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About this item
Highlights
- Bringing John McGahern's 1965 masterpiece back into print in the United States after years of inaccessibility, this new sixtieth-anniversary critical edition includes an introduction aimed at first-time readers, explanatory footnotes, McGahern's own glossary, and four scholarly essays aimed at guiding readers through the novel's famously controversial history.
- About the Author: Anna Teekell is associate professor of English at Christopher Newport University.
- 278 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Literary
- Series Name: Irish Studies
Description
About the Book
"This critical edition of John McGahern's classic novel includes an introduction, explanatory footnotes, McGahern's own glossary, and four scholarly essays aimed at guiding readers through the novel's history"--Book Synopsis
Bringing John McGahern's 1965 masterpiece back into print in the United States after years of inaccessibility, this new sixtieth-anniversary critical edition includes an introduction aimed at first-time readers, explanatory footnotes, McGahern's own glossary, and four scholarly essays aimed at guiding readers through the novel's famously controversial history. While the text was initially banned in Ireland for obscenity, this edition demonstrates that McGahern's novel of adolescence is not obscene, but revelatory, exposing the corruption underlying authority structures in mid-century Ireland--from the family to the church, to the government's willingness to ignore national and communal trauma. The Dark follows a promising young boy's struggles to break free from the economic and social forces trapping him in a lifestyle that is both familiar and suffocating. At the heart of the novel is the boy's complex and stormy relationship with his abusive, widowed father, who is left to raise a family with little outside aid. The Dark is a story of alarming brutality, surprising tenderness, and poetic lyricism; a reflection of Irish society that maintains historical significance as contemporary Ireland continues to build its national identity.Review Quotes
This timely new edition . . . equips educators and students to understand, discuss, and address those forms of abuse that flourish under conditions of silence.-- "Margot Gayle Backus, coeditor of The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature: Writing the Unspeakable"
This critical edition of John McGahern's controversial second novel, The Dark, is both timely and welcome. It provides an updated American edition of the work, complete with a very helpful and informative introduction by the editors, good explanatory notes, and essays by four eminent scholars.-- "Eamon Maher, coeditor of Essays on John McGahern: Assessing a Literary Legacy"
Original and very much needed, given the relevance of this novel in the Irish literary canon.-- "Marisol Morales-Ladrón, coeditor of Deirdre Madden: New Critical Essays"
About the Author
Anna Teekell is associate professor of English at Christopher Newport University.
Ellen Scheible is professor of English and director of the honors program at Bridgewater State University.Dimensions (Overall): 8.9 Inches (H) x 5.7 Inches (W) x .8 Inches (D)
Weight: .9 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 278
Genre: Fiction + Literature Genres
Sub-Genre: Literary
Series Title: Irish Studies
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Format: Paperback
Author: John McGahern
Language: English
Street Date: May 15, 2025
TCIN: 94279137
UPC: 9780815638612
Item Number (DPCI): 247-28-7318
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
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Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 0.8 inches length x 5.7 inches width x 8.9 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.9 pounds
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