Book
Review: The Love of
One’s Country
A novel by Brian
Brennan
Full
disclosure: I have known Brian Brennan for years, and we get together as part
of a writer’s group six or eight times a year. What’s more, I am married to an
Irish immigrant. As a result, I have often gone to Ireland to visit, and I long
ago learned to love the Emerald Isle.
The members of our writers’ group –
formally known to its participants as “Beers with Peers” – have all published
books, written for newspapers or journals and in other ways established journalistic
backgrounds. Even so, in terms of publishing volume, Brennan is a step above
most published writers. His writing career began with a 25-year career as staff
writer and columnist with The Calgary
Herald. After leaving that paper, he began his book-writing career.
From the beginning, his books have
been about people. He’s a gifted story-teller, and until recently his books
have been about characters in western Canada. As I look around my shelves, I
find The Good Steward: the Ernest C.
Manning Story – the first and only biography of the former Alberta
premier.Another is Rogues and Rebels: Unforgettable characters from Canada’s West.
Then there are Scoundrels and Scallywags:
Characters from Alberta’s Past; Building
a Province: 60 Alberta Lives; and Alberta
Originals: Stories of Albertans who made a difference.
In the last few years, however, Brian has
become more interested in his roots. Máire Bhuí Ní Laoire: A Poet of Her People. She bore
that name in real life in the 1840s when the potato blight, which led to
famine, motivated seemingly endless streams of migrants to flow from Ireland to
the UK and North America. For this work he translates from Gaelic into English the
work of this woman, who was in fact hismaternal grandmother's grandmother. Then came the
autobiographical Leaving Dublin: Writing
My Way from Ireland to Canada.
Having written biography, volumes of
short stories, and translated a volume of poetry into English, Love of One’s Country is his first novel.
Like his other books, it’s deeply rooted in people and their impacts on the
world. Reflecting his recent work, it’s a novel which is historically accurate.
Máire Bhuí Ní Laoire is a key character in the story, and her descendant Jerry
is keenly interested in her story. In the novel, she is Jerry’s paternal
grandfather’s grandmother. It’s a piddling difference: anyone who knows Brian
understands that Jerry and he are the same.
How many stars? My major
interest is history, and I don’t often read novels. However, I’ve always
enjoyed Brian’s work, and I have family ties with Ireland. I couldn’t wait to
get my hands on this book, and I wasn’t disappointed.
The author moves seamlessly between periods,
beginning each new section with a headline noting place, year and month. Once
he has set the stage, his writing uses the present tense only: “She is,” “he
sees,” “they do.” In the dialogue, of course, people speak normally, using the
proper tenses and nuances of English speech. His Irish characters often use the
pronoun “ye” for “you” – a common practice in Ireland today, and one which adds
charm to Brian’s writing.
The shadow of Oliver Cromwell’s conquest
of Ireland (1649–53) is often present in the 1840s portion of this book. Irish
rebellion against British domination is clear throughout the 19th century
portions of the book. It reflects both religion and outrage at the large Protestant
estates occupied by descendants of Cromwell’s men. In Love of One’s Country,
this reaches fever pitch when Diarmuid de Búrca plans and leads the murder
of an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, and the destruction of his property.
In the end, Diarmuid boards a ship for
Canada to escape the catastrophe of the potato famine, after having received a
blessing from his mother, the poet. (“Diarmuid” is Gaelic for Jeremiah, and thus
the origin of Jerry, the present-day hero of the book.) Diarmuid and Nell, his
bride, are able to get privileged cabins on a ship, Sir Henry Pottinger, for the trip to Grosse Île, Québec. However, their
presence on the ship enables the author to tell the tragic story of the bulk of
the immigrants – poor peasants who travelled in steerage, below deck, and the
tragic conditions they faced. Conditions
do not much improve when they disembark, and many would-be immigrants died
before setting foot on Canadian soil. Grosse Île was the end of many dreams of
a new life in Canada. Today it’s the home of an Irish Memorial National
Historic Site.
How many stars? I’m a tight-wad when I
rate books, so let me put it like this: I enjoyed this novel immensely. Read The
Love of One’s Country and decide for yourself how many stars it deserves.
