Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry

I nearly didn't read this, as the first few pages seemed heavy, and I didn't feel in the mood for a book about a lonely old man who seems to have had enough of life. I would certainly have read something else if I had another fiction book to hand, but I didn't, so I was almost forced to give it a go as I don't like to go a day without reading.

As it turned out, it was heavy, and as with so many novels set in Ireland, there were plenty of instances of harm caused by the Catholic church that were covered up and ignored until people simply accepted that it was part of their lives. Sometimes I wonder why the Catholic church was not drummed out of Ireland years ago after all the revelations of abuse that have come to light in recent years. The institutions such as orphanages and laundries must have affected almost every member of the population in some form or another, and yet no one felt they had the power to stop it.

Physical and sexual abuse of vulnerable children sits at the heart of this novel, and Sebastian Barry examines the way that survivors deal with their terrible memories, and how it hangs above almost everything they do for the rest of their lives. It was always so hard for children to get away from their abusers and those that dared speak up against a priest or a nun were roundly punished for having the audacity to criticise those who controlled their lives. Even if a complaint made it as far as the police, there was always someone in the force who would stop the process before any member of the church was held accountable, and evidence would suddenly disappear.

This book looks at what happens when time has passed after the murder of a priest, but modern technology may allow a file to be re-opened if there is sufficient DNA evidence. A retired police officer may be the only surviving witness from the day of the murder, but his mind is beginning to play tricks on him and he's not sure what he can remember with any accuracy.

As ever with Sebastian Barry, the story is well constructed and beautifully written, but it is very sad that such things ever happened at all.

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