About this ebook
John McGahern's astounding memoir of his childhood:
'A glowing masterpiece.' Hilary Mantel
'The one Irish writer everyone should read.' Colm Tóibín
As wise and compelling a book as any of his elegiac and graceful novels.' David Mitchell
'I have admired, even loved, McGahern's work since his first novel ... Memoir strips the skin off his fiction as he faces a desperate early life with great force and tenderness.' Melvyn Bragg
This is the story of John McGahern's childhood, his mother's death, his father's anger and violence, and how, through his discovery of books, his dream of becoming a writer began. At the heart of Memoir is a son's unembarrassed tribute to his mother. His memory of walks with her through the narrow lanes to the country schools where she taught and his happiness as she named for him the wild flowers on the bank remained conscious and unconscious presences for the rest of his life. A classic family story, told with exceptional restraint and tenderness, Memoir cannot fail to move all those who read it.
'Magnificent ... Stand[s] supreme in the Irish canon.' Irish Times
'Profoundly beautiful.' Daily Telegraph
'Extraordinary, spellbinding, spiritual.' Irish Independent '
'In a tremendously distinguished career, he has never written more movingly, or with a sharper eye.' Andrew Motion, Guardian
'A glowing masterpiece.' Hilary Mantel
'The one Irish writer everyone should read.' Colm Tóibín
As wise and compelling a book as any of his elegiac and graceful novels.' David Mitchell
'I have admired, even loved, McGahern's work since his first novel ... Memoir strips the skin off his fiction as he faces a desperate early life with great force and tenderness.' Melvyn Bragg
This is the story of John McGahern's childhood, his mother's death, his father's anger and violence, and how, through his discovery of books, his dream of becoming a writer began. At the heart of Memoir is a son's unembarrassed tribute to his mother. His memory of walks with her through the narrow lanes to the country schools where she taught and his happiness as she named for him the wild flowers on the bank remained conscious and unconscious presences for the rest of his life. A classic family story, told with exceptional restraint and tenderness, Memoir cannot fail to move all those who read it.
'Magnificent ... Stand[s] supreme in the Irish canon.' Irish Times
'Profoundly beautiful.' Daily Telegraph
'Extraordinary, spellbinding, spiritual.' Irish Independent '
'In a tremendously distinguished career, he has never written more movingly, or with a sharper eye.' Andrew Motion, Guardian
Ratings and reviews
5.0
2 reviews
About the author
John McGahern was born in Dublin in 1934 and brought up in the Republic of Ireland. He trained to be a primary-school teacher before becoming a full-time writer, and later taught and travelled extensively. He lived in County Leitrim. The author of six highly acclaimed novels and four collections of short stories, he was the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including a Society of Authors Travelling Scholarship, the American-Irish Award, the Prix Etrangère Ecureuil and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Amongst Women, which won both the GPA and the Irish Times Award, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and made into a four-part BBC television series. His work appeared in numerous anthologies and has been translated into many languages. In 2005, his autobiography, Memoir, won the South Bank Literature Award. John McGahern died in 2006.
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