Brian Friel: Decoding the Language of the Tribe (Contemporary Irish Writers and Filmmakers)

This book looks at the political and social aspects of Friel's drama, in the context of the development of modern Ireland. The plays' preoccupations are located in the framework of their internal, historical and literary time, and against the backdrop of the evolving Irish state in which they were written. Friel's plays have consistently explored themes of nationality and community, language and communication, social ritual and ""otherness"", sketched through a series of unforgettable characters. The seeming smallness of their lives mirrors the great movements of Irish society and history; the personal and the political are shown to be inextricably linked. ""A useful analysis and synthesis of Friel's dramatic works. . . Corbett's writing style is markedly facile and accessible, and his logic clear and simply laid out, his arguments are powerful and shed a useful light on Friel's plays. . . A solid introduction to Friel's work."" Choice

Despite the inexpensive price and uniform paperback format, this new literary series does not offer basic introductions or compilations of past criticism, although each volume has a good chronology of the subject's life and an excellent bibliography. The texts are in fact original book-length essays covering the complete oeuvre of each writer in question and thus require some previous study on the reader's part. These first volumes in the series cover a range of living Irish writers, from the celebrated to the lesser known, with emphasis on the specifically Irish elements in their work. O'Brien (English, Univ. of Limerick), also the series editor, produces a workmanlike essay in response to the unenviable task of saying something new about "famous Seamus" Heaney, one of the best-known writers in the world. Corbett (English, University Coll., Cork) does a new treatment of the almost as famous Friel, and Hand (editor, Irish Literary Supplement) makes a major contribution to the meager writings on the gifted but not as well-known Banville. Subjects to come have the same mix of famous (Roddy Doyle, Neil Jordan) and not so famous (Jennifer Johnston, Colm Toibin). Like the Corbett and Hand volumes, most will be the first book-length works by young writers. These studies are a good value for the money and are highly recommended for academic libraries and special collections in Irish literature. Shelley Cox, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
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