'A classic story of Dublin during the Lockout' so says the Irish Times. The book doesn't deal in isolated lives but in the way large events connect disparate people. From Rashers Tierney marginalized and precariously positioned one penny from starvation, to the upper-class world of the Yearling and Bradshaw's. The 5 years of increasingly bitter dispute between Dublin's unskilled workers, organized by James Larkin's Irish Transport & General Workers' Union and the city's employers, led by William Martin Murphy. Murphy demanded that workers renounce the ITGWU or be 'locked out' of their jobs. The six months it took to effectively starve the work force into submission are graphically depicte. It was the slow violence of hunger much of it directed against children, that ws most telling. The characters are carefully drawn and accurately crafted.
Many didn't finish this book as it was long and detailed. It is worth the read, if you manage it. Despite only a few reading it - it generated an interesting discussion about class, poverty, and the Irishness of the characters.
Next book
The Adversary by Emmanuel Carrere
Next Meeting
14th September at Carolyn's
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