The Gathering by Anne EnrightMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
In Faversham last week I paid a visit to the delightful ‘Past Sentence’ second-hand book shop. I do not need any more books; I was just browsing. But then I spotted this book cover that announced:”Winner of The Man Booker Prize 2007”. £2.00 later and The Gathering by Anne Enright was mine. Enright writes with great agility - witty, sometimes hallucinogenic, often dark and lyrical. Whilst the plot is fairly simple she weaves complexities into events with great skill. Our protagonist, Veronica Hegarty, loses her already lost, lovely alcoholic brother Liam. His funeral drags her back into the gathered ranks of her rambling Irish family - the dysfunctional, drinking, blue-eyed Hegartys. It is the kind of story that I associate with John Banville - it’s Irish, it combines the exalted with the profane, it contains humour amongst beautiful prose, moves from tenderness to anger in a heartbeat - and, without giving away too much, I can honestly say it’s a darned good read.
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