3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Elaine Feeney delivers a moving meditation on enforced female roles in Irish society past and present
In retracing the trauma of multiple generations of a Galwegian family, the writer delivers a strong story that packs an emotional punch
On top of being a playwright and a Booker-longlisted novelist for 2024's beloved How to Build a Boat, Galwegian Elaine Feeney is also a well-respected poet and so is likely familiar with Philip Larkin's 1971 mini masterpiece This Be The Verse. Even those who are a stranger to his work have probably heard Larkin's assertion that your mum and dad mess you up, although the Bard of Hull used an expletive to better get his point across.
Don't blame your parents though, said Larkin, because they were 'messed' up by those who came before them. 'Man hands on misery to man' so get out while you can and don't look back. It's advice that Feeney's main character Claire O'Connor would have been wise to heed.
