The book club members met on May 10th to discuss two titles by Irish writer Patrick McCabe – The Dead School and The Butcher Boy. The discussion was again reflective of the group’s varied tastes. The Butcher Boy (short listed for the Booker Prize in 1992) has enjoyed international acclaim not only as a novel, but as a film adaptation and a stage play. It centres on the life of a disadvantaged young boy who becomes preoccupied by feelings of betrayal. The Dead School deals with the changes in Irish cultural climate following independence and the inability of its characters to cope with different types of change.

McCabe’s work is concerned with rural life in Ireland – which he often depicts in an unfavourable light. He touches upon issues such as emigration, poverty, clerical abuse and suicide – all topics which have particular resonance in Irish society but are not exclusively Irish problems. However, unlike many of his predecessors and contemporaries such as McCourt, McGahern and Banville, he treats his subject matter with dark humour and his skill is in illustrating the fragility of the mind. The narrator of both these novels brings the reader inside the minds of the main characters. This experience can be at times frightening, humourous or touching and ultimately memorable. Some of the group didn’t enjoy the surrealist episodes within the novels and others felt that the content was disturbing. Others said they became engrossed in the books once they started, and felt they were very easily read. Another comment was on his ability to capture a child’s voice. Although there were conflicting opinions within the group, there was a general consensus that McCabe’s writing style was unique and impressive.

Other titles by Patrick McCabe available through Tipperary Libraries include:

Carn
Breakfast on Pluto
Emerald Germs of Ireland
Mondo Desperado
Call Me the Breeze
Winterwood