Book Reviews

SNOW

BY JOHN BANVILLE / FABER & FABER $29.99

When Detective Inspector Strafford arrived at the scene of the crime, “He knew from the Chief’s tone that the makings of a cover-up were already being put in place”. It’s December 1957, and in the library of Ballyglass House, Wexford, home of the aristocratic Osborne family, lies the body of local Catholic priest, Father Tom Lawless. He has been brutally murdered, and castrated. Over the next few cold claustrophobic days, while Strafford patiently endeavours to track down the murderer, he has to cope with the dark undercurrents of 1950s Irish rural society while delving in to a pit of family secrets. Bluff Colonel Osborne is almost bankrupt, his young, second wife, Sylvia is skittish, mentally ill and possibly addicted to morphine, while his coquettish daughter, Lettie, and son Dominic, detest their step-mother. Adding to this mix of interesting characters are Doctor Hafner, who regularly visits Sylvia to treat her nerves, the long-serving dour housekeeper, Mrs. Duffy, and the feral stable-boy, Fonsey. The inexplicable disappearance of Strafford’s irritating Sergeant Jenkins, adds to his unease and confusion in the snow blanketed, remote, Wexford countryside. In previous novels, Banville specialized in ‘odd-duck’ characters and in Snow, Strafford is no exception. Christened by his parents ‘St John’, Strafford is an earnest, troubled, introspective, young detective who doesn’t “look much like a policeman” but who nevertheless has attained his high ranking Garda position despite being a Protestant and a non-drinker. Thanks to Banville’s rich, lush, layered prose, this is something more than a formulaic ‘who dunnit?’ With his perceptive characterizations, creation of atmosphere and sly observations, Snow is a literary gem, and I look forward to meeting Strafford again in future Banville novels. - Reviewed by John Hagan

OLD IRELAND IN COLOUR

BY JOHN BRESLIN & SARAH-ANNE BUCKLEY / MERRION PRESS $60.57 (FREE POSTAGE FROM THE BOOK DEPOSITORY UK)

This An Post Irish Book Award Winner had its genesis in 2019 when John Breslin developed an interest in colouring his old black and white family photographs. Soon, he widened his scope to include photographs of Galway and Connemara and then to others taken nationally during the 19th and 20th century. With the help of cutting-edge American software he was able to automatically colour black and white images in a matter of seconds. To ensure the photographs reflect the reality of the situation his colleague, Buckley, researched things like eye and hair colour and the exact hue of military uniforms. But, as Breslin admits, “These things will never be 100% correct. We are trying to get the best guess for a lot of the colours”. Diligence in this respect is best displayed in the array of portraits such as those of Tom Crean, Oscar Wilde and James Joyce. The 173 captivating photographs in this book, which span the period from just before the Great Famine (1845-52) until the outbreak of ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, feature chapters covering the Irish Revolution, Ireland’s social and cultural history, the Irish abroad, landscapes and streetscapes. Within each theme, photos are displayed in chronological order over the 125 year period chosen. Each photograph has been meticulously researched, with NUI Galway history lecturer, Buckley, adding cogent commentary on the circumstances in which it was taken. There is certainly much to admire and learn from this book and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey back

in time to a bygone era, and how the addition of colour revitalises and reinvigorates the past, often illuminating aspects of the photograph which might be missed in the original black and white reproduction. Despite all its attractive qualities, I have one major criticism arising from the design process. The central binding of the book in some instances interferes with photographic display. This is especially evident in the Catalpa Six portraits where the faces of the two central escapees have been distorted by the spine binding. Surely a landscape design, with book bound on the left, would have been more appropriate for the intriguing content. - Reviewed by John Hagan

AGELESS

BY ANDREW STEELE / BLOOMSBURY $29.99

‘The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon With spectacles on nose and pouch on side; His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound.” The ageing process, so well described by Shakespeare in ‘As You Like It’, has long haunted me, especially now as I seemingly hurtle towards the ‘seventh’ and final age of man. But what if we could stop ageing? What if we could attain what Steele beguilingly terms as ‘biological immortality’? Ageless is an insight into why we age, and how we might stop it. Steele, in great detail, illustrates the biological processes of growing old, together with the avant-garde medical research that is paving the way towards transforming the ageing process, thus allowing us to live longer and healthier lives. Instead of tackling the individual symptoms of ageing (declining sight, dementia, loss of muscle tone etc) Steele posits that we move towards ‘systems medicine’ (a massive, long-term, medical and public health effort) which will, in his view, reverse degeneration. While there are many startling biological and physiological and cuttingedge research insights in this book, it is not an easy read and may prove daunting for those with a ‘nonscientific’ turn of mind. Unfortunately, all has come too late for me as I continue to drift toward ‘---second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything’. - Reviewed by John Hagan

MR CADMUS

BY PETER ACKROYD / CANONGATE $24.99

In the bucolic village of Little Camborne, nestled in rural Devon, three historic cottages stand in a row. The attractive dwellings are known as ‘The Coppice’. Fifty-five year old, Miss Maud Finch lives in #1, while her younger cousin, Miss Millicent Swallow occupies #3. Between them lives the irritating Mr Herrick (he smokes a pipe and plays his gramophone too loudly), so the cousins are not too upset when Mr Herrick suddenly dies of heart failure. But who will now occupy #2? The spinsters are agog when fifty year old, Mr Theodore Cadmus, ‘a foreigner’ with a foul mouthed parrot and a yellow car, moves in. Soon their lives, and those of the inhabitants of Little Camborne, are sucked into a vortex of deceit, disappearance, robbery, supernatural events and even murder. In a series of interesting flashbacks, we learn more about the background of the three neighbours. Perhaps Ms Finch and Ms Swallow are not as prim and straight laced as they seem, and just why has Mr Cadmus specifically bought a house in Little Camborne? There are a lot of moving parts, including an array of colourful villager characters, in this 186 page novella, but inexplicably, about half way through the book, which started so promisingly, Mr Cadmus descends into charade. It is almost like reading two entirely separate stories as Ackroyd inexplicably allows the narrative to plummet into extravagant fantasy over the final few chapters. The reader will be hard pushed to make any sense of the irrational, confusing, mirthless ending. - Reviewed by John Hagan

‘WE ARE MAYO’

There are a limited number of copies of this beautifully produced book by Mosman Park based Mayoman Dr Tom Brett still available, costing €40 or $50AU with $10 p/p.

TO ORDER OR FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT: TDBRETT@GMAIL.COM

THE PASSING OF CHARLES YELVERTON O’CONNOR

BY PETER CONOLE

In a recent edition of Irish Scene this writer reviewed a very fine book by Mr Peter Burke (Wettening Auralia, by Peter Burke, Aurelia Press, Nedlands, Western Australia, 2015). The book was an unusual one in some ways and reflected the results of a huge amount of research by Mr Burke. It deals in great detail with the enormous Kalgoorlie to the coast pipeline, Mr O’Connor’s role in the project and its associated controversies. The pipeline was the greatest achievement of Mr O’Connor, an outstanding WA public official and engineer and the descendant of an ancient Irish aristocratic family. His branch of that distinguished line settled in county Meath by 1715. They converted to the protestant faith (thereby securing their estates and social status) and several members, after study in Dublin city, served as clergymen in county Dublin and Meath. The first two were the reverends John O’Connor (died 1809) and George Matthew O’ Connor (1778-1842). The latter’s son, John Roderick O’Connor (1813-1863), was a landed gentleman of Meath and the owner of two estates. He was described as a “public spirited and compassionate man”. During the years of woe he played an active role in famine relief and used his wealth to provide food and shelter for his tenants and other unfortunate folk. Mr O’Connor was bankrupted by the end of 1849, lost the family holdings and ended up moving to a small house in Waterford. His famous son, Charles Yelverton O’Connor, was born at Gravelmount in Meath on January 11, 1843 and educated in Waterford city. He took an interest in engineering and leaned much about that profession by working with John Chaloner Smith, resident engineer of the Waterford to Kilkenny railway. C.Y. O’Connor moved to New Zealand in 1865 and did very well in his profession, being made under-secretary of public works (1883) and then senior marine engineer (1890). He married Letitia Ness: their daughter Kathleen Laetitia O’Connor ( 1876-1968) became an artist and her work was well respected in Australia, Britain and France. O’Connor’s labours attracted the interest of John Forrest, Premier of Western Australia. He was awarded the position of Engineer-in-Chief of the colony in 1891. O’Connor demonstrated his skills in complex projects, notably the building of Fremantle harbour, which was completed in 1897. In that year he was made a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. In 1892 O’Connor submitted plans for the building of a pipeline from Kalgoorlie to Mundaring Weir, a work that attracted a lot of negative criticism but ended in spectacular success. Mr Forrest and his wife Lady Forrest presided over the ceremony when the tap was turned on at a grand launching of O’Connor’s project in 1903. Thanks to the careful guidance of Mr O’Connor the pipeline costs did not go over budget. On March 19, 1902 C.Y. O’Connor took his own life in Fremantle. He was depressed and in despair. He wrote early in the morning “I fear my brain is suffering and I am in great fear of what effect all this worry may have upon me. I have lost control of my thoughts”. The gentleman had been subjected to prolonged, outrageous press attacks, accusations and outright lies which would not have been acceptable or publishable in this era. In his book Mr Burke tracked down who was responsible for the constant barrage of lies and insults directed at O’Connor. Mr Vosper, a fairly respectable former editor of the Sunday Times, had doubts about the project but launched no great attack. He died in January, 1901. His successor as editor, as Mr Burke reveals, was the culprit. He was Thomas (‘Tommy’) Walker (18581932), an Englishman who later became a member of parliament in Western Australia and eventually Attorney General of the State. Author Burke dug very deep in uncovering the gentleman’s early life and career. The details are appalling. He postured as a stalwart republican, anti-clerical and anti-establishment man of the left in both journalism (among other things) and politics. He left a trail of wreckage behind him which, in four jaw dropping and disgraceful instances, could and should have resulted in dire legal repercussions. While in the USA he engaged in some spiritualist mumbo jumbo, quite fashionable during the late Victorian Era courtesy among such luminaries as Madame Blavatsky and Aleister Crowley. One session

Times of change are a great opportunity to re-evaluate our routine and the things we take for granted. Often we are surprised by the things we can let go of, things that would have seemed immovable before now. Other times we can pass something up knowing its temporary and can look forward to the days when it returns. The cancelling of the St Patricks Festival WA for the second year falls into the latter for many here. Although the festival itself has only been running for a few years here in Perth, its format and festivity is an extension of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations we all enjoyed growing up in Ireland and around the world. So, setting aside this event for now, the Irish Choir Perth have turned our attentions to how we will celebrate the day. In the spirit of change bringing opportunity, an invitation was extended and accepted from Kidogo Arthouse in Fremantle. Kidogo Arthouse, set in a beautiful heritage building overlooking the Indian Ocean, will be familiar to many who have enjoyed their live music sets and art exhibitions. This year in March they are hosting a four day event, the Irish Aboriginal Festival, which they describe as ‘a celebration of the love stories and friendships between Irish people and Aboriginal people in Australia’. At the Irish Choir Perth we meet to share our love of Irish music. The Irish Aboriginal Festival gives us an opportunity to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in an unexpected way. We are excited to share our song and cultures. Beyond St Patrick’s Day, we have great plans for the year ahead. After a bumpy start to the year, with one cancelled session and another online trial, we are finally back in our home at the Irish Club of WA. The online session we held was new to most of us –the singing part at least, and we had a lot of back and forth on the best way to run the trial. Choirs around the world are meeting online, and with great success. Ours was, no doubt, a great way to learn a song. We broke into sectionals and spent 30 intensive minutes learning our groups parts for some new music. I have to admit however, that with our microphones muted, my household was treated to my solo attempt of the high notes of Enya’s Orinoco Flow, and a few eyebrows were raised. In contrast then, the next week when we met in person and attempted the same song there was no comparison. There is genuine pleasure in the collaboration we have as a group, and satisfaction in the music we produce when we sing together. This is at the heart of what makes our choir special, and what brings our members back week after week, year after year. We welcome new members all the time, and now is great time to join. IRISH CHOIR PERTH WILL BE PERFORMING AT THE IRISH ABORIGINAL FESTIVAL ON SUNDAY 14TH MARCH. WE REHEARSE 7PM ON WEDNESDAY NIGHTS AT THE IRISH CLUB OF WA.

Find us online @IrishChoirPerth

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