Although some of the writing was beautiful, the story was contrived, especially in regards to the ending. It was also a very dark and depressing book.

I found this book difficult to read.

Our book club loved this - loads to talk about, beautifully written, didn't enjoy the ending but would still recommend it. Poignant story, very authenticly irish.

A member stumbled across this book while visiting England. Sebastian Barry is an exquisite writer and his writing leaves you wanting more of his work. The novel is based in Ireland and told with two voices who are writing in their own journals: Roseanne Clear, a 100 year old mental patient, and her psychiatrist, Dr. Grene. Roseanne's voice is told in the most eloquent writing -- it soars. This was short-listed for the Booker and was the winner of the Costa award. The story spans Roseanne's life -- and the evolution of Ireland during that period. As with any good writer, there is depth to themes, characters, plot lines. The story is dark in places -- Roseanne did not have an easy life.

It was a little boring for me, but I thought the writing was beautifully written.

The Secret Scripture, Sebastian Barry, author; Wanda McCaddon, Ella Turrenne, narrator
The story takes place in a village in Sligo, Ireland. Roseanne Clair is married to Tom McNulty, from a faithful Catholic family. The Catholic Church controlled their lives. It made the rules they lived by, and Roseanne was Episcopalian. Therefore she was shunned and disliked by Tom’s mother. In addition, Roseanne’s father was the gravedigger. He had problems because of his political beliefs, and her mother was in an insane asylum. She lacked an acceptable pedigree.
One day, when she took a walk, a man approached her. Her conversation with this man was witnessed by the local priest. He believed she had done more than speak to him and acted sinfully. Her mother in law did not care for her, and so they conspired against her. Tom never spoke to her again. Everyone turned against her. Then her marriage was annulled.
One day, her husband’s brother, Eneas, running from what he believed was great danger, appeared on her doorstep. She was so lonely. They made love and Roseanne became pregnant. After the birth of the child, she fell asleep and the baby was spirited away. She had no idea who had taken her son, and she never found out. Because of her mother’s history, it was easy for the McNulty’s to accuse her of being mentally ill. The priest accused her of suffering from Nymphomania which was considered a shameful mental illness. She didn’t even know what the word meant, but she was soon locked up in a mental institution. After being abused, she was transferred to an asylum, where her mother was a patient and her former father-in-law was employed. There she spent the remainder of her life, not being allowed to see her mother and receiving few visitors, if any. The asylum became her home. She and the doctor became good friends.
Because she did not want to die without leaving some record of her life, she kept a journal hidden under the floorboards of her room, hoping someone would discover the loose boards and rescue it after she passed. She was about 100 years old and totally alone. She had no one but her papers to confide to, and she faithfully wrote down what she hoped were her accurate memories. She wrote what she believed was the truth of her past. She endeared herself to me with her forgiving, gentle personality.
At this time, the asylum she has been living in is deemed no longer habitable, and it is being razed. All the patients will be moved, but first the doctor has to verify their need to be kept locked up. Her records are flimsy and Dr. Grene, who had become her friend, after so many years, offers her, her freedom if he is unable to find records to justify keeping her there. However, where would she go at this stage of her life? It seems to her that she has always lived there. He begins to do some research to learn more about her and what he finds out is shocking. Dr. Grene also keeps a journal, and it is through these journals that the story unfolds.
Roseanne was simply moved around like a chess piece. She had no advocates. She was thought to be strange. She believed in ghosts, heard voices, had visions, and questioned her own memories. It is a bittersweet description of the unfulfilled life of this ancient woman, at a time when women had few rights, at a time when Ireland had its own political problems and religious dogma ruled.
The book is well written in a prose that is authentic for the times described and the narrator had the most marvelous accent and interpretation of the characters. She never became overbearing. When the story ends, all of the dots will be connected, and the relationships shared by the characters will be revealed.