The Gathering (2007 Booker Prize Winner) somehow slipped
under the radar for me. Totally missed
it. The Green Road is Anne Enright’s
latest, it’s been favorably reviewed, so why not?
It’s the story of a modern day Irish family headed by a
domineering and emotionally limited mother. Each of her children follows their own distinct path, some successful, some not, but each is crucially influenced by the unintentional yet inevitable inadequacies of the mother. For me the most pleasing aspect of the book is the careful balance between
overall plot and sectional episodes. The
novel is divided into several parts, each devoted to a particular character and
time, and culminating in a holiday gathering at which the entire family ‘comes
together’. The sections are in essence
short stories and vary in tone, setting, and time. There are large chronology gaps between
sections that the reader is left to piece together on his own. Seems to be a bit of a trend these days …. short
stories that connect, novels that are comprised of stories, etc. Enright pulls it off nicely with just the
right proportions of explicit revelation and tantalizing gaps.
The climactic holiday gathering is a bit predictable, but Enright at least resists the temptation to tie it all up with a neat
ribbon and bow. We’re left to speculate
about how the characters will go forward, but I for one was happy to spend a
few days with them.
Enright’s writing doesn’t have the spectacular Irish depth
and warmth of Banville. She relies more
on plot and traditional structure, but I rarely found the writing clunky and awkward. These are real characters that I ended up
caring about.
Booker worthy? Not
sure. I’ll have to try The Gathering.
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