An epic story of family, love, and unavoidable tragedy from the two-time Man Booker Prize finalist. Now a major motion picture starring Rooney Mara. Sebastian Barry’s latest novel, Days Without End, is now available. Sebastian Barry’s novels have been hugely admired by readers and critics, and in 2005 his novel A Long Long Way was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In The Secret Scripture, … Booker Prize. In The Secret Scripture, Barry revisits County Sligo, Ireland, the setting for his previous three books, to tell the unforgettable story of Roseanne McNulty. Once one of the most beguiling women in Sligo, she is now a resident of Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital and nearing her hundredth year. Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an engrossing tale of one woman’s life, and a poignant story of the cruelties of civil war and corrupted power. The Secret Scripture is now a film starring Rooney Mara, Eric Bana, and Vanessa Redgrave.
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simply could not get into this book after 3 tries.
It’s so sad to read The Secret Scripture but you just can’t stop reading because there is such an injustice done to the protagonist. With the things coming out about the Church now and the power they have wheeled especially in Ireland in the past.
I found it difficult to read, but quite a journey. Loving Ireland, I enjoyed the travel, politics, relationships, and personalities. Familiar, but intricate, and curious, the mystery is well worth the time.
Seb Barry reads beautifully smoothly. The imagery and characters ebb and flow so fluidly one almost breathes the tale in while bathing in the language.
Roseanne McNulty will be a favored foundling to fans of ‘Whereabouts of…’ .
Sometimes we snuggle up with a good book – with Sebastan Barry, his great books snuggle up to you.
* Tempted by the movie treatment? Everything I’ve read says – don’t be.
An interesting format to tell the story of the two main characters. The book is very uneven, however. For thirty pages it is riveting, and then the next thirty may be difficult to get through. The ending is worth getting to.
Great writer. Wish there more of his books on Book Bub
A haunting, poignant story, The Secret Scripture, tells of Roseanne McNulty whose life has been derailed by forces far beyond her control. Wrongly committed to an Irish insane asylum for most of her adult life through the misguided, sometimes evil, actions of manipulative others, she decides, in her 100th year to write her life story as she remembers it to leave as her legacy.
Listened to this on Audible. Enjoyed the story very much. Do not recommend the movie. Too many changes from the book
I chose this book because of the setting in early 20th Century Ireland in an insane asylum, something I know little about. The cover was confusing, as it seemed to have nothing to do with the story, and after reading the book, I still find it confusing and off putting. However, the story was tender and heart warming (strange to say about a woman who has suffered so much). But it was so sensitively written, so beautifully unfolded by switching back and forth between the two main characters, and so realistically set. I feel enriched by reading it and would highly recommend it.
Historically based tragic story of a woman who could find joy in spite of a terrible life of loss
Excellent, in depth writing style. Looking forward to more of his work.
I love this book! I’m reading it a second time because it is so well-written. Roseanne and the doctor look back at her life with astonishing clarity and tenderness.
“Memory, I must suppose, if it is neglected becomes like a box room, or a lumber room in an old house, the contents jumbled about, maybe not only from neglect but also from too much haphazard searching in them, and things to boot thrown in that don’t belong there.”
“For history as far as I can see is not the arrangement of what happens, in sequence and in truth, but a fabulous arrangement of surmises and guesses held up as a banner against the assault of withering truth.”
Roseanne McNulty is approaching her 100th birthday. She has a story to tell, but she’s doesn’t want to talk about it. Not really. She certainly doesn’t want to answer questions. She’s keeping a journal, a secret scripture. She’s one very sharp old lady, is Roseanne McNulty, but the question is, is she sane? What kind of an unreliable narrator is she?
For more than forty years, Roseanne has been confined in the Roscommon Regional Medical Hospital. The decaying psychiatric hospital facility is about to be decertified, closed, and destroyed. While Roseanne writes her personal history, her secret scripture, her psychiatrist tries to determine when and why she was committed. Was she truly insane, or was her confinement another hidden atrocity of political and social abuse?
So, the story is told in two voices, Roseanne and her psychiatrist, Dr. Grene. I loved Roseanne immediately. She does tell her story and remember events in a way that allows her to survive. Not always factually reliable; there are gaps that leave the reader (me) still wondering about exactly what happened and who was responsible. I’m not as forgiving as Roseanne McNulty. Dr. Grene was less endearing. I found him whiny and ineffectual. He was more tolerable in written form than in the audiobook. Wanda McCaddon is not my favorite voice artist. I usually avoid her, but she was perfect for Roseanne McNulty, just perfect. She was totally wrong for Dr. Grene . They needed a male voice for that part.
There’s wonderful, wonderful, writing in this book; powerful images, vibrant characters, lyrical prose. Roseanne was a marginally educated, Protestant, Irish woman during the 20th century. She is relating her childhood, her traumatic losses, her young adulthood. She doesn’t always have access to accurate information. Children are not told the real reasons for the bad things that happen. Trauma and time distort memory. Without dates given or exposition on the historical events of the time, Sebastian Barry relates the effects of political and social upheavals from the first person perspective of a powerless individual. It works; Roseanne McNulty is a character that lives beyond the author’s pen. Powerless she may have been, but what a survivor!
Wordy when it didn’t need to be. I plodded through it.
BEAUTIFUL — the story, the characters, the setting. I very rarely feel this…but…WOW!
Unusual! Worth the read!
Stunningly good read!
Such beautiful use of language! I loved reading every word of The Secret Scripture. You keep feeling like you are not getting the whole story – but you will. Great writer.