Wow. I love the way Sebastian Barry writes, and in The Long Long Way – a story about Irish soldiers fighting in the First World War – he really puts us through the wringer. Some of the imagery (e.g. men in trenches walking over the bloody fragments and broken bones of fallen colleagues) is so vivid. The narrative is emotionally powerful too: loyalty, love, comradeship, despair… and filled with mud, screams, foul latrines, soldiers pissing themselves, the clinging desperately to faith…
The ending – whilst not unexpected – is powerful too (but no spoilers here!)
Not the first Barry I’ve read, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Recommended.
Ian Gouge - Writer 