The Secret Scripture
by Sebastian Barry, audio book read by Wanda McCaddon, 2008 by Blackstone Audio, Inc. (checked out from the Collier County Library)
I pickup up this audio book at the library to listen to on our annual trip back to Rhode Island. On the case was a statement that it had been nominated as a finalist for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. The story was about a person, Roseanne McNulty, who was committed to a mental hospital in Ireland and had written a secret memoir of her life. It takes place in Skibbereen, Ireland, a place where my wife’s ancestors apparently came from, so it was interesting to learn a bit about the area and the folks who lived there.
The plot sounded pretty interesting and the fact that it had been nominated for the Man Booker Prize recommended it well. Unfortunately, the story unfolds at a snail’s pace. Her life was pretty interesting and how she came to be committed to a mental institution was also of interest. The author, however, seems to have a knack for making an otherwise compelling story pretty boring. The final twist in the story is fairly predictable early on so the final “surprise” can be described by the current vernacular phrase, “not so much”. After plodding through the first four or five CD’s, the story picked up a bit, but not enough to redeem it.
On the plus side, the writing is great and the two main characters are portrayed very well. The narrator is also excellent.
I hope the Man Booker prize folks can find material a bit more compelling to choose from going forward.
Comments
The Secret Scripture — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>