Old God’s Time, Sebastian Barry
‘Tom’s developing solicitude for his neighbours, his tender recollections of his children, and his enduring devotion to his wife June demonstrate that people need not be irrevocably damaged by traumatic childhoods, and ultimately his story culminates in a powerfully cathartic conclusion.’
Old God’s Time is the story of Tom Kettle, a widowed policeman; following his retirement, he has moved to a small flat annexed to a castle, overlooking the Irish sea. There he lives a simple, reclusive existence until a meeting with two former colleagues forces him to confront memories of a decades-old police case, and of the darkest times in his own past.
Sebastian Barry writes in a dense third-person stream-of-consciousness reminiscent of Virginia Woolf’s style. This can be hard to follow, not least as it soon becomes clear that neither Tom’s observations nor his memories are reliable. However, the reader’s persistence is repaid, as it transpires Tom has an important story to tell of the abuse perpetrated for decades by Catholic priests on children in Irish orphanages. Barry’s exploration of the long-term consequences for the victims and their families is especially perceptive.
Like his compatriots Claire Keegan and Colm Tóibín, Barry is a master stylist, and his prose is a constant delight. And despite its sombre themes, Old God’s Time is above all a testament to love’s healing potential. Tom’s developing solicitude for his neighbours, his tender recollections of his children, and his enduring devotion to his wife June demonstrate that people need not be irrevocably damaged by traumatic childhoods, and ultimately his story culminates in a powerfully cathartic conclusion.
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