1) Grace Notes 2) Cal 3) Lamb
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1) Grace Notes
I am male and I am drawn to books written by males as I feel I will be able to relate to them easier and this was my reason for choosing this book. But....Bernard Mac Laverty has written this book from the perspective of a female, Catherine, and on finishing this novel, a male will feel, rightly or wrongly, that he better knows the female mind. Very descriptive with great observation;-
"She noticed that her fists were clenched and she consciously relaxed
them, turned her palms upward on her lap to see if it would make a
difference."
Catherine is viewed as a normal, soon to be, mother, with normalish family problems. She also has a great musical work welling up inside her. A great read.
"Catherine played with a little tilt of her head, a slight almost imperceptible nodding to the rhythm. Her hands floated lightly above the keyboard, effortlessly fingering. The strutting rhythm to start - a jaunty march almost, which was overtaken by flowing runs, the glittering phrases and trills held in check by the strength of her left hand. out of the corner of her eye she saw her mother close her eyes and put her head back on the chair. She was smiling - the first time Catherine had seen her do so since she'd come home."
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2) Cal
First
published in 1983 this novel, set in Northern Ireland, outside Belfast, is
almost historical. Taking place during 'the troubles' and before the 'peace
process' this is the story of Cal a nineteen year old unemployed youth,
unemployed because he couldn't stomach the job his father got him in the
local abbatoir. Cal and his father are the last Catholic family on a Protestant
housing estate and are being victimised. Without condoning the violence,
the reader begins to understand how a person could get wrapped up in the
religious bigotry surrounding them, sympathises with Cal's boredom, his bullying
colleagues and his life-long fears.
He washed his hair while sitting in the bath, pouring jugfuls of water over his head. With his eyes closed against soap and cascading water he felt very vulnerable. What if someone were to burst into the bathroom now? How easy a target he would be, stark naked, blinded, groping with outstretched arms for a towel. It was a feeling he had had ever since childhood.
Will Cal get more wrapped up in the troubles? Will he and his father be forced to leave the estate? The biggest question comes from Cal's total infatuation with Marcela the local librarian. Will they eventually get together and, what is the reason that Cal finds it so dangerous to be near her? Compare this novel with the worse poverty of, turn of the century Dublin in Roddy Doyle's "A Star Called Henry"
Cal is an excellent read that all should experience before making judgments. Chase the link
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3) Lamb
Important
note;- if searching other sites (including Amazon) or using search engines
for Mac Laverty's work then use the correct 'Mac Laverty' but also the incorrect
'Maclaverty' - with differing results. Try it!
He paid no attention but later asked Owen to stay behind. He looked at his hands and wrists. They were swollen and red. On the wrists were several horse-shoe-shaped welts, crescents where the blood had been brought to the surface, but the skin had not broken. 'How many did he give you?'
'Six'
'It's a cold morning for it,' said Michael. 'What was it all about?'
When he heard the story the whole thing seemed ludicrous. Someone had stolen a can of spray paint from the technical block and written in huge awkward letters; BENNY DIES O.K. Brother Benedict thought it was Owen. 'What made him think it was you?'
'He said they were my initials'
'What were?'
'O.K. means Owen Kane.'
When Brother Sebastian's father dies, leaving him a little money, he sees it (for a number of reasons) to be a good time to leave. Owen, the young boy of the dialogue above, has no life, parents that hate him and no future. Thankful for his own upbringing, Brother Sebastian decides to take on the role of father to Owen and the two leave together. The local radio station call it a kidnapping.
Arriving in London and taking on his real name of Michael Lamb, the two attempt to survive. Michael having little experience of life outside monastic life and Owen having little experience outside lies, stealing, beatings and being let down.
This novel should be read either just before, or just after Narcissus And Goldmund by Hermann Hesse with which it should be compared / contrasted (nightmare phrase from exam days). Both are monastic tales of Teacher and pupil and the great search for life. Both are excellently written and should be read by all.
Lamb takes us through experiences that are not what most of us can imagine happening to ourselves. Mac Laverty, however, takes up the challenge beautifully and takes us through the thoughts, feelings, ups and downs of this 'father and son.' Highly recommended.
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