The Secret Scriptures by Sebastian Barry


finished 10/29 ....... contemp (Booker)......... rating 7

This is an okay book - the premise is intriguing, a one-hundred year old woman has been confined to a mental hospital in Ireland for decades. THe new psychiatrist takes an interest in how and when she got there. He researches her past and finds an incredible story. Meanwhile, the woman is writing out the "real" story and it differs significantly from what is in the paperwork. Which one is correct? Can we trust the memory of a 100-year-old woman? She doesn't know if she trusts it. But is the paperwork on her much better considering the forces which were in play against her at the time? My only wish is that the reader of the doctor were male - I don't usually care but in this case it seemed to make a considerable difference to the ending.

Posted: Thu - October 30, 2008 at 05:53 PM        

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