Annie Dunne by Sebastian Barry

I'm always pleased to find a different title written by a favourite author, and this book by Sebastian Barry does not disappoint. It's set in rural Ireland in the late 1950s at a time when modern comforts were just creeping in to Co Wicklow and many people were still living their lives as their ancestors would have done a century before.

Annie Dunne is a spinster woman of sixty one who already considers herself an old woman, and as she has no close relatives to look after her in her old age, she has gone to live with her cousin Sarah on a small farm. Before she moved to the farm, Sarah had been living with her sister Maud and her family because Maud was bedbound and unable to look after her own children. Annie assumed she would always live there, but after Maud died, her brother in law made it clear that she was no longer welcome. After that she had very little to do with the family until her two nephews had children of their own and one of the boys suddenly asked her to have his young boy and girl for a few months while he and his wife tried to establish a new life in England.

Annie and Sarah willingly took the children in, because that's what families do, but manual work on the farm still has to be done so the children have to adapt to country life. Annie manages them in an old fashioned way with early mornings and bowls of water for washing, and the children seem happy enough even though she doesn't really understand how their minds work.

Older women can occupy their minds with worries, and Annie often allows her thoughts to run away with her and never allows herself any peace. Time after time she has things bothering her but she never feels able to speak freely to anyone, not even her cousin Sarah who she shares a bed with at night. Her efforts to manipulate matters invariably make everything worse and very soon there are multiple problems where none existed in the first place.

Sebastian Barry perfectly captures the dynamics of a rural community where minor hierarchies are carefully observed and long dead relatives still count for something. The book moves gently through the first few chapters but suddenly takes a darker turn and from then on there are questions to be answered and Annie is seen in a changing light.

The writing style is precise as events unfold and has an honesty that is totally engaging. Not exactly a cosy Christmas read, but a fine piece of writing.

Comments

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