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On Canaan's Side
On Canaan's Side: A Novel | Sebastian Barry
5 posts | 8 read | 6 to read
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, a mesmerizing new novel from the award-winning author of The Secret Scripture. Sebastian Barry's latest novel, Days Without End, will be available from Viking in January 2017. A first-person narrative of Lilly Bere’s life, On Canaan’s Side opens as the eighty-five-year-old Irish émigré mourns the loss of her grandson, Bill. Lilly, the daughter of a Dublin policeman, revisits her eventful past, going back to the moment she was forced to flee Ireland at the end of the First World War. She continues her tale in America, where—far from her family—she first tastes the sweetness of love and the bitterness of betrayal. Spanning nearly seven decades, Sebastian Barry’s extraordinary fifth novel explores memory, war, family ties, love, and loss, distilling the complexity and beauty of life into his haunting prose. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Kazzie
On Canaan's Side: A Novel | Sebastian Barry
Pickpick

This was so devastating - as so many of his books. So much going on: immigrant life, racial identity and passing, inter generational trauma, familial grief and love.

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zsuzsanna_reads
On Canaan's Side: A Novel | Sebastian Barry
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Mehso-so

My least favourite book by Barry so far. I prefer his less epic novels with a smaller, more domestic setting.

Pricel101 I concur! Days Without End was long- but beautifully entertaining I thought. My fave is 5y
TrishB @Pricel101 that‘s my fav too! 5y
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KikiLovesBooks
On Canaan's Side: A Novel | Sebastian Barry
Pickpick

Yet another Irish immigrant story! I really enjoyed the beautiful, immersive writing, although the plot had a few problems. This was a book group pick—I was going to suggest Days Without End by Barry, but this happened to be the English Honor Club read at my teacher friend‘s hs, so we went with it! I‘m glad we did. Lilly‘s tale made for a great discussion. I‘ll definitely read more of Barry. There was some amazing writing going on in this novel.

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BarbaraBB
On Canaan's Side: A Novel | Sebastian Barry
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Pickpick

Lily was as a young woman forced to leave Ireland for America. It is her story, sure, but more than that it is the story of America, the land of possibilities and hope.
The land where people from all over the world can find a place and live together. Lily‘s life shows a perfect example of this. An important moment is 1968, when Martin Luther King was killed. ‘The death of hope‘, Barry calls it, ‘on Canaan‘s side‘. #booker #manbooker

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KerriNTurner
On Canaan's Side: A Novel | Sebastian Barry
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#marchintoreading #irishauthors I didn't actually like this book, but got to listen to and talk with Sebastian Barry at a writing course, and he was the nicest man. Funny, self-deprecating, warm, and all-round delightful person!