The Deposition of Father McGreevy

brian o'doherty's book on the demise of that tiny village in county kerry truly touched my soul. initially i was horrified by the medieval approach to the curse of all the women dying in that bleak winter & the activities that commenced because of that tragedy.however at the very ending,in muris's dream was a powerful & spiritual message of redemption. one that any educated roman catholic would recognize as transforming & healing through jesus christ as the "innocent" lamb slain & the "light"of the world. i would hope the dream sequence would be read with great care & be meditative in content. it could serve as an epiphany.

Not a cheerful read. Some good evocations of isolation and misery. Excellent writing (which accounts for the 5 stars) but sometimes the dialog is too thick with Synge type Irishness. Do people in Ireland really make speeches like "God bless and save you all up there on the mountain this cruel winter. It's many the howling night I've thought of you all up there in the pitch-black dark. The little children at the convent are getting along grand. Little Bridget Mahon made her first communion and she looked like a little saint"?

This book puts a dagger close to the heart of old Ireland. It's as sure in that as the roads and by-passes that now saw through the towns and villages of the Republic: Dev is truly dead. O'Doherty's book is riveting as a story and a piece of poetic prose writing. Whoever imagined describing a face as "like vinegar"? Its real coup, however, is in the way it neatly captures the past and slays it before our very eyes. Sure, there's a certain amount of wish-fulfilment in the events described in the book. The doomed village is an uneasy metaphor for old Ireland and the portraits of the distant clergy are made to look wise by the more recent shenanigans we have read about ad nauseum and much to our mirth. But there is a lot to enjoy not least the often comic, sometimes heroic and ultimately flawed Fr McGreevy. He is supported by three or four very credible and strong support acts not the least of whom is his surreal housekeeper Biddy McGurk. Occasionally, O'Doherty strains to capture the essence of his thoughts which do centre around the passing of time and place. I was reminded of "The Butcher Boy" and, going back, some of the short stories from my youth. So, three cheers for the book and a couple of Hail Marys wouldn't go amiss either.

A hauntingly beautiful mystery, with page-turning suspense, detailing the death of an Irish village and the unfolding of scandalous secrets. O'Doherty is a master, who has written a book of unsurpassed eloquence, laced with wisdom and wit. Wonderful characters, etched with extraordinary psychological insight and sympathy. An homage to the beauty of language, as well as an extremely important slice of history. While specific to a particularly fascinating time and place, O'Doherty reveals the human condition in all of its complexity, with a tenderness so often lacking in contemporary literature--the sensibility at work in this book is one of its most attractive features. The book is a work of art--a cliche O'Doherty would never employ.

Anyone interested in Ireland and good writing will find The Deposition compelling in its mix of suspense, humor and sorrow. It is the stuff of life, and you will long remember the deserted village and broken hopes.