“Old God’s Time” by Sebastian Barry

 I enjoyed this very Irish book and read it fairly quickly, despite the dense language and unreliable narrator. I had had no idea that it was about feckin priests, and the descriptions of child (orphan) abuse were quite horrific. 

Basic story… It’s about a retired policeman who was an orphan and physically abused by priests. He fell deeply in love with an orphan girl who was sexually abused by a priest to the extent that her colon was ripped. After their marriage, it seems the priest is going to escape justice despite damming evidence, which is buried by the archbishop. The wife and/or husband stabs the priest to death and throws him down a ravine. They have 2 beautiful children, whom they vow to protect. Wife commits suicide by burning herself up in the park. This act causes the children to die due to addiction and escaping to the States where murder awaits. Most probably, the policeman commits suicide at the end, after finally achieving atonement. Not surprisingly, the book contains hints of Job’s story.

“There But For The” by Ali Smith

 I have to say that I ended up disliking this book by an acclaimed author.

I learned very little about the man, Miles, who locked himself in the room. I enjoyed the description of the unpleasant dinner party, and of significant life events of several people connected to Miles. But the last section of the book, about the very smart little black girl, Brooke, totally took me out of the story. The entire section, including the numerous puns and historical references, did nothing for me. It felt contrived and pretentious.