The Secret Scripture - Softcover

Sebastian Barry

3.83

21,367 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571215297 ISBN 13: 9780571215294

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2007

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A gorgeous new novel from the author of the Man Booker finalist A Long Long Way

As a young woman, Roseanne McNulty was one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland. Now, as her hundredth year draws near, she is a patient at Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital, and she decides to record the events of her life.

As Roseanne revisits her past, hiding the manuscript beneath the floorboards in her bedroom, she learns that Roscommon Hospital will be closed in a few months and that her caregiver, Dr. Grene, has been asked to evaluate the patients and decide if they can return to society. Roseanne is of particular interest to Dr. Grene, and as he researches her case he discovers a document written by a local priest that tells a very different story of Roseanne’s life than what she recalls. As doctor and patient attempt to understand each other, they begin to uncover long-buried secrets about themselves.

Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an epic story of love, betrayal, and unavoidable tragedy, and a vivid reminder of the stranglehold that the Catholic Church had on individual lives for much of the twentieth century.

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About the Author:

Sebastian Barry is a playwright whose work has been produced in London, Dublin, Sydney, and New York. His novel A Long Long Way was a finalist for the 2005 Man Booker Prize. His other novels include The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty and Annie Dunne.

From AudioFile:

Lucky listeners receive the gift of a great narrator and an amazing writer in THE SECRET SCRIPTURE, which was nominated for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. Ninety-nine-year-old Roseanne McNulty has been a patient in an Irish mental hospital for over 50 years. Not apparently crazy, she decides to write her story at the same time that the hospital director begins to interview her. While Rose reexamines a life lived during the Irish "troubles" and within the confines of a sectarian, conformist country, Dr. Grene tells his version of her story. Wanda McCaddon's exquisite reading illuminates the lyrical writing, and brings listeners deep into the book's explosive emotions. Rose's determined Irish lilt, a priest's oily tones, Dr. Grene's fragile neutrality. It's all here, and it's terrific. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

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