McGahern, John (Vol. 5) - McGahern, John 1935–
McGahern, John 1935–
McGahern is an Irish novelist in the Celtic literary tradition. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 19-20.)
"What a coffin this schoolroom would be without the long withdrawing tide of memory becoming imagination," reflects Patrick [in "The Leavetaking"], an Irish schoolmaster on the day he is fired for having married a divorced woman. This insistence on death in the face of love is a constant of Patrick's personality. Perhaps it is traceable to the deathbed of his young mother, from which he was torn by an insensitive father. Or perhaps this perception of mortality is a Celtic literary tradition going back to Joyce's "Dubliners," which includes a memorable celebration of the funeral. In any event, Patrick thinks of life as a collection of "small deaths," and he is obsessed with the big sleep even in the act of love. His somber memories are a lowering backdrop for his attempts to free himself from an unhappy past.
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