John McGahern

stepbar

I would love to hear your views on John McGahern. To me, I am very proud of him, considering he talked a lot about my area in his books and short stories etc. I would love to hear what other people think.

nanook

not being funny or possibly thick, who is he

tuppence

nanook wrote:

not being funny or possibly thick, who is he

He was a writer just died about a year or so ago. based in leitrim, possibly leitrims biggest exports on the writing front. A couple he wroite includes Amongst Women (which you most likely would have heard of) and 'that they should face the rising sun'. I read the latter about a year ago and to be honest I found it a bit slow and couldnt get into it. I still appreciate that others might like it. It felt as though it was a throw back to another time. Mind you, getting to know Mohill more recently it hasnt changed too much over the years so it could have been me not recognising what was on my door step. They have a commemoration going on introducing people to his works, a partnership between the Leitrim Observer and Leitrim CoCo. So nows your time to find out more.;)
http://www.leitrimcoco.ie/Departments/Library/Whats+on.htm

il gatto

I love John McGahern. I've read "Amongst Women", "The Dark" and "That They May Face The Rising Sun", a couple of times. It's a very slow moving style which goes into great discriptive detail about the scene. In TTMFTRS, nothing really happens, but I found it enthralling all the same.
The town in TTMFTRS is an amalgam of Mohill and Ballinamore, with certain local characters, past and present cropping up under changed names.
Maybe it mightn't be quite as interesting for people who aren't familiar with the area, but I think the quality of the writing would shine through anyway.

stepbar

Aughawillan forms a part of Memoirs. I am from there. His mother used to teach in the school where my father went to school. Thats why I am so proud. Even to this day, there is still people visiting his grave. In his own words

For the whole of eternity," I said, partly by rote and partly in awe. Our heaven was here in Aughawillan. With her our world was without end

In aimn dea, RIP

tylerdylan

Sorry to bring this up so late...
I have just discovered John McGahern and I am in the middle of ttmftrs,
I have read the barracks and amoungst women during the week.Today I bought memoir.I had never heard of him till a couple of weeks ago whilst at a show in Ballinamore.I really love the way he talks about leitrim and I have driven around some of the towns he talks about.In fact makes me wish I was from Leitrim:rolleyes: So yes I agree be real proud of him!!

tuppence

tylerdylan wrote:

Sorry to bring this up so late...
I have just discovered John McGahern and I am in the middle of ttmftrs,
I have read the barracks and amoungst women during the week.Today I bought memoir.I had never heard of him till a couple of weeks ago whilst at a show in Ballinamore.I really love the way he talks about leitrim and I have driven around some of the towns he talks about.In fact makes me wish I was from Leitrim:rolleyes: So yes I agree be real proud of him!!

Its okay, Leitrim does that to the soul. Great isnt it?
I heard that Memoir is his best and yet not fiction? What does anyone else thin that read it? Am thinking bout getting it.

Ronin247

I am not an admirer of McGahern,I think he used his books to insult people.

McGaherns descriptions of his father are very childish even going as far as to insinuate that he THOUGHT that his father masturbated in the bed they shared It must be nice to be able to settle your hatred of your father in a book, long after he died and couldnt defend his character,perhaps John McGahern should have researched Freud's oedipus complex better before he began writing.



"Oedipus complex
the unresolved desire of a child for sexual gratification through the parent of the opposite sex, esp. the desire of a son for his mother. This involves, first, identification with and, later, hatred for the parent of the same sex, who is considered by the child as a rival"

minxmad

I have read a few of his books and found them very dark. The one about his father were very depressing however I could see how true they could be. Parts of Leitrim in the colds of winter can be very miserable and I would say when he was growing up what with the high level of poverty in the area it would have been a dismal time.

In recent years my dad rented farmland of him and my brothers and sisters did meet him a few times!! I didnt meet him though I did see him from afar!!!

I know his books are popular in our house at home in leitrim

Ronin247

Ronin247 wrote: »

"Oedipus complex
the unresolved desire of a child for sexual gratification through the parent of the opposite sex, esp. the desire of a son for his mother. This involves, first, identification with and, later, hatred for the parent of the same sex, who is considered by the child as a rival"

Isn't the complex supposedly only present in childhood?
I like John McGahern.I did"Amongst women" for the leaving cert.