The All of It
A sleeper hit when first published in 1986, Jeannette Haien's exquisite, beloved first novel is a deceptively simple story that has the power and resonance of myth. The story begins on a rainy morning as Father Declan de Loughry stands fishing in an Irish salmon stream, pondering the recent...
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A sleeper hit when first published in 1986, Jeannette Haien's exquisite, beloved first novel is a deceptively simple story that has the power and resonance of myth. The story begins on a rainy morning as Father Declan de Loughry stands fishing in an Irish salmon stream, pondering the recent deathbed confession of one of his parishioners. Kevin Dennehy and his wife, Enda, have been sweetly living a lie for some 50 years, a lie the full extent of which Father Declan learns only when Enda finally confides "the all of it." Her tale of suffering mesmerizes the priest, who recognizes that it is also a tale of sin and scandal, a transgression he cannot ignore. The resolution of his dilemma is a triumph of strength and empathy that, as Benedict Kiely has said, makes The All of It "a book to remember".
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780060971472 (0060971479)
Publish date: December 16th 1987
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Pages no: 145
Edition language: English
Category:
Novels,
Literature,
European Literature,
Cultural,
Book Club,
Adult Fiction,
Historical Fiction,
Literary Fiction,
Adult,
Irish Literature,
Contemporary,
Ireland
Even though the book is short, I think it could have been shortened a great deal more. It felt like a lot of the dialogue was rather pointless, "Oh, but I shouldn't tell you!" and "Oh, but you must go on!" without much more actual telling of the story. I really did like the plot though. It felt a bi...