give it a rating.

I started Days Without End today and added it to my Library. When I did, I happened to look at the reviews and saw that two of my LT friends

posted reviews. One liked it a lot and one didn't, but both finished it. Then I glanced at other reviews - I know, dumb move - and saw a two-line "review" by someone who hadn't even finished the book that was all spoiler. Grrrr.

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LibraryThing member c.archer

Breathtakingly beautiful writing is the take away for me after reading this book. It was exquisite and brutal in its description of war and it's effect on men. At the same time, it was delicate and tender in its treatment of friendship and family. A truly unique and fascinating tale.

LibraryThing member alanteder

McNulty Family Saga 6

I don't have a lot to add to my earlier review of the hardcover edition that I titled "Woe to Live On Brokeback Blood Meridian". This time I listened to the audiobook as narrated by Aidan Kelly and the often lyrical poetic beauty of the text was even more enhanced by his Irish

lilt.

I have since discovered that "Days Without End" is actually the 6th work by writer Sebastian Barry in a fictional McNulty Family Saga which is somewhat inspired by his own ancestors and relatives from County Sligo, Ireland.

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LibraryThing member splinfo

whew. loved each difficult word. First person narrative. Young man doing what needed to be done to survive if you are an Irish refugee in America in the middle of the 19th century. Brutal and beautiful both.

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