In the Season of the Daisies [Paperback]

Tom Phelan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994

Chronicles the 1921 brutal IRA murder of a young boy, Willie Doolin, and its devastating effect on the victim's twin brother, an eyewitness to the crime, and on a small Irish town, in an unforgettable exploration of the shattering impact of violence. A first novel. Tour. IP.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If civil war is the most cruel kind of human conflict, this powerful novel, the Irish-born author's first to be published here, serves as a searing illustration of its horrors. A harrowing dissection of the legacy of internecine conflict, its central character is Seanie Doolin, nearly mute, crazed and living like an animal on the periphery of a rural Irish community for more than 27 years. For some, his condition is a mystery. For others in the village, he is the living manifestation of a collective wound so deep and vicious that they are still reeling from its consequences three decades after it occurred. The central event, an IRA military maneuver that went horribly wrong, unfolds in flashback through the voices of various players, exposing not only a tragic, needless death but also the evil and hypocrisy of those who perpetrated and then conspired to hide it. The story that emerges, involving Seanie's twin brother (in neat but not blatant symbolism) is a patchwork of cruelty and betrayal engendered by misguided political fanaticism and the homicidal tendencies unleashed in its name. An emotionally overloaded narrative of deliberate repetition and meticulous detail, written in uncompromisingly tough language, the novel can be difficult to penetrate at times. But as the origin of Seanie's pathetic condition is revealed, we are drawn not only into the nightmare of his existence but also into the story's universal relevance.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In 1921, a brutal IRA killing in a small Irish town takes the life of an innocent 11-year-old boy and maims his twin brother for life. The crime is covered up. Many years later, the consequences of that crime are finally made clear. One by one, the men who were there that dreadful night speak up--schoolteacher, doctor, blacksmith, butcher, priest, victim. In alternating chapters, each man reveals a small piece of the story. Told in prose that is simple, direct, and emotionally devastating, these pieces together present a clear picture of a mindless act of violence that has moved through the years like a cancer, eating away at the lives of all involved. Each man has a distinctive voice, but most heartbreaking of all is the voice of the victim, imprisoned in a hellish past that for him is always the present. This first novel, an unforgettable exploration of the shattering effects of violence, belongs in most fiction collections.
- Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Lilliput Pr Ltd; Irish edition (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0946640971
• ISBN-13: 978-0946640973
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,377,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching and provocative, December 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Season of the Daisies (Hardcover)

Being somewhat of an "Americanized" European expatriate, I've always had trouble understanding the passion and connections inherent to that mysteriously unique Irish sensibility. Perhaps it has something to do with the vast ocean separating the U.S. and Europe.

Mr. Phelan's book is so touching, so powerful, I was moved to tears at one point. It's a deeply emotional account of one boy's personal tragedy... and coming out of it feels like coming off a long and painful relationship gone wrong. I'm grateful for having read it, and even more grateful to Mr. Phelan for writing it, but I hope I never suffer as much in my lifetime as little Seanie Doolin.

A great read, and suprising page-turner .. an absolutely unforgettable narrative. At times it reminded me (vaguely) of William Faulkner.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great symbolism, Lyrical and Powerful, July 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Season of the Daisies (Paperback)

A wonderful and provocative book although some may find the subject matter a bit too rough for light reading. The book combines a graceful lyricism with a whole variety of interesting symbolism that demonstrates a depth of human understanding.

One curious example would be the character of Ms. Bevan who connotes pure compassion and understanding; a true Madonna figure. She is modern, monied, dignified and thought to be Protestant by everyone in town, which she is not. This subtle reflection of Irish self-loathing and the fact that Mr. Sheehan, a suffering moral hero, is the only one capable of even speaking to her makes an interesting commentary.

Also of note is the book's ambiguous treatment of Irish Republicanism. IRA members are all damaged characters suffering from their involvement and regretful, neurotic or base and ruthless in the extreme. It is fundamentally a romantic novel whereby the enviable qualities are of a personal nature and "collective" ideals are misguided and taken-up by unfortunate rabble and impetuous youth.

Who is responsible for Willie's death? The English, the IRA, all who where present, only those in favour of the killing, the village that reared the killers? The verdict seems to be that all are guilty, the pain is real and the living suffer most.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was a little hard but overall great !!, March 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Season of the Daisies (Paperback)

I think this book started out a little hard to understand and take in, but once you got down and started reading it, it grabbed you and sucked you in. It was well written and it gave you an idea of grief and love. I think anyone who hasn't read the book should.