1999: A Novel of the CelticTiger and the Search for Peace (Irish Century Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Morgan Llywelyn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Irish Century Novels | Publication Date: March 3, 2009

The Irish Century concludes in this climactic novel; Llywelyn’s masterpiece is complete

The Irish Century series is the story of the Irish people’s epic struggle for independence through the tumultuous course of the twentieth century. Morgan Llywelyn’s magisterial multi-novel chronicle of that story began with 1916, which was followed by 1921, 1949, and 1972. It now concludes with 1999: A Novel of the Celtic Tiger and the Search for Peace. 1999 brings the story from 1972 to the disarmament talks and beginnings of reconciliation among the Irish at the end of the twentieth century.

Barry Halloran, strong, clever, and passionately patriotic, who was the central character of 1972, remains central. Now a crippled photojournalist, he marries his beloved Barbara Kavanaugh, and steps back from the armed struggle. Through his work he documents the historic events that take us from the horrific aftermath of Bloody Sunday through the decades of The Troubles to the present. This is a noble conclusion to an historical mega-novel that will be read for years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Llywelyn's fifth and final installment in the Irish Century series, she offers a fastidious take on The Troubles, weaving facts and historical figures with the fictitious lives of a former IRA soldier, his American-born wife and his resolute republican mother. Photojournalist Barry Halloran, formerly an IRA Volunteer, races from the aftermath of Bloody Sunday to Dublin, where he seeks the guidance of his training officer, Seamus McCoy. Concerned that the sickly Seamus wants to return to active service, Barry spontaneously proposes to his mercurial lover, Barbara, in order to detain Seamus as his best man for his wedding. After the wedding, Barbara turns into something of a shrew and Barry's career begins to take off—providing a convenient device to document the escalating conflict. Not even Seamus's imprisonment or the crippling of Barry's mother by a car bomb deters him from faithfully capturing The Troubles on film. Though Llywelyn is meticulous in cataloguing the wartime atrocities committed by both sides, the narrative lacks a driving force and loses steam in covering the myriad skirmishes and failed peace talks. Readers familiar with the previous volumes will enjoy this the most; the uninitiated may have trouble. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Llywelyn’s feat is a remarkable one, which will help countless readers come to terms with the complexities of the Irish century, from the Easter Rising right up to the new millennium.”
--Irish America Magazine on 1999

“Her passion for the country, its people and freedom is evident on every page. Readers interested by Irish history or those searching for a powerful saga will be fascinated by this remarkable [series].”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews (a Top Pick) on 1949

“Magisterial. . . Well-realized characters and a vivid history make for richly gratifying reading.”
—Publishers Weekly on 1972

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081257799X
• ISBN-13: 978-0812577990
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #473,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Irish

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ending to a Wonderful Series, March 7, 2008

By 

boswell (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 1999: A Novel of the CelticTiger and the Search for Peace (Irish Century Novels) (Hardcover)

From beginning to end, this was an absolutely wonderful series of books. The mark of great historical fiction is to blend the fictional story with real events, and create a seamless whole. This series always delivered, and this last installment was perhaps the best. I couldn't put this book down, as the progression of the Halloran family was tied into the progression of Ireland and Northern Ireland from a state of despair in the early 1970's to a state of prosperity and hope by the end of the last millenium. The Hallorans have almost become like family over the course of these books, and it was great that the author allowed Ursula to stay around to see what hopefully will be a lasting peace. Just a great, great historical fiction series, and a must read for anyone even the slightest bit interested in irish history.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars she's done it again..., March 27, 2008

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Dragonfly (Clarksville, TN, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 1999: A Novel of the CelticTiger and the Search for Peace (Irish Century Novels) (Hardcover)

Morgan LLywelyn has produced another compelling novel detailing Ireland's fight for freedom, the last in the Irish Century series. I have always been a fan, and love all of her books, but this series is her masterpiece. She has taken a time period ranging from the turn of the 20th century to the turn of the 21st, and made some sense of the confusing politics and issues of the times by humanizing them with wonderful characters and backing them with well researched information. I can only suppose that the rest of the world was as unaware as I was of what the British did in Ireland in present times. (And I always thought they were so civilized!) I especially like the last 2 books, 1972 and 1999, because the running accounts of what was going on in the US and other countries during the times of Ireland's struggles were also a part of my own life.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying capstone to the "Irish Century" series, March 21, 2008

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Sergio (Texas) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 1999: A Novel of the CelticTiger and the Search for Peace (Irish Century Novels) (Hardcover)

A coherent, concise, and engaging history of Ireland from the early 1970s through 1999. This, the last novel in Llywelyn's "Irish Century" series, contains much more factual history as compared to the fictional Halloran family story than in previous novels in the series. This does not make the novel any less enjoyable for one who enjoys a well presented history, but may be seen as a negative to those readers who mostly want to find out how the Halloran family story turns out.

As with the earlier entries in this series, Llywelyn intejects events from Ireland's history along with 'touchstones' from world history to keep the Halloran family story in context. This capstone to the Halloran story is engaging and satisfying, with a touch of the bittersweet in its ending which, as with life, is not really an ending at all.