The Leavetaking
Published on 5. November 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-0-571-22570-5 (ISBN)
Description
A haunting novel by 'one of the greatest writers of our era' (Hilary Mantel) and 'the Irish novelist everyone should read' (Colm Toibin).
A day, crucial and cathartic, in the life of a young Catholic schoolteacher who has returned to Ireland after a year's sabbatical in London where he married an American divorcee. As a result he now faces certain dismissal by the school authorities. Moving from the earliest memories of both the man and the woman, the novel recreates their breaking of the shackles of guilt and duty into the acceptance of a fulfilling adult love.
'A beautiful, irresistible work of imagination. Sunday Telegraph
'Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.' David Mitchell
'I have admired, even loved, John McGahern's work since his first novel.' Melvyn Bragg
A day, crucial and cathartic, in the life of a young Catholic schoolteacher who has returned to Ireland after a year's sabbatical in London where he married an American divorcee. As a result he now faces certain dismissal by the school authorities. Moving from the earliest memories of both the man and the woman, the novel recreates their breaking of the shackles of guilt and duty into the acceptance of a fulfilling adult love.
'A beautiful, irresistible work of imagination. Sunday Telegraph
'Wise and compelling ... Elegiac and graceful.' David Mitchell
'I have admired, even loved, John McGahern's work since his first novel.' Melvyn Bragg
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
151 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-571-22570-5 (9780571225705)
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Schweitzer Classification
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Person
John McGahern was born in Dublin in 1934 and brought up in the Republic of Ireland. He trained to be a primary-school teacher before becoming a full-time writer, and later taught and travelled extensively. He lived in County Leitrim. The author of six highly acclaimed novels and four collections of short stories, he was the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including a Society of Authors Travelling Scholarship, the American-Irish Award, the Prix Etrangere Ecureuil and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Amongst Women, which won both the GPA and the Irish Times Award, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and made into a four-part BBC television series. His work appeared in numerous anthologies and has been translated into many languages. In 2005, his autobiography, Memoir, won the South Bank Literature Award. McGahern died in 2006.