Edna O'Brien

A Book That Came Out The Year You Were Born

I could have categorized The Country Girls under "A Trilogy," and perhaps reading all three novels would have helped me appreciate this one more. Not being Irish, Catholic or a child of the '50s (much less female) prevented me from comprehending the groundbreaking nature of Edna O'Brien's story without the insights provided in the introduction (which I read after the novel and should be taken with a grain of feminist salt).

The Country Girls is the story of two young Irish girls, Caithleen and Bridget, who maintain a tenuous friendship through the death of Cait's mother and their "incarceration" in the convent they were sent to, ostensibly to be educated. During this time, fourteen-year-old Cait begins a highly romanticized affair with a much older married man, referred to as Mr. Gentleman due to her difficulty pronouncing his surname. She is ultimately expelled from the school her family cannot afford without the scholarship she earns after succumbing to the malignant influence of her purported friend. Whereupon the girls take up joint residency of a room in a lower-class boardinghouse in Dublin and their "education" continues.

Another book on all versions of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list, The Country Girls reads like a train wreck in the making, with the premonition of catastrophe awaiting in the subsequent volumes.… (més)

Cercando informazioni sul contesto nel quale è nato questo romanzo ho scoperto che Edna O'Brien è ancora viva. Non so perché fossi convinta del contrario e spero sia (e rimanga) un'arzilla signora di ottantacinque anni (in effetti dalle foto sembra un bel peperino).

Certo che per aver scritto e pubblicato Ragazze di campagna nell'Irlanda del 1960 non poteva che essere una tipa tosta. Il romanzo, infatti, è parecchio critico riguardo alla repressione sessuale alla quale erano costrette le donne e all'educazione impartita dalle suore – e, mi viene da aggiungere, subita dalle allieve – che la O'Brien ha sperimentato in prima persona.

Il fatto bizzarro è che mi si dice che Ragazze di campagna sia un romanzo gettonato tra gli integralisti cattolici (qui). Mah. Forse si immedesimano nella frustrazione sessuale delle protagoniste. O forse non hanno semplicemente capito di cosa parli. Non so quale delle due ipotesi sia la peggiore...

In ogni caso, Ragazze di campagna mi ha fatto riflettere anche sul fatto che non credo di aver mai letto un romanzo dove si parli bene delle suore e delle scuole da loro gestite. Evidentemente mandare i/le figl* dalle suore non è un buon investimento per la loro futura felicità: pensateci bene, genitori, o rischierete di essere sputtanati e ricordati per sempre in qualche romanzo per aver fatto questa infelice scelta educativa.

Nella speranza che nelle attuali scuole cattoliche non vigano i metodi di insegnamento dittatoriali che si leggono in Ragazze di campagna. O che voi stessi non siate genitori violenti come il padre di Caithleen, protagonista del romanzo. La pagine nelle quali Caithleen e suo padre si trovano a dover interagire sono piene di una tensione claustrofobica che trasmette tutta l'angoscia di ritrovarsi al cospetto di una persona violenta dalla quale non si può scappare, a meno di raggiungere l'indipendenza.

Molto interessante, poi, è il rapporto tra Caithleen e la sua migliore amica, Baba, molto più sfrontata e con un carattere decisamente prevaricatore. La loro amicizia, infatti, è costantemente sbilanciata a favore di Baba e, durante la lettura, mi sono chiesta più volte come mai queste due siano amiche e non sono riuscita a darmi una risposta soddisfacente. Forse sono un po' troppo lontana da quel tipo di ambiente.

In definitiva, la scrittura di Edna O'Brinen mi è piaciuta molto e sono piuttosto curiosa di sapere come continuano le avventure di Caithleen e Baba, dato che Ragazze di campagna è il primo volume di una trilogia.… (més)

More of a novella, O'Brien does a tremendous job of bringing us inside the mind of a woman, Ellen, who is hurting and insecure after a divorce. In an effort to forget, Ellen takes a holiday in France, and basically behaves in a way that ends up reinforcing her sadness and depression. I loved the way this book was written. O'Brien really takes you inside Ellen's mind the entire time, and it is hard not to empathize with her feelings and situation and her deep deep loneliness. You feel like you are watching a girlfriend do all sorts of things that you know are bad for her, and you just want her say please stop doing this to yourself, but you also know she won't listen.

Unfortunately, the novel takes one misstep (in my opinion), and it's a pretty big one. Hence the four stars instead of five. But because I think the rest of the book is so exquisitely rendered, it really didn't diminish my enjoyment of the writing for long. Just a little "seriously?" came into my mind at this point. It's hard to share without spoiling.

So if you require books be uplifting in order to enjoy them, don't pick this one up. If you want to see how a masterful author can develop a character so real seeming that you want to befriend, help, and guide her, this book does that and more.… (més)

Ellen is a 27-year-old Irishwoman separated from her husband and living in London. When Ellen’s husband takes their seven-year-old young son — whom they share custody for — on a camping trip to Wales, Ellen is free to enjoy her own summer break from her job as a theatre critic. A week into her leave, she goes to bed with a male friend but when returns home to his live-in lover she is left frustrated and decides to book a trip to the south of France in search of sun and sex.

In France she flirts with almost every male she sees, including the man sitting beside her on the plane, but her her choices are poor and nothing works out as she would. Then something happens that reminds Ellen that her independence comes at a cost.

First published in 1965 this book was initially banned in Ireland because of its sexual content but by today's standards it is pretty tame. O'Brien writes beautifully about being on holiday and experiencing new things, and it was fascinating to read about a woman’ sexual desires and her hunger to live life to the fullest. But it was the sudden mood swing midway through that really made an impression on me. Suddenly the whole story took on a very different slant. It left me with very mixed feelings about Ellen, whilst she was in France I wanted to go up on her, shake by the shoulders and tell her not to be so stupid but whilst in the UK I wanted to give her a big hug. However, I have to say overall I found this an OK read rather than a particularly gripping one.… (més)