Kevin Barry Reads the Coast of Leitrim
"The Coast of Leitrim"
past Kevin Barry
from the October 15, 2018 event ofThe New Yorker
One of the more memorable New Yorker stories I've read since starting this site was Kevin Barry'southward "Fjord of Killary," way dorsum in Jan of 2010 (here). I was excited, and then, to see non just some other story by Barry in this calendar week's mag, just likewise to see one with a title that calls back that 2010 story. This week nosotros go "The Declension of Leitrim."
Barry has published ii collections of short stories and 2 novels. His debut novel,City of Bohane, won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. His second,Beatlebone, won the Goldsmiths Prize. I have even so to read one of his novels, and I am tempted, despite a mountain of books to read, to pick upward these two and spend a fleck of my autumn with Barry'due south longer works.
Merely first nosotros have "The Coast of Leitrim." I'm not sure what tone the story has, only the offset flake talks nigh how hot information technology is while the graphic the magazine placed with the story shows a foggy mountainside. Where I sit here, it'southward a rainy Mon in the mountains where simply a bit higher up it's snowing. Seems like a good day to sit down with this brusque story.
I promise things are going well wherever yous are and that you are as well prepare for some reading. Delight share your thoughts on "The Coast of Leitrim" below!
iv Comments
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Source: https://mookseandgripes.com/reviews/2018/10/08/kevin-barry-the-coast-of-leitrim/
I read and thoroughly enjoyed Barry'due south novel Beatlebone after having read and liked one of his stories in the New Yorker. If you lot similar his short stories I'k quite certain you will enjoy this novel. Give it a attempt!
I've never read Kevin Barry–never heard of him, actually–and so I walked into this story without any preconceptions. As it turns out, that was a real benefaction for me. "The Declension of Leitrim" is both well crafted and genuinely funny, so much then that I quite unexpectedly found myself laughing out loud a handful of times. The closest approximation that I can think of as far as encapsulating the tone and tenor of the writing is the literary lovechild of William Trevor and George Saunders. Early, the way sentences of are handled and descriptions rendered, information technology struck me every bit rather Trevor-esque, to Barry's credit. And still, somewhat implausibly, the finely chiseled, ornate–near filigreed–prose slowly opened itself to moments of neurotic hilarity a la Saunders. Call up "Al Roosten" meets, well, annihilation Trevor wrote. Though an odd pairing on newspaper, Barry executed it quite well. And as the story unfolds, the prose way becomes intentionally more overwrought, lending itself perfectly to the unraveling and increasingly melodramatic psyche of Seamus Ferris. In this fashion, it serves as a pretty effective piece of self-serious literary satire.
I think I'll exist seeking more of Barry's work out in the time to come. Hopefully, this comic blend isn't a 1-time deal for him.
PS: My commencement go at the piece was actually listening to Barry's reading as I was taking care of chores, and I remember his delivery does the piece a great service and just enhances its humor. Having gone back to the text now to reread a few of my favorite exchanges scenes, it seems that the writing might accept benefited from a few key dialog tags that are more descriptive than merely 'said', as Barry's reading carried much more dramatic intonation in these places. Still, a small quibble.
Very interesting that the terminal response was based on hearing the story and I wonder if that'd besides have caused me to feel differently near it. Similar "Reader," I liked the story merely I didn't sense much humor or irony and took it more at face-value as a story almost a character's mental/emotional defoliation and equally a honey story of sorts. I liked the ambiguities hither–we're not sure exactly how "mentally sick" Seamus or Katharine are. Is this a story of pathology? At the start he seems to exist stalking her? Or is it a securely romantic tale? Either way, information technology was a page turner.
I call up the story'southward sting is in the tail- it's final sentence. Is Ferris supposed to exist disillusioned by Katherine's spontaneous reaction, without even recognizing who was scraping the door?