Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin (Non-Classics) (1980), Edition: 1st Printing, Paperback, 335 pages
Description
James Mangan is a failed poet and when he is deserted by his beautiful wife his life is devastated. Searching among his father's papers he finds a photo of an Irish ancestor, also a poet. In search of his past he uncovers a sad, violent history of incest and madness .
User reviews
LibraryThing member orzo
I was stunned and trapped by reading this book. What really got me is that the main character, James Mangan, has endless issues about himself, and that not in a selfish way, more in a doubting point of view. His identity is blurred and defined by "others" who seems to be certain, until they change
To me this is very effective.
Show More
their mind in a casual way. Chains of events track then James to follow more muddy and less reliable explanations. The confusing state of mind is well depicted, in a very effective way. To me this is very effective.
Show Less
LibraryThing member DavidWylie
For a three times Booker short listed author, Brian Moore is not well known – or remembered – in his homeland of Northern Ireland. His permanent migration to North America may partly explain (generally only indulged for sportspeople and musicians); as may his somewhat conflicted relationship
Part one, set in New York and Quebec, seems artfully designed to set a comparator with the rural Ireland of the balance of the novel. From there, at times, the writer's characterisation of the 1970’s Irish villagers borders on the racist, although it does uncover beautiful little nuggets of truth, even if generalised, and is not without comedy. He is magnificent on that distinctly Irish trait (north or south, Catholic or Protestant) of masking suspicion, cynicism and unpleasant history with jollity and friendliness.
Some of the subtle observations on Ireland – both in character and landscape – are fabulous, and in places the novel has the feel of a thriller or a ghost story as the abhorrent secrets of the Irish Mangans are revealed. Surely a work that could only have been written by an Irishman - Moore deserves to be more widely read in that place.
Show More
with the old sod. This relationship is largely the subject matter of The Mangan Inheritance in which a writer and aspiring poet from Montreal and latterly New York (sound familiar?), Jamie Mangan, explores himself through investigating his ancestry in the very south west of Ireland. Part one, set in New York and Quebec, seems artfully designed to set a comparator with the rural Ireland of the balance of the novel. From there, at times, the writer's characterisation of the 1970’s Irish villagers borders on the racist, although it does uncover beautiful little nuggets of truth, even if generalised, and is not without comedy. He is magnificent on that distinctly Irish trait (north or south, Catholic or Protestant) of masking suspicion, cynicism and unpleasant history with jollity and friendliness.
Some of the subtle observations on Ireland – both in character and landscape – are fabulous, and in places the novel has the feel of a thriller or a ghost story as the abhorrent secrets of the Irish Mangans are revealed. Surely a work that could only have been written by an Irishman - Moore deserves to be more widely read in that place.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tripleblessings
Jamie Mangan, failed poet and sometime journalist has suddenly and tragically been set free from his marriage to a beautiful American actress. He returns to Montreal where he sifts through old family papers to discover a photograph of a drug-taking bohemian Irish poet of a century and a half ago.
Brian Moore was born in Belfast in 1921, emigrated to Canada in 1948, and now lives in the United States. His books have won prizes in Canadian literature and American as well.
Show More
The likeness of the accursed poet could well be a photograph of Jamie himself, so close is the resemblance. Intrigued, Jamie sets out for southern Ireland to discover his ancestry, and himself...Brian Moore was born in Belfast in 1921, emigrated to Canada in 1948, and now lives in the United States. His books have won prizes in Canadian literature and American as well.
Show Less
LibraryThing member charlie68
Good read, although a little steamy and perhaps a little salacious, but the ending was quite satisfying.
LibraryThing member kylenapoli
By strange coincidence this is the second book I've read in the past week that features Fastnet lighthouse off the coast of Ireland. They were equally disappointing.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1979
Physical description
335 p.; 7 inches
ISBN
0140056718 / 9780140056716