Turlough - Hardcover

Keenan, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0224041517 ISBN 13: 9780224041515

Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd, 2000

Synopsis

Brings to life a lost Ireland of famine and disease, eviction and oppression. Stalking through the broken and dispossessed comes Turlough O'Carolan, the musical progidy, blinded by smallpox and now an itinerant harper, lauded by the aristocracy and a hero to his people.

About this title

Review:

As famine and plague sweep across Ireland, and foreign oppressors drive the people from their land, one man spreads a message of hope and courage. Through his words and music, the 17th-century bard Turlough Carolan bewitches, shocks and delights all who hear him, winning fame and notoriety throughout the land. A complex man, Turlough's musical skills are matched only by his capacity for hell-raising and strong drink. Blind from an early age, his life is a protest against darkness, in all its forms. As Turlough and those who have loved him take stock of his life, it becomes apparent that this was no drunken troubadour, but a troubled saint.

Turlough represents a bold leap from the factual-journalistic world of Keenan's previous book, An Evil Cradling. But the two worlds are curiously entwined--for while he was held hostage in Beirut, Keenan was visited by a spiritual presence whom he believes to have been the real-life Turlough Carolan. This fictional account of the bard's life is a personal homage--steeped in powerful imagery and vibrant with historical colour, the ghostly presence of its hero can be felt on every page. Mysticism has never been so entertaining. --Matthew Baylis

Review:

'[Keenan] is aware of the possibilities that the human imagination can hold... an insight into those myriad possibilities’ -- Irish Times

‘A substantial debut...a marvellous novel’ -- Glasgow Herald

‘Imaginative and lovingly executed...There is something profound going on in this novel...' -- Times Literary Supplement

‘Keenan evokes a spiritual beauty from the story of this rapt dreamer’ -- Literary Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0224041517
• ISBN 13: 9780224041515
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352