with controversial issues of then-modern Ireland, O'Brien portrays the effects of The Troubles an... more with controversial issues of then-modern Ireland, O'Brien portrays the effects of The Troubles and IRA terrorism on Irish lives. Such can be gleaned from a simple plot summary: The novel follows the relationship between an all-points-bulletined IRA terrorist, McGreevy, and an elderly lady, Josie O'Meara, whose isolated house McGreevy has broken into, and whom he holds hostage for most of the plot. At a deeper level, O'Brien tries attempts to dig and examine the roots of the violence-ridden stalemate Northern Ireland had found itself entrenched in, and what she turns up, perhaps unsurprisingly, is long, tangled history, and its seemingly unassailable grasp on the Irish. More unorthodox, however, is that O'Brien seeks not only to observe and explore the reasons behind history's notorious grasp on the Irish, but to thoroughly criticize it and, on the other side of the ledger, offer potential solutions to overcoming it, all within the same narrative. Some of the language O'Brien uses to portray this struggle with history resembles the language that might be used to describe the violence that defined The Troubles: " It weeps, the land does, and small wonder. But the land cannot be taken. History has proved that. The land will never be taken. It is there. 'As the killer is close to him who kills' " (O'Brien, 215). There are two wars going on here then: One between Ireland and herself, which can be seen as an outward manifestation of another, more sinister war between the Irish and history. House of Splendid Isolation is O'Brien's own contribution to the Ireland's war with history. The novel functions as a critical " assault " of sorts, but it can also be seen as a peace offering. What makes this attack on history compelling are the " weapons, " as it were, that O'Brien brings to the field. O'Brien draws from many literary, historical, and cultural elements
with controversial issues of then-modern Ireland, O'Brien portrays the effects of The Troubles an... more with controversial issues of then-modern Ireland, O'Brien portrays the effects of The Troubles and IRA terrorism on Irish lives. Such can be gleaned from a simple plot summary: The novel follows the relationship between an all-points-bulletined IRA terrorist, McGreevy, and an elderly lady, Josie O'Meara, whose isolated house McGreevy has broken into, and whom he holds hostage for most of the plot. At a deeper level, O'Brien tries attempts to dig and examine the roots of the violence-ridden stalemate Northern Ireland had found itself entrenched in, and what she turns up, perhaps unsurprisingly, is long, tangled history, and its seemingly unassailable grasp on the Irish. More unorthodox, however, is that O'Brien seeks not only to observe and explore the reasons behind history's notorious grasp on the Irish, but to thoroughly criticize it and, on the other side of the ledger, offer potential solutions to overcoming it, all within the same narrative. Some of the language O'Brien uses to portray this struggle with history resembles the language that might be used to describe the violence that defined The Troubles: " It weeps, the land does, and small wonder. But the land cannot be taken. History has proved that. The land will never be taken. It is there. 'As the killer is close to him who kills' " (O'Brien, 215). There are two wars going on here then: One between Ireland and herself, which can be seen as an outward manifestation of another, more sinister war between the Irish and history. House of Splendid Isolation is O'Brien's own contribution to the Ireland's war with history. The novel functions as a critical " assault " of sorts, but it can also be seen as a peace offering. What makes this attack on history compelling are the " weapons, " as it were, that O'Brien brings to the field. O'Brien draws from many literary, historical, and cultural elements
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