The Blue Tango - Softcover

McNamee, Eoin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571207650 ISBN 13: 9780571207657

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2001

Synopsis

A thriller set in a shadowy world of corruption and sexual intrigue. A narrative of white mischief in post-war Ireland, of false accusation and savage murder, presided over by the tragic figure of the 19-year-old daughter of a judge.

About this title

Review

When the daughter of an Irish judge was found stabbed 37 times in the early hours of 13 November 1952 in the Northern Irish village of Whiteabbey-the setting of Eoine McNamee's The Blue Tango--the story made front page news for almost a year. Iain Gordon, an Englishman stationed at a nearby RAF base was arrested and then tried on circumstantial evidence. Only last year his original conviction was overturned and he was finally released. The real killer of 19-year-old Patricia Curran was never caught and Blue Tango is the tantalising fictional reading of the case.

McNamee's novel, intricately researched and meticulously capturing the tense mood of rural post-war Northern Ireland, makes clear the cultural significance of the Curran murder. Patricia Curran was beautiful, headstrong and in full-blown rebellion against the emotional wasteland of her family and struggling to determine a life for herself. She was like a stormwarning of the changes that would sweep over that future generation of women who were determined their lives would be a contrast to their mothers. But the media spin of the 1950s interpreted her protest merely as sluttish behaviour (she had had lovers, including a married man) and the story was often reduced to a homicidal peep-show.

McNamee dissects the detectives who were involved in the case, has interviewed witnesses and studied the newspaper accounts of the period, but the inner thoughts and motivations of those involved are purely his own invention. His fine talent is in transporting the reader back into that stifling world where a few brave souls were struggling to emerge into the 20th century while fighting off their country's most archaic traditions. --Julie Wheelwright

Review

A shadowy, seductive read. -- Elle

It’s so well done I couldn’t tell where reportage ended and invention began. . . This is a remarkable book and, in time... it will come to be seen as a classic. -- Carlo Gebler, Irish Times

McNamee’s style is meticulous and precise. . . Such verbal polish adds to the thrill of the crime story, giving it the black and wicked glitter of jet. -- Sunday Times

This is a beautifully written book. . . A fascinating story, compellingly told. -- Irish Independent

This is a crackingly well-told literary whodunnit. . . an atmospheric book, recreating a tangible sense of the stifled, secretive lives of individuals. -- New Statesman

Edition details

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571207650
• ISBN 13: 9780571207657
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 275