Point Containing Books Ghost Light
| Title | : | Ghost Light |
| Author | : | Joseph O'Connor |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 256 pages |
| Published | : | June 3rd 2010 by Harvill Secker |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Cultural. Ireland. European Literature. Irish Literature. Literary Fiction |
Joseph O'Connor
Hardcover | Pages: 256 pages Rating: 3.49 | 1374 Users | 241 Reviews
Rendition In Favor Of Books Ghost Light
Dublin 1907, a city of whispered rumours. A young actress begins an affair with a damaged older man, the leading playwright at the theatre where she works. Rebellious and flirtatious, Molly Allgood is a girl of the inner city tenements, dreaming of stardom in America. She has dozens of admirers but in the backstage of her life there is a secret.Her lover, John Synge, is a troubled genius, the son of a once prosperous landowning family, a poet of fiery language and tempestuous passions. Yet his life is hampered by convention and by the austere and God-fearing mother with whom he lives. Scarred by a childhood of loneliness and severity he has long been ill, but he loves to walk the wild places of Ireland. The affair, sternly opposed by friends and family, is turbulent, sometimes cruel, often tender.
Many years later, an old woman makes her way across London on the morning after a hurricane. Christmas is coming. As she wanders past bombsites and through the city's forlorn beauty, a snowdrift of memories and lost desires seems to swirl. She has twice been married: once widowed, once divorced, but an unquenchable passion for life has kept her afloat as her dazzling career has faded.
A story of love's commitment, of partings and reconciliations, of the courage involved in living on nobody else's terms, Ghost Light is a profoundly moving and ultimately uplifting novel.
Be Specific About Books To Ghost Light
| Original Title: | Ghost Light |
| ISBN: | 0436205718 (ISBN13: 9780436205712) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Dublin(Ireland) |
| Literary Awards: | Walter Scott Prize Nominee (2011) |
Rating Containing Books Ghost Light
Ratings: 3.49 From 1374 Users | 241 ReviewsDiscuss Containing Books Ghost Light
Joseph OConnor has fashioned a marvelous novel, a reimaging of the love affair of John Millington Synge the famous playwright of Playboy of the Western World and other fine works and the younger, less well-stationed Molly Allgood, who performed under the name of Maire ONeill.Certain biographers will want to beat me with a turf shovel, OConnor states in his aftermath. Indeed, in reading that aftermath, this is not the book for those who are seeking a historically-correct look into theseDublin 1907, a young Irish actress embarks on a doomed affair with John Millington Synge, the Irish playwright. In the 1950s an old, impoverished woman makes her way across London, reminscing about her glory days as an acclaimed actress and her relationship with the enigmatic Synge. This is a demanding read, more like poetry than prose, requiring the reader to slow down and savour every word, even having to reread sections at times. The second person narration also requires some effort on the
Having read and loved, Joseph O'Connors, 'Star of the Sea',only to be then disappointed by 'The Salesman',I decided to read Ghost Light hoping to find the wonderful storytelling and writing I found in Star of the sea. To be honest, I found this book very slow at the start and felt I was not enjoying it when suddenly half way through I realised I was engrossed by the character of Molly Allgood who we read about as a young,beautiful and naive actress who falls in love with renowned Irish
In the top floor room of the dilapidated townhouse across the Terrace, a light has been on all night. this is how Joseph OConnor opens his novel Ghost Light.Ghost Light was a book that squeezed me by the heart several times. I was left restless and facing emotions I did not want to face while reading it, because of the richness of its style, the masterful narration, and the vivid characters. The scenes describing Marie ONeill as a poor alcoholic who is left to the elements, so to speak, were
An intense, slow read, written in the second person with the odd editorial-fail lapse into third. Beautiful phrasing and language.Molly Allgood (Maire O'Neill - stage name) is brought to life more than her lover, John Millington Synge as the story revolves around her passion for him. The story goes back and forth between her present day (1952)alcoholism and her reflections on her past with him at the beginning of the century before he died of Hodgkins in 1907Molly was the inspiration for Pegeen
Brilliant Writing But Difficult ReadingI really enjoyed O'Connor's 'Star of the Sea' and was eager to read 'Ghost Light'. This novel is a fictionalization of the life of Molly Allgood, who was in love with and engaged to John Synge the Irish playwright at the time of his death. O'Connor introduces us to Molly who is now sixty five years old living in London, the year is 1952. She is alone and lives in a less than desirable part of the city, she drinks gin to ease her mind and sometimes drinks
Beautiful evocation of Edwardian Dublin and the love affair between playwright J.M. Synge and Abbey Theatre actress Maire O'Neill. The author used complicated tense changes [present for Synge's or Maire's present--1907 until his death for him; the year 1952 for her] and past for each of their pasts. An omnipotent narrator who will be returning from time to time, starts out by addressing Maire as "You" [he/she is talking to her] and we see that in 1952 London, Maire is a has-been actress and
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