First published 2018
John Banville grew up in a small town outside Dublin, viewing the city as magical during childhood visits to his eccentric aunt. The place seemed enchanted to his seven-year-old eyes, a special destination reached by train for birthday celebrations. Years later, when Banville moved to Dublin as an adult, the city became a backdrop for his frustrations and disappointments. Yet some corner of his mind preserved that early sense of wonder. Now he walks Dublin's streets again, examining its architecture, culture, politics, and social fabric. Each location triggers specific memories, weaving together his personal history with the city's larger story. Banville connects particular moments to particular places, creating both an unconventional guide to Dublin and a meditation on how a city shapes an artist. The book captures the tension between childhood enchantment and adult disillusionment, showing how memory transforms ordinary places into something more significant.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Dublin
Period: Childhood, Adulthood
224 pages · Hardcover · Alfred A. Knopf