The End of the Hunt

I loved the Thomas Flanagan trilogy. By chance, I believe I came across the primary source books for each of the three. The Year of the French seems quite obviously informed and inspired by Thomas Pakenham's Year of Liberty, a novelistic but dense nonfiction recounting of the western uprising in 1798. The End of the Hunt takes much of its feel from "The Big Fellow", Frank O'Connor's beautiful account of Michael Collins' revolutionary career. If these two are obvious the third is less so: The Tenants of Time builds very effectively upon the foundations of Micheal Davitt's book, "The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland." This book, by an 1867 Fenian who became a leader of the Land League movement and an obstructionist member of the British parliament, is rich in detail about the Land League and the parliamentary struggle of the late 1800's that shows up in the Flanagan book. I recommend these books to readers who have finished the trilogy, just as I would recommend the trilogy to all.

If you had to read one book about Ireland 1916-1922, this would definitely be it! It starts in the aftermath of 1916 and proceeds through the end of the Civil War. Flanagan does so well in bringing the history, the players - actual and fictional - and the atmosphere to life that I can't believe he wasn't there. (Don't think so, though...) Michael Collins, Ernie O'Malley, DeValera -- they're all here. Finally, this is quite simply an absolutely beautifully written book, even if you're not interested in Ireland, the time period, or the people involved.

This is a part of Irish history that most Americans, including many Irish-Americans, don't know well if at all. Thomas Flanagan's story of Irish independence, centering on the figure of Michael Collins (the Big Fella)is a story of historical significance and personal tragedy. While this is not a full rounded history of the time, since it focuses on Collins and ignores for the most part the other Irish leaders, it is still a grand adventure and captures perfectly the tone of time and place. Flanagan is a writer of significant skill and his handling of character and story - not to mention his skill with language - make this book a memorable and moving reading experience.

A wonderful novel, beautifully written. There is music, and passion, and complexity in Flanagan's language, reflecting the times and the characters of which he writes. Reminded of "the chain of repetition and futility" that characterizes much of Irish history, we are witness to the conflicts of a proud and troubled people struggling to define and possess their cultural heritage, their political future, and their individual lives, at the time of the Easter uprising. This is not a novel read dispassionately. Dublin, and the Irish countryside and coastline, are vividly depicted, and Flanagan's characters reveal themselves in moments of grace and intensity, generosity and selfish treachery. It is a time of World War, and rebellion, and there is no absence of obvious violence and emotion. But it is Flanagan's gift to reveal inner selves, private, hidden, that gives his characters life beyond the events of their time, and joins them to ourselves. A young woman, widowed by the death of her soldier-husband, returns to their flat after an evening with friends, and inhabits her loneliness, her loss, and her longing. "I was entitled to my grief, and now that had faded to a private emptiness decorated by such feelings and small hopes and cruelties as I had shopped for. And so I sat there, sipping the brandy which Charlie had always called the only one worth drinking, and its complex taste a touch of his remembered tongue upon my tongue." You will not soon forget these people, or this book

Through the eyes of participants and observers, Thomas Flanagan does a masterful job of recounting the struggle of the Irish people to break free of the centuries-old control of the British Empire. The meticulously-detailed account of the "Troubles" centers on the seven-year period between the Easter Rising in 1916 to the Civil War in 1922. The story comes to life through the personal struggle of those individuals involved to come to grips with the contradictory nature of dividing the country. Portraying conflicting views of the country's plight is where Flanagan shines. No clear winner emerges in the end as Flanagan successfully defines the sincere passion and commitment of those lined up on both sides of the conflict.