New Releases by Sebastian Barry

A stunning new novel from the two-time Man Booker shortlisted author of The Secret Scripture. Sebastian Barry's latest novel, A Thousand Moons, is now available. Irishman Jack McNulty is a “temporary gentleman”—an Irishman whose commission in the British army in World War II was never permanent. Sitting in his lodgings in Accra, Ghana, in 1957, he’s writing the story of his life with desperate urgency. He cannot take one step further without examining all the extraordinary events that he has seen. A lifetime of war and world travel—as a soldier in World War II, an engineer, a UN observer—has brought him to this point. But the memory that weighs heaviest on his heart is that of the beautiful Mai Kirwan, and their tempestuous, heartbreaking marriage. Mai was once the great beauty of Sligo, a magnetic yet unstable woman who, after sharing a life with Jack, gradually slipped from his grasp. Award-winning author Sebastian Barry’s The Temporary Gentleman is the sixth book in his cycle of separate yet interconnected novels that brilliantly reimagine characters from Barry’s own family.

A INOCÊNCIA E A PROVAÇÃO NA PRIMEIRA GUERRA MUNDIAL, ESCRITAS COM GRAÇA POÉTICA Tendo como pano de fundo um dos capítulos mais importantes e dolorosos da história da humanidade, a Primeira Guerra Mundial, Barry criou um romance duro sobre o amadurecimento humano por meio da morte, da fome, do frio e, principalmente, do medo do desconhecido. Os combatentes retratados no livro, assim como milhões de outros, não sabiam praticamente nada sobre o conflito. O protagonista Willie Dune, por exemplo, nada. Diferentemente da maioria das obras sobre o tema, Um longo longo caminho traz a visão ímpar dos irlandeses, que lutavam por sua independência – se eles ajudassem a Inglaterra seriam livres. Como descrito por um dos capitães: “Vocês estão lutando para obter um certificado seguro e incontestável da liberdade da Irlanda e de sua existência como uma nação independente, orgulhosa e leal.” Escrito na bela prosa característica de Sebastian Barry, Um longo longo caminho evoca a camaradagem e o humor de Willie e do seu regimento, os Fuzileiros Reais de Dublin, mas também a crueldade e a tristeza da guerra, e a lealdade dividida que muitos soldados irlandeses sentiram. “Uma história profundamente comovente sobre coragem e fidelidade.” (J. M. Coetzee)

Jack McNulty is een `tijdelijke gentleman, een Ier wiens aanstelling in het Engelse leger tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog nooit vast is geweest. Ook zijn huwelijksgeluk met Mai Kirwan, het mooiste meisje van Sligo, is geen lang leven beschoren. Na vele omzwervingen, als soldaat, ingenieur en observator voor de Verenigde Naties, komt Jack uiteindelijk in Accra terecht, waar hij besluit zijn grillige levensverhaal op papier te zetten. Sebastian Barry werkt gestaag voort aan een reeks onafhankelijk van elkaar te lezen romans waarin hij één familie, zijn eigen, op de voet volgt en zo de twintigste-eeuwse geschiedenis van Ierland en de Ieren in kaart brengt. In ons taalgebied vonden al meer dan 35 000 van zijn boeken hun weg naar de lezers.

En fantastisk fortelling om en kvinne med et stort hjerte. Historien om Lilly Bere strekker seg over syv tiår – fra depresjonen via andre verdenskrig og Vietnamkrigen, frem til slutten av 1900-tallet. Vi får høre om Lillys flukt fra Irland og IRA til USA, om det brutale drapet på forloveden, om kjærligheten som dukker opp på nytt og forsvinner igjen, om Lilly som strever for å forsørge seg selv og sin sønn, og om sønnen som overlever Vietnamkrigen, men som forsvinner på sin ferd tilbake til USA.

Obligée autrefois de fuir l’Irlande et les siens avec son fiancé pour de mystérieuses raisons, Lilly Bere, à quatre-vingt-neuf ans, revit le chemin parcouru depuis son arrivée dans le Nouveau Monde – le côté de Canaan – au rythme des hommes de sa vie. D’une traversée clandestine à leur installation précaire à Chicago, le jeune couple n’aspire qu’à une vie normale. Mais c’est sans compter avec la menace sourde qui pèse sur eux, et qui va pousser Lilly, désormais seule au monde, à s’enfuir à Cleveland. Devenue employée de maison grâce à son amie Cassie, elle y est témoin des injustices et du racisme de la société américaine. Quand elle rencontre le séduisant et énigmatique Joe, elle croit enfin toucher le bonheur du doigt – jusqu’à une explosion pendant laquelle Joe disparaît... Ce n'est là qu'un des nombreux mystères de la vie de Lilly, racontée comme un thriller, et imprégnée d’une infinie douceur.

Een ten onrechte in een psychiatrisch ziekenhuis opgenomen Ierse vrouw van bijna honderd jaar vertelt haar levensverhaal.

De Ier Willie Dunne is nog maar net achttien jaar als hij zijn verloofde Gretta verlaat om in Vlaanderen met het Britse leger mee te vechten in de bloedige strijd die later de Eerste Wereldoorlog zou gaan heten. Tijdens zijn verlof breekt in Dublin de Paasopstand tegen de Engelsen uit. Willie sympathiseert met de opstandelingen en haalt zich daarmee de woede van zijn vader op de hals. Ook Gretta breekt met hem, nadat ze erachter is gekomen dat hij zich in Vlaanderen heeft misdragen. Verteerd door twijfel en verdriet keert Willie terug naar de loopgraven. Hij vecht voor zijn leven in een oorlog die slechts verliezers kent.

OLD GOD'S TIME (MARCH 2023), SEBASTIAN BARRY'S STUNNING NEW NOVEL, AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW'As they used to say in Ireland, the devil only comes into good things.'Narrated by Lilly Bere, On Canaan's Side opens as she mourns the loss of her grandson, Bill. The story then goes back to the moment she was forced to flee Sligo, at the end of the First World War, and follows her life through into the new world of America, a world filled with both hope and danger. At once epic and intimate, Lilly's narrative unfurls as she tries to make sense of the sorrows and troubles of her life and of the people whose lives she has touched. Spanning nearly seven decades, it is a novel of memory, war, family-ties and love, which once again displays Sebastian Barry's exquisite prose and gift for storytelling.

Roseanne McNulty a cent ans ou, du moins, c'est ce qu'elle croit. Elle a passé plus de la moitié de sa vie dans l'institution psychiatrique de Roscommon, où elle écrit en cachette l'histoire de sa jeunesse, lorsqu'elle était encore belle et aimée. I'hôpital est sur le point d'être détruit, et le docteur Grene, son psychiatre, doit évaluer si Roseanne est apte ou non à réintégrer la société. Pour cela, il devra apprendre à la connaître, et revenir sur les raisons obscures de son internement. Au fil de leurs entretiens, et à travers la lecture de leurs journaux respectifs, le lecteur est plongé au coeur de l'histoire secrète de Roseanne, dont il découvrira les terribles intrications avec celle de l'Irlande. À travers le sort tragique de Roseanne et la figure odieuse d'un prêtre zélé, le père Gaunt, Sebastian Barry livre ici dans un style lumineux un roman mystérieux et entêtant.

OLD GOD'S TIME (MARCH 2023), SEBASTIAN BARRY'S STUNNING NEW NOVEL, AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW Annie Dunne and her cousin Sarah live and work on a small farm in a remote and beautiful part of Wicklow in late 1950s Ireland. All about them the old green roads are being tarred, cars are being purchased, a way of life is about to disappear. Like two old rooks, they hold to their hill in Kelsha, cherishing everything. When Annie's nephew and his wife are set to go to London to find work, their two small children, a little boy and his older sister, are brought down to spend the summer with their great-aunt. It is a strange chance for happiness for Annie. But against that happiness moves the figure of Billy Kerr, with his ambiguous attentions to Sarah, threatening to drive Annie from her last niche of safety in the world. The world of childish innocence also proves darkened and puzzling to her, and she struggles to find clear ground, clear light - to preserve her sense of love and place against these subtle forces of disquiet. A summer of adventure, pain, delight and ultimately epiphany unfolds for both the children and their elderly caretakers in this poignant and exquisitely told story of innocence, loss and reconciliation.

Here, now, listen, I'll tell you a tale . . . Daffodils are in bloom as dawn breaks over the foothills of Ballycumber, ushering in hope for a new day and stirring the ghosts of a past fraught with sorrow, anguish and emptiness. In search of advice, young Evans Stafford calls at the home of friend and strong-minded traditionalist, Nicholas Farquhar. The following day, as Farquhar learns the devastating consequences of this meeting, he discovers that his memories and words are governed by a buried history; a force far greater than himself. Sebastian Barry's Tales of Ballycumber premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in September 2009.

"Roseanne McNulty está a punto de cumplir cien años, pero no conoce su edad con certeza, nadie la conoce. Roseanne se enfrenta a un futuro también incierto puesto que el Hospital de Roscommon, en el que ha pasado la mayor parte de su vida adulta, va a ser cerrado. Durante las semanas previas a este acontecimiento perturbador, Roseanne conversa con su psiquiatra, el doctor Grene. La relación entre ambos, discreta pero de confianza después de tantos años, se intensifica y se complica a causa del duelo del doctor Grene por la muerte de su esposa. A través de la alternancia de los diarios de ambos personajes, se va tejiendo una narración profundamente hermosa, y la vida de Roseanne, reflejada en la bruma de la memoria y del recuerdo, se convierte en un recorrido por la historia secreta de Irlanda. Exquisitamente escrita, Barry nos permite recorrer una vida plagada de abusos, muerte y guerra, pero sin olvidar la impronta del amor, la pasión y la esperanza. Por esta maravillosa historia, Sebastian Barry, ha sido finalista -por segunda vez consecutiva- del Man Booker Prize."

La Roseanne McNulty, que ningú no sap del cert l’edat que té, s’enfronta a un futur incert: l’hospital regional de Roscommon, on ha passat la major part de la seva vida adulta, tancarà aviat. Durant les setmanes que precedeixen aquest daltabaix, parla sovint amb el seu psiquiatre, el Dr. Grene. La relació entre ells, reservada però de confiança després de tants anys, s’intensifica i es complica, ja que el Dr. Grene acaba d’enviudar. Explicada a través dels diaris dels dos protagonistes, la història que emergeix dels núvols de la memòria es converteix en una història secreta d’Irlanda: la del poble de Sligo en els anys 30. Parla d’una vida malmesa per la brutalitat i la ignorància, i tanmateix plena d’amor, passió i esperança.

Con sólo dieciocho años, Willie Dunne, hijo de un policía de Dublín, deja su ciudad en 1914 para luchar por la causa de los Aliados. William, por falta de estatura, no ha podido seguir los pasos de su padre para entrar en el cuerpo de policía y eso lo lleva a alistarse para cumplir con su deber patriótico. De este modo el protagonista se convierte en un símbolo de la experiencia de miles de soldados irlandeses y Barry alcanza incidir en el oscuro asunto de la intervención de Irlanda el conflicto de la Primera Guerra Mundial, cruzándolo con el Alzamiento de Semana Santa, germen del movimiento republicano irlandés.Escrito con la hermosa prosa característica de Sebastian Barry, esta conmovedora novela evoca la crueldad y tristeza de la guerra, así como la lealtad dividida que sintieron muchos soldados irlandeses. Siguiendo sus experiencias a lo largo del conflicto a través del corazón del joven soldado protagonista, la narración explora cómo este proceso político afectó a los soldados que luchaban por el rey de Inglaterra en campos extranjeros; las dudas que los paralizaron y la división que causó entre ellos.Una historia sobre identidad y conflicto nacional con la que Barry, una de las principales voces de la literatura irlandesa contemporánea, consigue una narración de profunda tristeza y belleza que parece dar con la verdad sobre la condición humana. "Una historia conmovedora de valor y fidelidad."J. M. COETZEE. FINALISTA DEL MAN BOOKER PRIZE "Este es el canto de inocencia y experiencia de Sebastián Barry, compuesto con gracia poética y un ojo tan poco condescendiente como tierno, que capta los detalles más salvajes y los momentos de belleza pura. También es una muestra sorprendente del talento de Barry para crear un personaje memorable, a quién ha registrado, de manera indeleble, en una historia que continua persiguiéndonos."COLM TÓIBÍN "Muchos dicen que Sebastian Barry escribe como un ángel y tienen razón, siempre y cuando se acuerden que él está del lado de los ángeles caídos. Comparte su añoranza de que sus héroes rugan con un horrorizado: No serviré. Pero sirven y son destruidos. Entonces su compasión abruma, como lo hace en Más y más lejos. Una novela poderosa."FRANK MCGUINNESS

Willie Dunne est le fils d'un policier dublinois. Un garçon sensible, doué, doté d'une voix d'exception. Pas assez grand pour marcher sur les traces de son père comme policier, il s'engage comme volontaire pour combattre dans les tranchées, malgré l'amour infini qui le lie à une jeune fille avec laquelle il désire plus que tout se marier. De la bataille de la Somme jusqu'à la fin de la guerre, ou presque, il assiste à d'horribles combats. La guerre, dès lors, le façonne. Mais elle lui réserve également une surprise.

A powerful new novel about divided loyalties and the realities of war from “master storyteller” (Wall Street Journal) Sebastian Barry, author of Old God's Time In 1914, Willie Dunne, barely eighteen years old, leaves behind Dublin, his family, and the girl he plans to marry in order to enlist in the Allied forces and face the Germans on the Western Front. Once there, he encounters a horror of violence and gore he could not have imagined and sustains his spirit with only the words on the pages from home and the camaraderie of the mud-covered Irish boys who fight and die by his side. Dimly aware of the political tensions that have grown in Ireland in his absence, Willie returns on leave to find a world split and ravaged by forces closer to home. Despite the comfort he finds with his family, he knows he must rejoin his regiment and fight until the end. With grace and power, Sebastian Barry vividly renders Willie’s personal struggle as well as the overwhelming consequences of war.

Né en 1900 à Sligo, en Irlande, Eneas est l'aîné d'une famille de quatre enfants. Ivre de liberté, il s'éloigne d'un foyer devenu trop étouffant pour faire son apprentissage dans la rue, en compagnie du " capitaine de son enfance ", Jonno, Lynch et de la délurée Tuppenny Jane. A seize ans, rattrapé par ses démons, il part pour l'aventure. Pris dans les tourmentes du XXe siècle, pourchassé par l'IRA, son odyssée le mènera aux quatre coins de la planète... Dans une langue drôle, âpre, lyrique et d'une prodigieuse puissance évocatoire, Sebastian Barry compose l'épopée moderne d'un " enfant du siècle ", ballotté par les tumultes de l'Histoire.

The latest dramatic offering from one of Ireland's master playwrights Johnny Silvester should be enjoying his retirement in his opulent home outside Dublin, but the past is catching up with him. Once lionized for ushering the Irish Republic into the modern world, Silvester has fallen out of favor not only with the public, but also with his family and friends. Rapidly aging and fed up with a barrage of criticism, he retreats to his study where he reassures himself of his inculpability and awaits a call from his doctor--a call he expects will bring news of a fatal affliction. As he hovers near the phone his family, friends, colleagues, journalists, and students come forth with their reproaches. Among these visitors is the Morleyesque ghost of Cornelius, an ex-colleague and one-time friend for whose mental breakdown and death Silvester is responsible. With Hinterland Sebastian Barry examines the personal and public risks involved in making political advances on a national scale. Weaving modern history in with the life story of a man and his family, Barry has created another searching drama of the uneasy balance between heroism and roguery in Irish politics. The latest dramatic offering from one of Ireland's master playwrights Johnny Silvester should be enjoying his retirement in his opulent home outside Dublin, but the past is catching up with him. Once lionized for ushering the Irish Republic into the modern world, Silvester has fallen out of favor not only with the public, but also with his family and friends. Rapidly aging and fed up with a barrage of criticism, he retreats to his study where he reassures himself of his inculpability and awaits a call from his doctor--a call he expects will bring news of a fatal affliction. As he hovers near the phone his family, friends, colleagues, journalists, and students come forth with their reproaches. Among these visitors is the Morleyesque ghost of Cornelius, an ex-colleague and one-time friend for whose mental breakdown and death Silvester is responsible. With Hinterland Sebastian Barry examines the personal and public risks involved in making political advances on a national scale. Weaving modern history in with the life story of a man and his family, Barry has created another searching drama of the uneasy balance between heroism and roguery in Irish politics.

Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "the finest book to come out of Europe this year," The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty is acclaimed Irish playwright Sebastian Barry's lyrical tale of a fugitive everyman. Sebastian Barry's latest novel, Days Without End, is now available. For Eneas McNulty, a happy, innocent childhood in County Sligo in the early 1900s gives way to an Ireland wracked by violence and conflict. Unable to find work in the depressed times after World War I, Eneas joins the British-led police force, the Royal Irish Constabulary—a decision that alters the course of his life. Branded a traitor by Irish nationalists and pursued by IRA hitmen, Eneas is forced to flee his homeland, his family, and Viv, the woman he loves. His wandering terminates on the Isle of Dogs, a haven for sailors, where a lifetime of loss is redeemed by a final act of generosity. The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty is the story of a lost man and a compelling saga that illuminates Ireland's complex history.

THE STORY: From her hospital bed in 1950's Dublin, Mai O'Hara recalls her life through morphine-induced memories and hallucinations. Dying of liver cancer caused by alcoholism, Mai reminisces on her youthful promise as a member of the Galway bourge

THE STORY: The fifth play in a cycle of plays about the author's Irish family, THE STEWARD OF CHRISTENDOM is a freely imagined portrait of the author's great-grandfather, Thomas Dunne, the last Chief Superintendent of the Dublin Metropolitan Police

'The Steward of Cristendom', one of the plays in this collection, was awarded the Writers' Guild Award for Best Fringe Play of 1995. Barry has been credited with bringing poetic drama back to the Irish stage, and has been compared with Synge and O'Casey.

Set in Ireland in the 1890s, the play follows its heorine in her uneasy transition from English seaside music-hall star to Anglo-Irish lady.