The Hungry Grass - Softcover

Power, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784977411 ISBN 13: 9781784977412

Publisher: Apollo Library, 2016

Synopsis

At the funeral, several priests remarked how appropriate it was that Father Conroy should have returned on his last day to Rosnagree, the parish in which he was born.

Father Tom Conroy – a spiky, difficult man – dies at a reunion of his seminary colleagues. As this masterly novel unfolds, we are taken through the years that formed this troublesome priest, who knew his life had been a failure. The Hungry Grass is a sharply witty and moving novel of a world on the cusp of change.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard Power was born in Waterford, south Ireland. He became a civil servant in Dublin, but at weekends and in the evenings wrote. He published his masterpiece, The Hungry Grass, in 1969. A year later he died suddenly at the age of 41.

Review:

'This Apollo edition returns to print a neglected work of literary merit. The author's touch is light, finding humour amid the pathos' TLS. 'An inspired reissuing of Power's superb novel, which was first published in 1969, reveals a writer with much in common with the great William Trevor ... Easily one of the finest Irish novels ever written - no tricks, just genius' Irish Times. 'Daring ... Beautifully written ... It is a masterpiece' RTE Radio. Stylistic and sharp ... What Powers has managed to do here in this quiet novel is create a character of depth and complexity ... The Hungry Grass is a find' Sunday Independent. 'The very best portrait of a priest in Irish fiction ... It is a chilling yet deeply compassionate study of a man whose growth is stunted both by choice and by circumstances. The environment is perfectly realised; the small clashes, the irritations, the sense of static life, the greed and ambition of small-town politics ... This is a very fine novel' Irish Times. 'Truly masterful, as funny as it is profound and insightful ... Published in 1969, the same year as James Plunkett's superb Dublin epic Strumpet City, The Hungry Grass is a far more sophisticated narrative, an Irish Stoner that has the pathos of John Williams's quiet American classic but also adds biting humour' Eileen Battersby, The Irish Times. 'The Apollo choices have been masterful. The list is thought-provoking, eye-opening, inspired and inspiring' The Big Issue.

About this edition

• Publisher: Apollo Library
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1784977411
• ISBN 13: 9781784977412
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304