First published 1990
Moran sits in his country home, an aging Republican who once led guerilla fighters during Ireland's War of Independence. Those days of combat and glory shaped everything that followed. Now his battles have moved indoors. He clashes with his daughters and sons over small matters that feel enormous. He argues with neighbors who once respected his authority. Most painfully, he wrestles with memories that won't let him rest. The old soldier who once knew his enemy now faces opponents he cannot defeat: time, regret, and the gap between who he was and who he has become. His family tries to love him despite his anger. His friends try to understand his bitterness. But Moran remains trapped between a past that gave his life meaning and a present that offers only decline. McGahern shows how the weight of history presses down on one stubborn man who refuses to surrender even when the war has long since ended.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, family-dynamics, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Ireland
Period: 20th-century
182 pages · Paperback · Faber and Faber