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The Secret Scripture

AN IRISH TIMES BEST IRISH BOOK OF THE 21ST CENTURY
By Sebastian Barry
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3.84 goodreads logo

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Check link for latest rating. ( 22,754 ratings, 3,276 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry is a poignant exploration of memory and history, set in an Irish mental institution. It follows the story of Roseanne McNulty, an elderly patient who reflects on her turbulent past, and Dr Grene, who seeks to uncover her true story. As their narratives intertwine, the novel delves into themes of identity and the complexities of personal and national history.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy richly crafted stories with deep emotional layers, exploring themes of memory, identity, and the complex history of Ireland. Fans of beautifully descriptive prose and nuanced characters will find themselves drawn into this compelling narrative that weaves the past and present into a poignant tale.

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Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2008, over 600,000 copies sold in Faber editions to date.

Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2008, over 600,000 copies sold in Faber editions

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Nearing her one-hundredth birthday, Roseanne McNulty faces an uncertain future, as the Roscommon Regional Mental hospital where she's spent the best part of her adult life prepares for closure. Over the weeks leading up to this upheaval, she talks often with her psychiatrist Dr Grene, and their relationship intensifies and complicates.

Told through their respective journals, the story that emerges is at once shocking and deeply beautiful. Refracted through the haze of memory and retelling, Roseanne's story becomes an alternative, secret history of Ireland's changing character and the story of a life blighted by terrible mistreatment and ignorance, and yet marked still by love and passion and hope.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry has garnered praise for its beautifully lyrical prose and profound exploration of historical and personal memory. The narrative, centred around the life of an elderly woman in a mental institution, offers a compelling and haunting examination of identity, redemption, and the psychological impact of traumatic past events. Critics often highlight Barry's ability to weave together complex characters with a rich depiction of Ireland's tumultuous history.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571323951

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 March 2015

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 19.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 266g

Pages: 320

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Sebastian Barry

About the Author

Sebastian Barry was born in Dublin in 1955 and educated at The Catholic University School and Trinity College, Dublin, where he was later Writer Fellow in 1996. His plays include Boss Grady's Boys (1988), The Steward of Christendom (1995), Our Lady of Sligo (1998), and The Pride of Parnell Street (2007), and his novels, The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty (1998), Annie Dunne (2002), and most recently A Long Long Way (2005), which was the Dublin: One City One Book choice for 2007 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker and the Dublin International Impac Prize. He has won among other awards the Irish-America Fund Literary Award, The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Prize, the London Critics Circle Award, and The Kerry Group Irish Fiction Prize. He lives in Wicklow with his wife Ali and three children, Merlin, Coral and Tobias.

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