Picture of author.

Bernard MacLaverty

Autor(a) de Cal

21+ Works 2,058 Membros 58 Críticas 9 Favorited

About the Author

Bernard MacLaverty lives in Glasgow.

Obras por Bernard MacLaverty

Cal (1983) 521 exemplares
Grace Notes (1997) 460 exemplares
Midwinter Break (2017) 294 exemplares
Lamb (1980) 210 exemplares
The Anatomy School (2001) 152 exemplares
A Time to Dance and Other Stories (1982) 77 exemplares
Matters of Life and Death (1952) 63 exemplares
Secrets and Other Stories (1977) 61 exemplares
Collected Stories (2013) 37 exemplares
Blank Pages and Other Stories (2021) 31 exemplares
Cal. (Lernmaterialien) (1988) — Contribuidor — 18 exemplares
Cal [1984 film] (1984) — Screenwriter/Original novel — 3 exemplares
The Real Charlotte [1990 TV miniseries] (2003) — Writer — 3 exemplares
Andrew McAndrew (1989) 3 exemplares
Solo a dos voces (1999) 2 exemplares
Man in Search of a Pet (1978) 1 exemplar

Associated Works

Mortification: Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame (2003) — Contribuidor — 280 exemplares
In Another Part of the Forest: An Anthology of Gay Short Fiction (1994) — Contribuidor — 174 exemplares
The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction (1999) — Contribuidor — 149 exemplares
The Penguin Book of Irish Short Stories (1981) — Contribuidor — 129 exemplares
The Anchor Book of New Irish Writing (2000) — Contribuidor — 39 exemplares
The Penguin Book of Irish Comic Writing (1996) — Autor, algumas edições25 exemplares
Modern Fiction About Schoolteaching: An Anthology (1995) — Contribuidor — 4 exemplares

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Membros

Críticas

Gerry is a retired architect and lecturer. His wife Stella used to be a teacher. Like the author himself, they are Irish but have lived for a long time in Glasgow. Their marriage is a long-lived one and, to all appearances, they are close and in love. Yet, their relationship is growing hollow, drained by Gerry's alcoholism and Stella's increasing exasperation at his constant criticism of her committed Catholic faith. Things come to a head during a brief stay in Amsterdam - the "Midwinter Break" of the title - where we learn that the marriage is also darkened by the shadow of the Irish troubles.

Reading Bernard MacLaverty is like watching a master craftsman at work. Consider the following description of a busy coffee-shop:

Coffee places were so noisy. This one sounded like they were making the Titanic rather than cups of coffee - the grinder going at maximum volume, screaming on and on - making enough coffee grounds for the whole of Europe while another guy was shooting steam through milk with supersonic hissing. A girl unpacked a dishwasher, clacking plates and saucers into piles. A third barista was banging the metal coffee-holder against the rim of the stainless steel bar to empty it - but doing it with such venom and volume that Gerry jumped at every strike. Talking was impossible. It was so bad he couldn't even hear if there was muzak or not. And still the grinder went on and on trying to reduce a vessel of brown-black beans to dust. Stella had to yell her order.

In a few lines of deceptively simple description, MacLaverty conjures up the scene in uncanny detail, while also giving us an inkling of his protagonists’ thoughts and inner turmoil.

The same keen sense of observation is brought to bear on the couple’s marriage and on the subjects of old age, sectarian violence, alcoholism and faith. These are the catalysts for the couple's drifting apart, even though there is much to show that at heart they do care for each other. As for the author’s attitude towards religion, I liked the fact that, despite no longer being a believer let alone a practising Catholic, he treats Stella’s faith with both understanding and delicacy.

This is, in many ways, a brilliant novel. But be prepared – because of its subjects, I found it also unremittingly bleak
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
JosephCamilleri | 19 outras críticas | Feb 21, 2023 |
Beautiful short stories, many having to with aging. The characters are imperfect but very sympathetic. I’d like to read more from this guy.
 
Assinalado
steve02476 | 1 outra crítica | Jan 3, 2023 |
Absolutely terrific collection of short stories written by an under rated Irish author, who has written five other collections that I will definitely be seeking out. (He was also a Booker nominee for a novel at some point.) They were beautifully written, mostly in a staccato fashion, which seemed perfect for the topics covered over different time periods throughout the 20th century. They were all excellent, not a dud among them, but one story that stood out for me was entitled "The End of Days: Vienna 1918" and told the harrowing story of a couple living in Austria during the pandemic, when the pregnant wife, Edi, contracts the virus. Just breathtaking.… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
brenzi | 1 outra crítica | Jan 31, 2022 |
Gerry is a retired architect and lecturer. His wife Stella used to be a teacher. Like the author himself, they are Irish but have lived for a long time in Glasgow. Their marriage is a long-lived one and, to all appearances, they are close and in love. Yet, their relationship is growing hollow, drained by Gerry's alcoholism and Stella's increasing exasperation at his constant criticism of her committed Catholic faith. Things come to a head during a brief stay in Amsterdam - the "Midwinter Break" of the title - where we learn that the marriage is also darkened by the shadow of the Irish troubles.

Reading Bernard MacLaverty is like watching a master craftsman at work. Consider the following description of a busy coffee-shop:

Coffee places were so noisy. This one sounded like they were making the Titanic rather than cups of coffee - the grinder going at maximum volume, screaming on and on - making enough coffee grounds for the whole of Europe while another guy was shooting steam through milk with supersonic hissing. A girl unpacked a dishwasher, clacking plates and saucers into piles. A third barista was banging the metal coffee-holder against the rim of the stainless steel bar to empty it - but doing it with such venom and volume that Gerry jumped at every strike. Talking was impossible. It was so bad he couldn't even hear if there was muzak or not. And still the grinder went on and on trying to reduce a vessel of brown-black beans to dust. Stella had to yell her order.

In a few lines of deceptively simple description, MacLaverty conjures up the scene in uncanny detail, while also giving us an inkling of his protagonists’ thoughts and inner turmoil.

The same keen sense of observation is brought to bear on the couple’s marriage and on the subjects of old age, sectarian violence, alcoholism and faith. These are the catalysts for the couple's drifting apart, even though there is much to show that at heart they do care for each other. As for the author’s attitude towards religion, I liked the fact that, despite no longer being a believer let alone a practising Catholic, he treats Stella’s faith with both understanding and delicacy.

This is, in many ways, a brilliant novel. But be prepared – because of its subjects, I found it also unremittingly bleak
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
JosephCamilleri | 19 outras críticas | Jan 1, 2022 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
21
Also by
8
Membros
2,058
Popularidade
#12,499
Avaliação
½ 3.7
Críticas
58
ISBN
173
Línguas
12
Marcado como favorito
9

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