John the Revelator

Special ..

I started to read this as I sat down to my lunch; that was a mistake, the narrator John Devine is fascinated by worms and parasites and provides in the opening pages many a lurid description of the subject of his interest. John Devine lives with his mother in the house she inherited from her parents. He is something of a loner but feels hemmed in by the Irish small town attitudes. When John is in his sixteenth year the hip and articulate Jamie moves into town and makes a friend of John on the spot, instantly confiding in him. John's life is suddenly opened up by this new friendship.

But John has his problems to cope with, a bombastic domineering local spinster, Mrs Nagle, intent on moving into and taking over John's and his mother's life; a local and possibly corrupt Guard officer; and some local heavies with criminal tendencies. He has to cope also with his own inner turmoil, troubled by dreams dominated by a large black bird, an old crow; what does it mean? But his biggest worry is his chain smoking mother's failing health, and as he tries to care for her needs he gradually learns of her past, and his origins.

The story covers John’s life from his very early years to his mid teens; it is eloquently told and beautifully conjures the troubles of youth. Into the fabric of the main story Murphy ingeniously interweaves other short or very short stories. John quickly engenders one’s empathy, and as the story entwines and unfolds towards its mournful yet ultimately positive conclusion one’s heart will ache for our young hero.

I did not much enjoy my lunch, but I did immensely enjoy John the Revelator; its humour, its re-creation of small town Ireland, its portrayal of friendship, but above all its evocation of the turmoil of youth.

Like John the Evangelist, for who he is named, who recounts in the Book Of Revelation, "And I John saw these things, and heard them.", our narrator recounts his experiences growing up as a boy in a small Irish town, filled with his own signs and somewhat bizarre and disturbing dreams.
Young John is a bit of an odd fellow, a loner with no friends, obsessed with things like tapeworms and maggots. His mother, who works as a maid for a number of the more affluent residents of the town, worries about him, while not letting on how serious her own health issues are. Then, one day, John makes a friend, a new boy in town, the very cool Jamey Corboy. Jamey will become his guide and companion for a number of John's firsts; his first cigarette, his first bar and nightclub visit, his first drink, his first attempt to pick up a girl...and his first act of betrayal of a friend.

I had mixed feelings about this coming of age story, things I like and things I disliked. First, the minute you open the first page, you will see that this 250 page story is actually more of a novella, it's length padded with large type and large page margins. I am not saying that is a bad thing, to be shorter, but I just wonder why the publisher was just not direct about that.

Second, I choose this book, at least in part, because as the back cover says, it is set in southeastern Ireland. Now, my father was born in Ireland, I have relatives in Ireland and have been there many times, so that was of interest to me. But anyone looking for a description of the beautiful Irish countryside, or any Irish countryside for that matter, will not find it here. There is virtually no description of the setting, except a bit of the town and of the seaside, when John and his mother take a picnic to the beach one day. Murphy totally captures the feel of an Irish town, but I guess I hoped for more. Perhaps a beautiful countryside would have clashed with his often dark vision, filled with the flaps and crackles of old, black crows and dreams of nuclear destruction.

And then there is the issue of the plot, or lack of it. This is the type of books that the award givers love these days. Character heavy, plot light, but that, to me, is not a great thing.

All that being said, there was also a good bit I liked about this book. There are Jamey's short stories, which he shares with John and we read throughout the book. Also Murphy totally captures these characters and his dialogue is excellent, spot on. His portrayal of Jamey's and John's friendship, through it's ups and downs, is always realistic. Finally, there is the relationship between John and his chain smoking, Bible quoting mother, which I found very moving, not caught in cliches and the highlight of the book.

Fans of so-called literary fiction may love this one and it has gotten some great reviews in the press, but bottom line, I'll end where I started, with mixed feelings about this book.