New Releases by Sebastian Barry

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

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

Eneas McNulty et ses tribulations : soixante-dix ans de la vie d''un homme. Né avec le siècle, en 1900, à Sligo en Irlande, il vit heureux avec ses parents avant l''arrivée de ses frères et de sa sœur. Très tôt, il prend le large. A douze ans, il traîne avec Tupenny Jane, une adolescente à la moralité douteuse ; à seize ans, il part défendre la France dans la Grande Guerre - et se retrouve à Galveston, Texas ; de retour au pays, il entre dans la police - ce qui lui vaut une sentence de mort des Républicains ; il s''échappe de Sligo, et commence une errance sans retour, sans rémission. La mer du Nord, la débâcle de Dunkerque, un vignoble français, l''asile psychiatrique, le Nigeria forment les toiles de fond de sa destinée. C''est en 1970, sur l''île des Chiens, à Londres, qu''aura lieu l''ultime confrontation avec ses traqueurs, venus d''Irlande l''exécuter, et la mort s''accomplira dans une apothéose prodigieuse. Les tribulations d''Eneas - telles les pérégrinations d''Enée, son ancêtre forment un univers où le poème est devenu prose et l''épopée roman ; et ses aventures, pour contées qu''elles soient à la troisième personne, le sont dans sa langue toute personnelle, drôle souvent, celle d''un éternel enfant, mais aussi âpre, rugueuse, lyrique et d''une prodigieuse puissance d''évocation digne d''un héritier direct des bardes irlandais.

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

Een Ierse politie-agent wordt door een vroegere jeugdvriend, inmiddels lid van de IRA, achtervolgd als hij weigert een politieke moord uit te voeren.

''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.